Examination of aerosol effects on precipitation in deep convective clouds during the 1997 ARM summer experiment
Lee, Seoung Soo ; Donner, Leo J. ; Phillips, Vaughan LU
and Ming, Yi
(2008)
In Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
134(634).
p.1201-1220
- Abstract
- It has been generally accepted that increasing aerosols suppress precipitation. The aerosol-induced precipitation suppression was suggested by the study of shallow stratiform clouds. Recent studies of convective clouds showed increasing aerosols could increase precipitation. Those studies showed that intense feedbacks between aerosols and cloud dynamics led to increased precipitation in some cases of convective clouds. This study expanded those studies by analyzing detailed microphysical and dynamical modifications by aerosols leading to increased precipitation. This study focused on three observed cases of mesoscale cloud ensemble (MCE) driven by deep convective clouds, since MCE accounts for a large proportion of the Earth's... (More)
- It has been generally accepted that increasing aerosols suppress precipitation. The aerosol-induced precipitation suppression was suggested by the study of shallow stratiform clouds. Recent studies of convective clouds showed increasing aerosols could increase precipitation. Those studies showed that intense feedbacks between aerosols and cloud dynamics led to increased precipitation in some cases of convective clouds. This study expanded those studies by analyzing detailed microphysical and dynamical modifications by aerosols leading to increased precipitation. This study focused on three observed cases of mesoscale cloud ensemble (MCE) driven by deep convective clouds, since MCE accounts for a large proportion of the Earth's precipitation and the study of aerosol effects on MCE is at its incipient stage. Those MCEs were observed during the 1997 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) summer experiment. Two numerical experiments were performed for each of the MCEs to simulate aerosol effects on deep convection. The first was with high aerosol number concentration, and the second was with low concentration. The results showed an increased precipitation at high aerosol, due to stronger, more numerous updraughts, initiated by stronger convergence lines at the surface in convective regions of the MCE. The stronger convergence lines were triggered by increased evaporation of cloud liquid in the high-aerosol case, made possible by higher values of cloud liquid necessary for autoconversion. The generality of these results requires further investigation. However, they demonstrate that the response of precipitation to increased aerosols in deep convection can be different from that in shallow cloud systems, at least for the cases studied here. Copyright (c) 2008 Royal Meteorological Society. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4587510
- author
- Lee, Seoung Soo
; Donner, Leo J.
; Phillips, Vaughan
LU
and Ming, Yi
- publishing date
- 2008
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- microphysics, cloud condensation nuclei, mesoscale cloud ensemble
- in
- Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
- volume
- 134
- issue
- 634
- pages
- 1201 - 1220
- publisher
- Royal Meteorological Society
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000259292800010
- scopus:49649105885
- ISSN
- 0035-9009
- DOI
- 10.1002/qj.287
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 3f2e0fc6-fc15-4410-bf38-82e96d2b3e2d (old id 4587510)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 12:03:02
- date last changed
- 2022-03-28 19:34:10
@article{3f2e0fc6-fc15-4410-bf38-82e96d2b3e2d,
abstract = {{It has been generally accepted that increasing aerosols suppress precipitation. The aerosol-induced precipitation suppression was suggested by the study of shallow stratiform clouds. Recent studies of convective clouds showed increasing aerosols could increase precipitation. Those studies showed that intense feedbacks between aerosols and cloud dynamics led to increased precipitation in some cases of convective clouds. This study expanded those studies by analyzing detailed microphysical and dynamical modifications by aerosols leading to increased precipitation. This study focused on three observed cases of mesoscale cloud ensemble (MCE) driven by deep convective clouds, since MCE accounts for a large proportion of the Earth's precipitation and the study of aerosol effects on MCE is at its incipient stage. Those MCEs were observed during the 1997 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) summer experiment. Two numerical experiments were performed for each of the MCEs to simulate aerosol effects on deep convection. The first was with high aerosol number concentration, and the second was with low concentration. The results showed an increased precipitation at high aerosol, due to stronger, more numerous updraughts, initiated by stronger convergence lines at the surface in convective regions of the MCE. The stronger convergence lines were triggered by increased evaporation of cloud liquid in the high-aerosol case, made possible by higher values of cloud liquid necessary for autoconversion. The generality of these results requires further investigation. However, they demonstrate that the response of precipitation to increased aerosols in deep convection can be different from that in shallow cloud systems, at least for the cases studied here. Copyright (c) 2008 Royal Meteorological Society.}},
author = {{Lee, Seoung Soo and Donner, Leo J. and Phillips, Vaughan and Ming, Yi}},
issn = {{0035-9009}},
keywords = {{microphysics; cloud condensation nuclei; mesoscale cloud ensemble}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{634}},
pages = {{1201--1220}},
publisher = {{Royal Meteorological Society}},
series = {{Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society}},
title = {{Examination of aerosol effects on precipitation in deep convective clouds during the 1997 ARM summer experiment}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.287}},
doi = {{10.1002/qj.287}},
volume = {{134}},
year = {{2008}},
}