Effect of Cloud Water Content on the Atmospheric Extinction

The aerosol particles play an important role in the research of atmospheric radiation and climate change. In the process of calculating the radiative properties of aerosol particles, the complex refractive index is an important parameter. However, it can not be measured directly. Since the atmospheric aerosol is a particle system composed of various components in a wide range of sizes, the ‘Continental type’ of aerosol particles have been chosen in this paper, and the equivalent complex refractive indices of particles are calculated with Bruggeman mixing rule. The radiative properties of aerosol particles under different water contents are determined with Mie theory at the wavelength of 0.55 μm. The results show that the extinction coefficients and albedo increase with the increase in water content. When the water content in cloud is greater than 60%, the humidity becomes a dominant factor. The scattering of particles will increase as a result of the humidification in the atmosphere.