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Springtime Stratospheric Volcanic Aerosol Impact on Midlatitude Cirrus Clouds

Sporre, M. K. LU orcid ; Friberg, J. LU ; Svenhag, C. LU ; Sourdeval, O. and Storelvmo, T. (2022) In Geophysical Research Letters 49(2).
Abstract

Explosive volcanic eruptions can reach the stratosphere and cause elevated concentrations of sulphate particles for months to years. When these particles descend into the troposphere, they can impact cirrus clouds though to what degree is unknown. In this study, we combine three satellite data sets to investigate the impact of downwelling sulphate aerosol on midlatitude cirrus clouds during springtime. The results show that cirrus clouds in the northern hemisphere (NH) have lower ice water content (IWC), ice crystal number concentrations, and cloud fraction (CF) when the aerosol load in the lowermost stratosphere is elevated by volcanism. These changes are largest for the coldest clouds at the highest altitudes. The cirrus clouds in the... (More)

Explosive volcanic eruptions can reach the stratosphere and cause elevated concentrations of sulphate particles for months to years. When these particles descend into the troposphere, they can impact cirrus clouds though to what degree is unknown. In this study, we combine three satellite data sets to investigate the impact of downwelling sulphate aerosol on midlatitude cirrus clouds during springtime. The results show that cirrus clouds in the northern hemisphere (NH) have lower ice water content (IWC), ice crystal number concentrations, and cloud fraction (CF) when the aerosol load in the lowermost stratosphere is elevated by volcanism. These changes are largest for the coldest clouds at the highest altitudes. The cirrus clouds in the southern hemisphere on the other hand show no significant changes with downwelling aerosol levels. The reduction in cirrus IWC and CF in the NH implies that volcanic aerosol can cool the climate through reduced warming from cirrus clouds.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cirrus clouds, volcanic aerosol
in
Geophysical Research Letters
volume
49
issue
2
article number
e2021GL096171
publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85123779548
ISSN
0094-8276
DOI
10.1029/2021GL096171
project
Volcanic aerosol effects on cirrus clouds and climate
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2022. The Authors.
id
fd149928-7874-4af3-b816-02ad9b81b5e6
date added to LUP
2022-02-15 17:20:45
date last changed
2022-06-17 14:45:08
@article{fd149928-7874-4af3-b816-02ad9b81b5e6,
  abstract     = {{<p>Explosive volcanic eruptions can reach the stratosphere and cause elevated concentrations of sulphate particles for months to years. When these particles descend into the troposphere, they can impact cirrus clouds though to what degree is unknown. In this study, we combine three satellite data sets to investigate the impact of downwelling sulphate aerosol on midlatitude cirrus clouds during springtime. The results show that cirrus clouds in the northern hemisphere (NH) have lower ice water content (IWC), ice crystal number concentrations, and cloud fraction (CF) when the aerosol load in the lowermost stratosphere is elevated by volcanism. These changes are largest for the coldest clouds at the highest altitudes. The cirrus clouds in the southern hemisphere on the other hand show no significant changes with downwelling aerosol levels. The reduction in cirrus IWC and CF in the NH implies that volcanic aerosol can cool the climate through reduced warming from cirrus clouds.</p>}},
  author       = {{Sporre, M. K. and Friberg, J. and Svenhag, C. and Sourdeval, O. and Storelvmo, T.}},
  issn         = {{0094-8276}},
  keywords     = {{cirrus clouds; volcanic aerosol}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{2}},
  publisher    = {{American Geophysical Union (AGU)}},
  series       = {{Geophysical Research Letters}},
  title        = {{Springtime Stratospheric Volcanic Aerosol Impact on Midlatitude Cirrus Clouds}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096171}},
  doi          = {{10.1029/2021GL096171}},
  volume       = {{49}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}