Non-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans
Aerosol effects on convective clouds and associated precipitation constitute an important open-ended question in climate research. Previous studies have linked an increase in aerosol concentration to a delay in the onset of rain, invigorated clouds and stronger rain rates. Here, using observational...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2019
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| _version_ | 1797069003454152704 |
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| author | Liu, H Guo, J Koren, I Altaratz, O Dagan, G Wang, Y Jiang, J Zhai, P Yung, Y |
| author_facet | Liu, H Guo, J Koren, I Altaratz, O Dagan, G Wang, Y Jiang, J Zhai, P Yung, Y |
| author_sort | Liu, H |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Aerosol effects on convective clouds and associated precipitation constitute an important open-ended question in climate research. Previous studies have linked an increase in aerosol concentration to a delay in the onset of rain, invigorated clouds and stronger rain rates. Here, using observational data, we show that the aerosol effect on convective clouds shifts from invigoration to suppression with increasing aerosol optical depth. We explain this shift in trend (using a cloud model) as the result of a competition between two types of microphysical processes: cloud-core-based invigorating processes vs. peripheral suppressive processes. We show that the aerosol optical depth value that marks the shift between invigoration and suppression depends on the environmental thermodynamic conditions. These findings can aid in better parameterizing aerosol effects in climate models for the prediction of climate trends. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T22:18:11Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:542180d5-8c59-4dd4-a424-a211d53d997b |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T22:18:11Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:542180d5-8c59-4dd4-a424-a211d53d997b2022-03-26T16:35:52ZNon-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceansJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:542180d5-8c59-4dd4-a424-a211d53d997bEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordSpringer Nature2019Liu, HGuo, JKoren, IAltaratz, ODagan, GWang, YJiang, JZhai, PYung, YAerosol effects on convective clouds and associated precipitation constitute an important open-ended question in climate research. Previous studies have linked an increase in aerosol concentration to a delay in the onset of rain, invigorated clouds and stronger rain rates. Here, using observational data, we show that the aerosol effect on convective clouds shifts from invigoration to suppression with increasing aerosol optical depth. We explain this shift in trend (using a cloud model) as the result of a competition between two types of microphysical processes: cloud-core-based invigorating processes vs. peripheral suppressive processes. We show that the aerosol optical depth value that marks the shift between invigoration and suppression depends on the environmental thermodynamic conditions. These findings can aid in better parameterizing aerosol effects in climate models for the prediction of climate trends. |
| spellingShingle | Liu, H Guo, J Koren, I Altaratz, O Dagan, G Wang, Y Jiang, J Zhai, P Yung, Y Non-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans |
| title | Non-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans |
| title_full | Non-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans |
| title_fullStr | Non-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Non-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans |
| title_short | Non-monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans |
| title_sort | non monotonic aerosol effect on precipitation in convective clouds over tropical oceans |
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