Research article
17 Jan 2011
Research article | 17 Jan 2011
Influence of convection and aerosol pollution on ice cloud particle effective radius
J. H. Jiang1, H. Su1, C. Zhai1, S. T. Massie2, M. R. Schoeberl3, P. R. Colarco4, S. Platnick4, Y. Gu5, and K.-N. Liou5
J. H. Jiang et al.
J. H. Jiang1, H. Su1, C. Zhai1, S. T. Massie2, M. R. Schoeberl3, P. R. Colarco4, S. Platnick4, Y. Gu5, and K.-N. Liou5
- 1Jet propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- 2National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 3Science and Technology Corporation, Columbia, Maryland, USA
- 4NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- 5Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- 1Jet propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- 2National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 3Science and Technology Corporation, Columbia, Maryland, USA
- 4NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- 5Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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Received: 28 Aug 2010 – Discussion started: 07 Oct 2010 – Revised: 30 Dec 2010 – Accepted: 10 Jan 2011 – Published: 17 Jan 2011
Satellite observations show that ice cloud effective radius (re) increases with ice water content (IWC) but decreases with aerosol optical thickness (AOT). Using least-squares fitting to the observed data, we obtain an analytical formula to describe the variations of re with IWC and AOT for several regions with distinct characteristics of re-IWC-AOT relationships. As IWC directly relates to convective strength and AOT represents aerosol loading, our empirical formula provides a means to quantify the relative roles of dynamics and aerosols in controlling re in different geographical regions, and to establish a framework for parameterization of aerosol effects on re in climate models.
