Brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing

Clouds cool Earth's climate by reflecting 20% of the incoming solar energy, while also trapping part of the outgoing radiation. The effect of human activities on clouds is poorly understood, but the present-day anthropogenic cooling via changes of cloud albedo and lifetime could be of the same...

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Main Authors: Makkonen, R, Romakkaniemi, S, Kokkola, H, Stier, P, Raisanen, P, Rast, S, Feichter, J, Kulmala, M, Laaksonen, A
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2012
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author Makkonen, R
Romakkaniemi, S
Kokkola, H
Stier, P
Raisanen, P
Rast, S
Feichter, J
Kulmala, M
Laaksonen, A
author_facet Makkonen, R
Romakkaniemi, S
Kokkola, H
Stier, P
Raisanen, P
Rast, S
Feichter, J
Kulmala, M
Laaksonen, A
author_sort Makkonen, R
collection OXFORD
description Clouds cool Earth's climate by reflecting 20% of the incoming solar energy, while also trapping part of the outgoing radiation. The effect of human activities on clouds is poorly understood, but the present-day anthropogenic cooling via changes of cloud albedo and lifetime could be of the same order as warming from anthropogenic addition in CO2. Soluble trace gases can increase water condensation to particles, possibly leading to activation of smaller aerosols and more numerous cloud droplets. We have studied the effect of nitric acid on the aerosol indirect effect with the global aerosol-climate model ECHAM5.5-HAM2. Including the nitric acid effect in the model increases cloud droplet number concentrations globally by 7%. The nitric acid contribution to the present-day cloud albedo effect was found to be-0.32 W m -2 and to the total indirect effect-0.46 W m -2. The contribution to the cloud albedo effect is shown to increase to-0.37 W m -2 by the year 2100, if considering only the reductions in available cloud condensation nuclei. Overall, the effect of nitric acid can play a large part in aerosol cooling during the following decades with decreasing SO2 emissions and increasing NOx and greenhouse gases. © 2012 Author(s).
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spelling oxford-uuid:bb12e79f-eaac-45dd-9094-0f8cf5ce9e6b2022-03-27T05:14:23ZBrightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcingJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:bb12e79f-eaac-45dd-9094-0f8cf5ce9e6bEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2012Makkonen, RRomakkaniemi, SKokkola, HStier, PRaisanen, PRast, SFeichter, JKulmala, MLaaksonen, AClouds cool Earth's climate by reflecting 20% of the incoming solar energy, while also trapping part of the outgoing radiation. The effect of human activities on clouds is poorly understood, but the present-day anthropogenic cooling via changes of cloud albedo and lifetime could be of the same order as warming from anthropogenic addition in CO2. Soluble trace gases can increase water condensation to particles, possibly leading to activation of smaller aerosols and more numerous cloud droplets. We have studied the effect of nitric acid on the aerosol indirect effect with the global aerosol-climate model ECHAM5.5-HAM2. Including the nitric acid effect in the model increases cloud droplet number concentrations globally by 7%. The nitric acid contribution to the present-day cloud albedo effect was found to be-0.32 W m -2 and to the total indirect effect-0.46 W m -2. The contribution to the cloud albedo effect is shown to increase to-0.37 W m -2 by the year 2100, if considering only the reductions in available cloud condensation nuclei. Overall, the effect of nitric acid can play a large part in aerosol cooling during the following decades with decreasing SO2 emissions and increasing NOx and greenhouse gases. © 2012 Author(s).
spellingShingle Makkonen, R
Romakkaniemi, S
Kokkola, H
Stier, P
Raisanen, P
Rast, S
Feichter, J
Kulmala, M
Laaksonen, A
Brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing
title Brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing
title_full Brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing
title_fullStr Brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing
title_full_unstemmed Brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing
title_short Brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing
title_sort brightening of the global cloud field by nitric acid and the associated radiative forcing
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