Aerosol Indirect Effects in Marine Stratocumulus: The Importance of Explicitly Predicting Cloud Droplet Activation

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 3473-3481 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Bulatovic ◽  
A. M. L. Ekman ◽  
J. Savre ◽  
I. Riipinen ◽  
C. Leck
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Marine Stratocumulus ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Droplet Activation

scholarly journals Investigation of aerosol indirect effects on monsoon clouds using ground-based measurements over a high-altitude site in Western Ghats

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Anil Kumar ◽  
G. Pandithurai ◽  
P. P. Leena ◽  
K. K. Dani ◽  
P. Murugavel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Effective Radius ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Cloud Droplet Number Concentration ◽  
Aerosol Effects

Abstract. The effect of aerosols on cloud droplet number concentration and droplet effective radius are investigated from ground-based measurements over a high-altitude site where in clouds pass over the surface. First aerosol indirect effect AIE estimates were made using i) relative changes in cloud droplet number concentration (AIEn) and ii) relative changes in droplet effective radius (AIEs) with relative changes in aerosol for different LWC values. AIE estimates from two different methods reveal that there is systematic overestimation in AIEn as compared to that of AIEs. Aerosol indirect effects (AIEn and AIEs) and Dispersion effect (DE) at different liquid water content (LWC) regimes ranging from 0.05 to 0.50 gm-3 were estimated. The analysis demonstrates that there is overestimation of AIEn as compared to AIEs which is mainly due to DE. Aerosol effects on spectral dispersion in droplet size distribution plays an important role in altering Twomey’s cooling effect and thereby changes in climate. This study shows that the higher DE in the medium LWC regime which offsets the AIE by 30%.

scholarly journals Investigation of aerosol indirect effects on monsoon clouds using ground-based measurements over a high-altitude site in Western Ghats

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (13) ◽  
pp. 8423-8430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasudevan Anil Kumar ◽  
Govindan Pandithurai ◽  
Parakkatt Parambil Leena ◽  
Kundan K. Dani ◽  
Palani Murugavel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Effective Radius ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Spectral Dispersion ◽  
Cloud Droplet Number Concentration ◽  
Aerosol Effects

Abstract. The effect of aerosols on cloud droplet number concentration and droplet effective radius is investigated from ground-based measurements over a high-altitude site where clouds pass over the surface. First aerosol indirect effect (AIE) estimates were made using (i) relative changes in cloud droplet number concentration (AIEn) and (ii) relative changes in droplet effective radius (AIEs) with relative changes in aerosol for different cloud liquid water contents (LWCs). AIE estimates from two different methods reveal that there is systematic overestimation in AIEn as compared to that of AIEs. Aerosol indirect effects (AIEn and AIEs) and dispersion effect (DE) at different LWC regimes ranging from 0.05 to 0.50 g m−3 were estimated. The analysis demonstrates that there is overestimation of AIEn as compared to AIEs, which is mainly due to DE. Aerosol effects on spectral dispersion in droplet size distribution play an important role in altering Twomey's cooling effect and thereby changes in climate. This study shows that the higher DE in the medium LWC regime offsets the AIE by 30 %.

Cancellation of Aerosol Indirect Effects in Marine Stratocumulus through Cloud Thinning

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (7) ◽  
pp. 2657-2669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wood
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Surface Precipitation ◽  
Cloud Thickness

Abstract Applying perturbation theory within a mixed layer framework, the response of the marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud thickness h to imposed increases of the cloud droplet concentration Nd as a surrogate for increases in cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations is examined. An analytical formulation is used to quantify the response and demonstrate theoretically that for the range of environmental conditions found over the subtropical eastern oceans, on time scales of less than a day, the cloud thickness feedback response is largely determined by a balance between the moistening/cooling of the MBL resulting from the suppression of surface precipitation, and the drying/warming resulting from enhanced entrainment resulting from increased turbulent kinetic energy. Quantifying the transient cloud response as a ratio of the second to the first indirect effects demonstrates that the nature of the feedback is critically dependent upon the nature of the unperturbed state, with the cloud-base height zcb being the single most important determinant. For zcb < 400 m, increasing Nd leads to cloud thickening in accordance with the Albrecht hypothesis. However, for zcb > 400 m, cloud thinning occurs, which results in a feedback effect that increasingly cancels the Twomey effect as zcb increases. The environmental conditions favoring an elevated cloud base are relatively weak lower-tropospheric stability and a dry free troposphere, although the former is probably more important over the subtropical eastern oceans. On longer time scales an invariable thickening response is found, and thus accurate quantification of the aerosol indirect effects will require a good understanding of the processes that control the time scale over which aerosol perturbations are modified.

scholarly journals Influence of Turbulent Fluctuations on Cloud Droplet Size Dispersion and Aerosol Indirect Effects

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 3191-3209 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. K. Chandrakar ◽  
W. Cantrell ◽  
R. A. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Droplet Size ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Stochastic Theory ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Cloud Chamber ◽  
Relative Dispersion ◽  
Number Density ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Removal Time

Abstract Cloud droplet relative dispersion, defined as the standard deviation over the mean cloud droplet size, is of central importance in determining and understanding aerosol indirect effects. In recent work, it was found that cloud droplet size distributions become broader as a result of supersaturation variability and that the sensitivity of this effect is inversely related to cloud droplet number density. The subject is investigated in further detail using an extensive dataset from a laboratory cloud chamber capable of producing steady-state turbulence. An extended stochastic theory is found to successfully describe properties of the droplet size distribution, including an analytical expression for the relative dispersion. The latter is found to depend on the cloud droplet removal time, which in turn increases with the cloud droplet number density. The results show that relative dispersion decreases monotonically with increasing droplet number density, consistent with some recent atmospheric observations. Experiments spanning fast to slow microphysics regimes are reported. The observed dispersion is used to estimate time scales for autoconversion, demonstrating the important role of the turbulence-induced broadening effect on precipitation development. An initial effort is made to extend the stochastic theory to an atmospheric context with a steady updraft, for which autoconversion time is the controlling factor for droplet lifetime. As in the cloud chamber, relative dispersion is found to increase with decreasing cloud droplet number density.

scholarly journals Integrating Cloud Processes in the Community Atmosphere Model, Version 5

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (18) ◽  
pp. 6821-6856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungsu Park ◽  
Christopher S. Bretherton ◽  
Philip J. Rasch
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Radiation Budget ◽  
Liquid Droplets ◽  
Marine Stratocumulus ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Model Version ◽  
Community Atmosphere Model ◽  
Atmosphere Model

Abstract This paper provides a description of the integrated representation for the cloud processes in the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5). CAM5 cloud parameterizations add the following unique characteristics to previous versions: 1) a cloud macrophysical structure with horizontally nonoverlapped deep cumulus, shallow cumulus, and stratus in each grid layer, where each of which has its own cloud fraction, and mass and number concentrations for cloud liquid droplets and ice crystals; 2) stratus–radiation–turbulence interactions that allow CAM5 to simulate marine stratocumulus solely from grid-mean relative humidity without relying on a stability-based empirical formula; 3) prognostic treatment of the number concentrations of stratus liquid droplets and ice crystals, with activated aerosols and detrained in-cumulus condensates as the main sources and with evaporation, sedimentation, and precipitation of stratus condensate as the main sinks; and 4) radiatively active cumulus and snow. By imposing consistency between diagnosed stratus fraction and prognosed stratus condensate, unrealistically empty or highly dense stratus is avoided in CAM5. Because of the activation of the prognostic aerosols and the parameterizations of the radiation and stratiform precipitation production as a function of the cloud droplet size, CAM5 simulates various aerosol indirect effects as well as the direct effects: that is, aerosols affect both the radiation budget and the hydrological cycle. Detailed analysis of various simulations indicates that CAM5 improves upon CAM3/CAM4 in global performance as well as in physical formulation. However, several problems are also identified in CAM5, which can be attributed to deficient regional tuning, inconsistency between various physics parameterizations, and incomplete treatment of physics. Efforts are continuing to further improve CAM5.

scholarly journals A strong statistical link between aerosol indirect effects and the self-similarity of rainfall distributions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalli Furtado ◽  
Paul Field
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Aerosol Concentration ◽  
The Self ◽  
Rainfall Distribution ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Self Similar ◽  
Similar Density

Abstract. We use convective-scale simulations of monsoonal clouds to reveal a self-similar probability density function that underpins surface rainfall statistics. This density is independent of cloud-droplet number concentration and is unchanged by aerosol perturbations. It therefore represents an invariant property of our model with respect to cloud-aerosol interactions. For a given aerosol concentration, if the dependence of at least one moment of the rainfall distribution on cloud-droplet number is a known input parameter, then the self-similar density can be used to reconstruct the entire rainfall distribution to a useful degree of accuracy. In particular, we present both single-moment and double-moment reconstructions that are able to predict the responses of the rainfall distributions to changes in aerosol concentration. In doing so we show that the seemingly high-dimensional space of possible aerosol-induced rainfall-distribution transformations can be parametrized by a surprisingly small (at most three) independent “degrees of freedom”: the self-similar density, and auxiliary information about two moments of the rainfall distribution. This suggests that, although aerosol-indirect effects on any specific hydro-meteorological system may be multifarious in terms of rainfall changes and physical mechanisms, there may, nevertheless, be a universal constraint on the number of independent degrees of freedom needed to represent the dependencies of rainfall on aerosols.

Common summertime total cloud cover and aerosol optical depth weekly variabilities over Europe: Sign of the aerosol indirect effects?

2015 ◽  
Vol 153 ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K. Georgoulias ◽  
K.A. Kourtidis ◽  
G. Alexandri ◽  
S. Rapsomanikis ◽  
A. Sanchez-Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Aerosol Optical Depth ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Total Cloud Cover ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects

scholarly journals Cloud droplet activation of secondary organic aerosol is mainly controlled by molecular weight, not water solubility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Wang ◽  
John E. Shilling ◽  
Jiumeng Liu ◽  
Alla Zelenyuk ◽  
David M. Bell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Water Solubility ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Average Molecular Weight ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Oxidation Level ◽  
Organic Species ◽  
Droplet Activation

Abstract. Aerosol particles strongly influence global climate by modifying the properties of clouds. An accurate assessment of the aerosol impact on climate requires knowledge of the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), a subset of aerosol particles that can activate and form cloud droplets in the atmosphere. Atmospheric particles typically consist of a myriad of organic species, which frequently dominate the particle composition. As a result, CCN concentration is often a strong function of the hygroscopicity of organics in the particles. Earlier studies showed organic hygroscopicity increases nearly linearly with oxidation level. Such increase of hygroscopicity is conventionally attributed to higher water solubility for more oxidized organics. By systematically varying the water content of activating droplets, we show that for the majority of secondary organic aerosols (SOA), essentially all organics are dissolved at the point of droplet activation. Therefore, the organic hygroscopicity is not limited by solubility, but is dictated mainly by the molecular weight of organic species. Instead of increased water solubility as previously thought, the increase of the organic hygroscopicity with oxidation level is largely because (1) SOA formed from smaller precursor molecules tend to be more oxidized and have lower average molecular weight and (2) during oxidation, fragmentation reactions reduce average organic molecule weight, leading to increased hygroscopicity. A simple model of organic hygroscopicity based on molecular weight, oxidation level, and volatility is developed, and it successfully reproduces the variation of SOA hygroscopicity with oxidation level observed in the laboratory and field studies.

scholarly journals Exploiting the weekly cycle as observed over Europe to analyse aerosol indirect effects in two climate models

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 8493-8501 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Quaas ◽  
O. Boucher ◽  
A. Jones ◽  
G. P. Weedon ◽  
J. Kieser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Liquid Water Path ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Aerosol Indirect Effects ◽  
Weekly Cycle ◽  
Model Control

Abstract. A weekly cycle in aerosol pollution and some meteorological quantities is observed over Europe. In the present study we exploit this effect to analyse aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions. A weekly cycle is imposed on anthropogenic emissions in two general circulation models that include parameterizations of aerosol processes and cloud microphysics. It is found that the simulated weekly cycles in sulfur dioxide, sulfate, and aerosol optical depth in both models agree reasonably well with those observed indicating model skill in simulating the aerosol cycle. A distinct weekly cycle in cloud droplet number concentration is demonstrated in both observations and models. For other variables, such as cloud liquid water path, cloud cover, top-of-the-atmosphere radiation fluxes, precipitation, and surface temperature, large variability and contradictory results between observations, model simulations, and model control simulations without a weekly cycle in emissions prevent us from reaching any firm conclusions about the potential aerosol impact on meteorology or the realism of the modelled second aerosol indirect effects.

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