Abstract
Aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions represent one of the largest uncertainties in the current climate assessment. Much of the complexity arises from the non-monotonic responses of clouds, precipitation and radiative fluxes to aerosol perturbations under various meteorological conditions. In this study, an aerosol-aware WRF model is used to investigate the microphysical and radiative effects of aerosols in three weather systems during the March 2000 Cloud Intensive Observational Period campaign at the US Southern Great Plains. Three simulated cloud ensembles include a low-pressure deep convective cloud system, a collection of less-precipitating stratus and shallow cumulus, and a cold frontal passage. The WRF simulations are evaluated by several ground-based measurements. The microphysical properties of cloud hydrometeors, such as their mass and number concentrations, generally show monotonic trends as a function of cloud condensation nuclei concentrations. Aerosol radiative effects do not influence the trends of cloud microphysics, except for the stratus and shallow cumulus cases where aerosol semi-direct effects are identified. The precipitation changes by aerosols vary with the cloud types and their evolving stages, with a prominent aerosol invigoration effect and associated enhanced precipitation from the convective sources. The simulated aerosol direct effect suppresses precipitation in all three cases but does not overturn the aerosol indirect effect. Cloud fraction exhibits much smaller sensitivity (typically less than 2%) to aerosol perturbations, and the responses vary with aerosol concentrations and cloud regimes. The surface shortwave radiation shows a monotonic decrease by increasing aerosols, while the magnitude of the decrease depends on the cloud type.
摘 要
气溶胶-云-辐射相互作用是目前气候评价最大的不确定因素之一. 其中大部分不确定性来自于云, 降水, 以及辐射通量在不同气象条件下对于气溶胶变化的非单调反馈. 本研究中, 我们应用了考虑气溶胶效应的 WRF 模式来研究气溶胶微物理以及辐射效应对于在 2000 年三月位于美国南方大平原的云强化观测项目(Cloud Intensive Observational Period campaign)中三个气象系统的影响. 三组云模拟集成分别为低气压深对流云系统, 一系列弱降雨层云和浅积云, 以及一次冷锋过境. WRF 模式模拟的结果与地面观测进行了对比与评估. 云滴的质量以及数浓度等微物理特性总体与云凝结核浓度呈单调的函数关系. 气溶胶辐射效应除了对于层云及浅积云有气溶胶半直接效应之外, 对其他云微物理过程变化没有影响. 气溶胶对于降水变化的影响与云的类别以及云的发展阶段有关, 气溶胶有增强对流系统并且增强降水的效应. 模式模拟的气溶胶直接效应减弱三个气象系统的降水, 但是不能完全抵消气溶胶间接效应的影响. 云的宏观特征比如云的分布对于气溶胶的变化显示出更小的敏感性(通常少于 2%), 并且与气溶胶的浓度和云的种类有关. 地表短波辐射对于气溶胶的增加呈单调递减关系, 递减量与云的类别有关.
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Acknowledgements
Dr. YuanWANG appreciates the funding support provided by NASA ROSES14-ACMAP and NSF (Award No. 1700727). Dr. Yangang LIU is supported by the US DOE ASR program. Dr. Jonathan H. JIANG acknowledges the support of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA. All model results are available upon request from Yuan WANG (yuan.wang@caltech.edu).
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Wang, Y., Vogel, J.M., Lin, Y. et al. Aerosol microphysical and radiative effects on continental cloud ensembles. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 35, 234–247 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-017-7091-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-017-7091-5
Keywords
- aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions
- cloud-resolving model
- cloud microphysics and macrophysics
- precipitation