Articles | Volume 18, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12797-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-12797-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Sep 2018
Research article |
| 06 Sep 2018
| 06 Sep 2018
The climate impact of aerosols on the lightning flash rate: is it detectable from long-term measurements?
Qianqian Wang
State Laboratory of Earth Surface Process and Resource Ecology, College of
Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
State Laboratory of Earth Surface Process and Resource Ecology, College of
Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China
Chuanfeng Zhao
State Laboratory of Earth Surface Process and Resource Ecology, College of
Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Maureen Cribb
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Qiaomin Pei, Chuanfeng Zhao, Yikun Yang, Annan Chen, Zhiyuan Cong, Xin Wan, Haotian Zhang, and Guangming Wu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1172, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1172, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates smoke's impact on atmospheric warming over the Himalayan and Tibetan Plateau (HTP) using MODIS fire data, ground-based and satellite aerosol observations, and model simulations. It finds that smoke aerosols – predominantly concentrated between 6 and 8 km in the mid-troposphere over southern HTP – likely alter regional atmospheric stability by modifying the vertical temperature profile, as indicated by a reduced lapse rate.
Deli Meng, Jianping Guo, Juan Chen, Xiaoran Guo, Ning Li, Yuping Sun, Zhen Zhang, Na Tang, Hui Xu, Tianmeng Chen, Rongfang Yang, and Jiajia Hua
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-138, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-138, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides a high-resolution dataset of low-level atmospheric turbulence across China, using radar and weather balloon observations. It reveals regional and seasonal variations in turbulence, with stronger activity in spring and summer. The dataset supports weather forecasting, aviation safety, and low-altitude flight planning, aiding China’s growing low-altitude economy and accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14959025.
Damao Zhang, Jennifer Comstock, Chitra Sivaraman, Kefei Mo, Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, Jingjing Tian, Tianning Su, Zhanqing Li, and Natalia Roldán-Henao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3959, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3959, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
Planetary boundary layer height (PBLHT) is an important parameter in atmospheric process studies and numerical model simulations. We use machine learning methods to produce a best-estimate planetary boundary layer height (PBLHT-BE-ML) by integrating four PBLHT estimates derived from remote sensing measurements. We demonstrated that PBLHT-BE-ML greatly improved the comparisons against sounding-derived PBLHT.
Xiaoran Guo, Jianping Guo, Deli Meng, Yuping Sun, Zhen Zhang, Hui Xu, Liping Zeng, Juan Chen, Ning Li, and Tianmeng Chen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-589, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-589, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Optimal atmospheric dynamic condition is essential for convective storms. This study generates a dataset of high-resolution divergence and vorticity profiles using the measurements of radar wind profiler mesonet in Beijing. The negative divergence and positive vorticity are present in advance of rainfall events. This suggests that this dataset can help improve our understanding of prestorm environment and has the potential to be applied to weather forecasting.
Seoung Soo Lee, Chang Hoon Jung, Jinho Choi, Young Jun Yoon, Junshik Um, Youtong Zheng, Jianping Guo, Manguttathil G. Manoj, Sang-Keun Song, and Kyung-Ja Ha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 705–726, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-705-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-705-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study attempts to test a general factor that explains differences in the properties of different mixed-phase clouds using a modeling tool. Although this attempt is not to identify a factor that can perfectly explain and represent the properties of different mixed-phase clouds, we believe that this attempt acts as a valuable stepping stone towards a more complete, general way of using climate models to better predict climate change.
Zhiqi Xu, Jianping Guo, Guwei Zhang, Yuchen Ye, Haikun Zhao, and Haishan Chen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5753–5766, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5753-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5753-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical cyclones (TCs) are powerful weather systems that can cause extreme disasters. Here we generate a global long-term TC size and intensity reconstruction dataset, covering a time period from 1959 to 2022, with a 3 h temporal resolution, using machine learning models. These can be valuable for filling observational data gaps and advancing our understanding of TC climatology, thereby facilitating risk assessments and defenses against TC-related disasters.
Juan Zhao, Jianping Guo, and Xiaohui Zheng
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2024-194, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2024-194, 2024
Revised manuscript under review for GMD
Short summary
Short summary
A series of observing system simulation experiments are conducted to assess the impact of multiple radar wind profiler (RWP) networks on convective scale numerical weather prediction. Results from three southwest-type heavy rainfall cases in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region suggest the added forecast skill of ridge and foothill networks associated with the Taihang Mountains over the existing RWP network. This research provides valuable guidance for designing optimal RWP networks in the region.
Deli Meng, Jianping Guo, Xiaoran Guo, Yinjun Wang, Ning Li, Yuping Sun, Zhen Zhang, Na Tang, Haoran Li, Fan Zhang, Bing Tong, Hui Xu, and Tianmeng Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8703–8720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8703-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8703-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The turbulence in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) remains unclear. Here we elucidate the vertical profile of and temporal variation in the turbulence dissipation rate in the PBL over the TP based on a radar wind profiler (RWP) network. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the turbulence profile over the whole TP has been revealed. Furthermore, the possible mechanisms of clouds acting on the PBL turbulence structure are investigated.
Xiaoran Guo, Jianping Guo, Tianmeng Chen, Ning Li, Fan Zhang, and Yuping Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8067–8083, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8067-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8067-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The prediction of downhill thunderstorms (DSs) remains elusive. We propose an objective method to identify DSs, based on which enhanced and dissipated DSs are discriminated. A radar wind profiler (RWP) mesonet is used to derive divergence and vertical velocity. The mid-troposphere divergence and prevailing westerlies enhance the intensity of DSs, whereas low-level divergence is observed when the DS dissipates. The findings highlight the key role that an RWP mesonet plays in the evolution of DSs.
Hongfei Hao, Kaicun Wang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Guocan Wu, and Jing Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3233–3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3233-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3233-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we employed a machine learning technique to derive daily aerosol optical depth from hourly visibility observations collected at more than 5000 airports worldwide from 1959 to 2021 combined with reanalysis meteorological parameters.
Kaixu Bai, Ke Li, Liuqing Shao, Xinran Li, Chaoshun Liu, Zhengqiang Li, Mingliang Ma, Di Han, Yibing Sun, Zhe Zheng, Ruijie Li, Ni-Bin Chang, and Jianping Guo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2425–2448, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2425-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2425-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A global gap-free high-resolution air pollutant dataset (LGHAP v2) was generated to provide spatially contiguous AOD and PM2.5 concentration maps with daily 1 km resolution from 2000 to 2021. This gap-free dataset has good data accuracies compared to ground-based AOD and PM2.5 concentration observations, which is a reliable database to advance aerosol-related studies and trigger multidisciplinary applications for environmental management, health risk assessment, and climate change analysis.
Boming Liu, Xin Ma, Jianping Guo, Renqiang Wen, Hui Li, Shikuan Jin, Yingying Ma, Xiaoran Guo, and Wei Gong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4047–4063, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4047-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4047-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate wind profile estimation, especially for the lowest few hundred meters of the atmosphere, is of great significance for the weather, climate, and renewable energy sector. We propose a novel method that combines the power-law method with the random forest algorithm to extend wind profiles beyond the surface layer. Compared with the traditional algorithm, this method has better stability and spatial applicability and can be used to obtain the wind profiles on different land cover types.
Jianping Guo, Jian Zhang, Jia Shao, Tianmeng Chen, Kaixu Bai, Yuping Sun, Ning Li, Jingyan Wu, Rui Li, Jian Li, Qiyun Guo, Jason B. Cohen, Panmao Zhai, Xiaofeng Xu, and Fei Hu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A global continental merged high-resolution (PBLH) dataset with good accuracy compared to radiosonde is generated via machine learning algorithms, covering the period from 2011 to 2021 with 3-hour and 0.25º resolution in space and time. The machine learning model takes parameters derived from the ERA5 reanalysis and GLDAS product as input, with PBLH biases between radiosonde and ERA5 as the learning targets. The merged PBLH is the sum of the predicted PBLH bias and the PBLH from ERA5.
Hui Xu, Jianping Guo, Bing Tong, Jinqiang Zhang, Tianmeng Chen, Xiaoran Guo, Jian Zhang, and Wenqing Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15011–15038, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15011-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15011-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The radiative effect of cloud remains one of the largest uncertain factors in climate change, largely due to the lack of cloud vertical structure (CVS) observations. The study presents the first near-global CVS climatology using high-vertical-resolution soundings. Single-layer cloud mainly occurs over arid regions. As the number of cloud layers increases, clouds tend to have lower bases and thinner layer thicknesses. The occurrence frequency of cloud exhibits a pronounced seasonal diurnal cycle.
Siyu Shan, Dale Allen, Zhanqing Li, Kenneth Pickering, and Jeff Lapierre
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14547–14560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14547-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14547-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Several machine learning models are applied to identify important variables affecting lightning occurrence in the vicinity of the Southern Great Plains ARM site during the summer months of 2012–2020. We find that the random forest model is the best predictor among common classifiers. We rank variables in terms of their effectiveness in nowcasting ENTLN lightning and identify geometric cloud thickness, rain rate and convective available potential energy (CAPE) as the most effective predictors.
Hao Fan, Xingchuan Yang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Yikun Yang, and Zhenyao Shen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7781–7798, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7781-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7781-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using 20-year multi-source data, this study shows pronounced regional and seasonal variations in fire activities and emissions. Seasonal variability of fires is larger with increasing latitude. The increase in temperature in the Northern Hemisphere's middle- and high-latitude forest regions was primarily responsible for the increase in fires and emissions, while the changes in fire occurrence in tropical regions were more influenced by the decrease in precipitation and relative humidity.
Boming Liu, Xin Ma, Jianping Guo, Hui Li, Shikuan Jin, Yingying Ma, and Wei Gong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3181–3193, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3181-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3181-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Wind energy is one of the most essential clean and renewable forms of energy in today’s world. However, the traditional power law method generally estimates the hub-height wind speed by assuming a constant exponent between surface and hub-height wind speeds. This inevitably leads to significant uncertainties in estimating the wind speed profile. To minimize the uncertainties, we here use a machine learning algorithm known as random forest to estimate the wind speed at hub height.
Jing Wei, Zhanqing Li, Jun Wang, Can Li, Pawan Gupta, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1511–1532, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1511-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1511-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study estimated the daily seamless 10 km ambient gaseous pollutants (NO2, SO2, and CO) across China using machine learning with extensive input variables measured on monitors, satellites, and models. Our dataset yields a high data quality via cross-validation at varying spatiotemporal scales and outperforms most previous related studies, making it most helpful to future (especially short-term) air pollution and environmental health-related studies.
Seoung Soo Lee, Junshik Um, Won Jun Choi, Kyung-Ja Ha, Chang Hoon Jung, Jianping Guo, and Youtong Zheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 273–286, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-273-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-273-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper elaborates on process-level mechanisms regarding how the interception of radiation by aerosols interacts with the surface heat fluxes and atmospheric instability in warm cumulus clouds. This paper elucidates how these mechanisms vary with the location or altitude of an aerosol layer. This elucidation indicates that the location of aerosol layers should be taken into account for parameterizations of aerosol–cloud interactions.
Rui Zhang, Yuying Wang, Zhanqing Li, Zhibin Wang, Russell R. Dickerson, Xinrong Ren, Hao He, Fei Wang, Ying Gao, Xi Chen, Jialu Xu, Yafang Cheng, and Hang Su
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14879–14891, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14879-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14879-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Factors of cloud condensation nuclei number concentration (NCCN) profiles determined in the North China Plain include air mass sources, temperature structure, anthropogenic emissions, and terrain distribution. Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra suggest that the ability of aerosol activation into CCN is stronger in southeasterly than in northwesterly air masses and stronger in the free atmosphere than near the surface. A good method to parameterize NCCN from aerosol optical data is found.
Yuying Wang, Rong Hu, Qiuyan Wang, Zhanqing Li, Maureen Cribb, Yele Sun, Xiaorui Song, Yi Shang, Yixuan Wu, Xin Huang, and Yuxiang Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14133–14146, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14133-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14133-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The mixing state of size-resolved soot particles and their influencing factors were investigated. The results suggest anthropogenic emissions and aging processes have diverse impacts on the mixing state of soot particles in different modes. Considering that the mixing state of soot particles is crucial to model aerosol absorption, this finding is important to study particle growth and the warming effect of black carbon aerosols.
Katherine T. Junghenn Noyes, Ralph A. Kahn, James A. Limbacher, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10267–10290, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10267-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10267-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We compare retrievals of wildfire smoke particle size, shape, and light absorption from the MISR satellite instrument to modeling and other satellite data on land cover type, drought conditions, meteorology, and estimates of fire intensity (fire radiative power – FRP). We find statistically significant differences in the particle properties based on burning conditions and land cover type, and we interpret how changes in these properties point to specific aerosol aging mechanisms.
Seoung Soo Lee, Jinho Choi, Goun Kim, Kyung-Ja Ha, Kyong-Hwan Seo, Chang Hoon Jung, Junshik Um, Youtong Zheng, Jianping Guo, Sang-Keun Song, Yun Gon Lee, and Nobuyuki Utsumi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9059–9081, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9059-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9059-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates how aerosols affect clouds and precipitation and how the aerosol effects vary with varying types of clouds that are characterized by cloud depth in two metropolitan areas in East Asia. As cloud depth increases, the enhancement of precipitation amount transitions to no changes in precipitation amount with increasing aerosol concentrations. This indicates that cloud depth needs to be considered for a comprehensive understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions.
Peilin Song, Yongqiang Zhang, Jianping Guo, Jiancheng Shi, Tianjie Zhao, and Bing Tong
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2613–2637, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2613-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2613-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soil moisture information is crucial for understanding the earth surface, but currently available satellite-based soil moisture datasets are imperfect either in their spatiotemporal resolutions or in ensuring image completeness from cloudy weather. In this study, therefore, we developed one soil moisture data product over China that has tackled most of the above problems. This data product has the potential to promote the investigation of earth hydrology and be extended to the global scale.
Lu Chen, Fang Zhang, Dongmei Zhang, Xinming Wang, Wei Song, Jieyao Liu, Jingye Ren, Sihui Jiang, Xue Li, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6773–6786, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6773-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6773-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol hygroscopicity is critical when evaluating its effect on visibility and climate. Here, the size-resolved particle hygroscopicity at five sites in China is characterized using field measurements. We show the distinct behavior of hygroscopic particles during pollution evolution among the five sites. Moreover, different hygroscopic behavior during NPF events were also observed. The dataset is helpful for understanding the spatial variability in particle composition and formation mechanisms.
Xing Yan, Zhou Zang, Zhanqing Li, Nana Luo, Chen Zuo, Yize Jiang, Dan Li, Yushan Guo, Wenji Zhao, Wenzhong Shi, and Maureen Cribb
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1193–1213, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1193-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1193-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study developed a new satellite-based global land daily FMF dataset (Phy-DL FMF) by synergizing the advantages of physical and deep learning methods at a 1° spatial resolution by covering the period from 2001 to 2020. The Phy-DL FMF was extensively evaluated against ground-truth AERONET data and tested on a global scale against conventional satellite-based FMF products to demonstrate its superiority in accuracy.
Kaixu Bai, Ke Li, Mingliang Ma, Kaitao Li, Zhengqiang Li, Jianping Guo, Ni-Bin Chang, Zhuo Tan, and Di Han
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 907–927, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-907-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-907-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Long-term Gap-free High-resolution Air Pollutant concentration dataset, providing gap-free aerosol optical depth (AOD) and PM2.5 and PM10 concentration with a daily 1 km resolution for 2000–2020 in China, is generated and made publicly available. This is the first long-term gap-free high-resolution aerosol dataset in China and has great potential to trigger multidisciplinary applications in Earth observations, climate change, public health, ecosystem assessment, and environment management.
Lu Chen, Fang Zhang, Don Collins, Jingye Ren, Jieyao Liu, Sihui Jiang, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2293–2307, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2293-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the volatility and mixing state of atmospheric aerosols is important for elucidating their formation. Here, the size-resolved volatility of fine particles is characterized using field measurements. On average, the particles are more volatile in the summer. The retrieved mixing state shows that black carbon (BC)-containing particles dominate and contribute 67–77 % toward the total number concentration in the winter, while the non-BC particles accounted for 52–69 % in the summer.
Linye Song, Shangfeng Chen, Wen Chen, Jianping Guo, Conglan Cheng, and Yong Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1669–1688, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1669-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1669-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that in most years when haze pollution (HP) over the North China Plain (NCP) is more (less) serious in winter, air conditions in the following spring are also worse (better) than normal. Conversely, there are some years when HP in the following spring is opposed to that in winter. It is found that North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies play important roles in HP evolution over the NCP. Thus North Atlantic SST is an important preceding signal for NCP HP evolution.
Tianning Su, Youtong Zheng, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1453–1466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1453-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1453-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
To enrich our understanding of coupling of continental clouds, we developed a novel methodology to determine cloud coupling state from a lidar and a suite of surface meteorological instruments. This method is built upon advancement in our understanding of fundamental boundary layer processes and clouds. As the first remote sensing method for determining the coupling state of low clouds over land, this methodology paves a solid ground for further investigating the coupled land–atmosphere system.
Boming Liu, Jianping Guo, Wei Gong, Yong Zhang, Lijuan Shi, Yingying Ma, Jian Li, Xiaoran Guo, Ad Stoffelen, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-26, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-26, 2022
Publication in AMT not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
Aeolus is the first satellite mission to directly observe wind profile information on a global scale. However, Aeolus wind products over China were thus far not evaluated by in-situ comparison. This work is the comparison of wind speed on a large scale between the Aeolus, ERA5 and RS , shedding important light on the data application of Aeolus wind products.
Matthew W. Christensen, Andrew Gettelman, Jan Cermak, Guy Dagan, Michael Diamond, Alyson Douglas, Graham Feingold, Franziska Glassmeier, Tom Goren, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Edward Gryspeerdt, Ralph Kahn, Zhanqing Li, Po-Lun Ma, Florent Malavelle, Isabel L. McCoy, Daniel T. McCoy, Greg McFarquhar, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Sandip Pal, Anna Possner, Adam Povey, Johannes Quaas, Daniel Rosenfeld, Anja Schmidt, Roland Schrödner, Armin Sorooshian, Philip Stier, Velle Toll, Duncan Watson-Parris, Robert Wood, Mingxi Yang, and Tianle Yuan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 641–674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-641-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-641-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Trace gases and aerosols (tiny airborne particles) are released from a variety of point sources around the globe. Examples include volcanoes, industrial chimneys, forest fires, and ship stacks. These sources provide opportunistic experiments with which to quantify the role of aerosols in modifying cloud properties. We review the current state of understanding on the influence of aerosol on climate built from the wide range of natural and anthropogenic laboratories investigated in recent decades.
Lixing Shen, Chuanfeng Zhao, Xingchuan Yang, Yikun Yang, and Ping Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 419–439, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-419-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-419-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Using multi-year data, this study reveals the slump of sea land breeze (SLB) at Brisbane during mega fires and investigates the impact of fire-induced aerosols on SLB. Different aerosols have different impacts on sea wind (SW) and land wind (LW). Aerosols cause the decrease of SW, partially offset by the warming effect of black carbon (BC). The large-scale cooling effect of aerosols on sea surface temperature (SST) and the burst of BC contribute to the slump of LW.
Jianping Guo, Jian Zhang, Kun Yang, Hong Liao, Shaodong Zhang, Kaiming Huang, Yanmin Lv, Jia Shao, Tao Yu, Bing Tong, Jian Li, Tianning Su, Steve H. L. Yim, Ad Stoffelen, Panmao Zhai, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17079–17097, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17079-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17079-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is the lowest part of the troposphere, and boundary layer height (BLH) is the depth of the PBL and is of critical importance to the dispersion of air pollution. The study presents the first near-global BLH climatology by using high-resolution (5-10 m) radiosonde measurements. The variations in BLH exhibit large spatial and temporal dependence, with a peak at 17:00 local solar time. The most promising reanalysis product is ERA-5 in terms of modeling BLH.
Seoung Soo Lee, Kyung-Ja Ha, Manguttathil Gopalakrishnan Manoj, Mohammad Kamruzzaman, Hyungjun Kim, Nobuyuki Utsumi, Youtong Zheng, Byung-Gon Kim, Chang Hoon Jung, Junshik Um, Jianping Guo, Kyoung Ock Choi, and Go-Un Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16843–16868, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16843-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16843-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Using a modeling framework, a midlatitude stratocumulus cloud system is simulated. It is found that cloud mass in the system becomes very low due to interactions between ice and liquid particles compared to that in the absence of ice particles. It is also found that interactions between cloud mass and aerosols lead to a reduction in cloud mass in the system, and this is contrary to an aerosol-induced increase in cloud mass in the absence of ice particles.
Yue Sun and Chuanfeng Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16555–16574, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16555-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16555-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Using high-resolution multi-year warm season data, the influence of aerosol on precipitation time over the North China Plain (NCP), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and Pearl River Delta (PRD) is investigated. Aerosol amount and type have significant influence on precipitation time: precipitation start time is advanced by 3 h in the NCP, delayed 2 h in the PRD, and negligibly changed in the YRD. Aerosol impact on precipitation is also influenced by precipitation type and meteorological conditions.
Sihui Jiang, Fang Zhang, Jingye Ren, Lu Chen, Xing Yan, Jieyao Liu, Yele Sun, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14293–14308, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14293-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14293-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
New particle formation (NPF) can be a large source of CCN and affect weather and climate. Here we show that the NPF contributes largely to cloud droplet number concentration (Nd) but is suppressed at high particle number concentrations in Beijing due to water vapor competition. We also reveal a considerable impact of primary sources on the evaluation in the urban atmosphere. Our study has great significance for assessing NPF-associated effects on climate in polluted regions.
Ifeanyichukwu C. Nduka, Chi-Yung Tam, Jianping Guo, and Steve Hung Lam Yim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13443–13454, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13443-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzed the nature, mechanisms and drivers for hot-and-polluted episodes (HPEs) in the Pearl River Delta, China. A total of eight HPEs were identified and can be grouped into three clusters of HPEs that were respectively driven (1) by weak subsidence and convection induced by approaching tropical cyclones, (2) by calm conditions with low wind speed in the lower atmosphere and (3) by the combination of both aforementioned conditions.
Rongmin Ren, Zhanqing Li, Peng Yan, Yuying Wang, Hao Wu, Maureen Cribb, Wei Wang, Xiao'ai Jin, Yanan Li, and Dongmei Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9977–9994, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9977-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9977-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed the effect of the proportion of components making up the chemical composition of aerosols on f(RH) in southern Beijing in 2019. Nitrate played a more significant role in affecting f(RH) than sulfate. The ratio of the sulfate mass fraction to the nitrate mass fraction (mostly higher than ~ 4) was a sign of the deliquescence of aerosol. A piecewise parameterized scheme was proposed, which could better describe deliquescence and reduce uncertainties in simulating aerosol hygroscopicity.
Jing Wei, Zhanqing Li, Rachel T. Pinker, Jun Wang, Lin Sun, Wenhao Xue, Runze Li, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7863–7880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7863-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7863-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study developed a space-time Light Gradient Boosting Machine (STLG) model to derive the high-temporal-resolution (1 h) and high-quality PM2.5 dataset in China (i.e., ChinaHighPM2.5) at a 5 km spatial resolution from the Himawari-8 Advanced Himawari Imager aerosol products. Our model outperforms most previous related studies with a much lower computation burden in terms of speed and memory, making it most suitable for real-time air pollution monitoring in China.
Tianmeng Chen, Zhanqing Li, Ralph A. Kahn, Chuanfeng Zhao, Daniel Rosenfeld, Jianping Guo, Wenchao Han, and Dandan Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6199–6220, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A convective cloud identification process is developed using geostationary satellite data from Himawari-8.
Convective cloud fraction is generally larger before noon and smaller in the afternoon under polluted conditions, but megacities and complex topography can influence the pattern.
A robust relationship between convective cloud and aerosol loading is found. This pattern varies with terrain height and is modulated by varying thermodynamic, dynamical, and humidity conditions during the day.
Yikun Yang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Quan Wang, Zhiyuan Cong, Xingchuan Yang, and Hao Fan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4849–4868, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4849-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4849-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The occurrence frequency of different aerosol types and aerosol optical depth over the Arctic, Antarctic and Tibetan Plateau (TP) show distinctive spatiotemporal differences. The aerosol extinction coefficient in the Arctic and TP has a broad vertical distribution, while that of the Antarctic has obvious seasonal differences. Compared with the Antarctic, the Arctic and TP are vulnerable to surrounding pollutants, and the source of air masses has obvious seasonal variations.
Xingchuan Yang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Yikun Yang, and Hao Fan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3803–3825, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3803-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3803-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the spatiotemporal distributions of aerosol optical properties and major aerosol types, along with the vertical distribution of the major aerosol types over Australia based on multi-source data. The results of this study provide significant information on aerosol optical properties in Australia, which can help to understand their characteristics and potential climate impacts.
Xingchuan Yang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Yikun Yang, Xing Yan, and Hao Fan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3833–3853, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3833-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3833-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Using long-term multi-source data, this study shows significant impacts of fire events on aerosol properties over Australia. The contribution of carbonaceous aerosols to the total was 26 % of the annual average but larger (30–43 %) in September–December; smoke and dust are the two dominant aerosol types at different heights in southeastern Australia for the 2019 fire case. These findings are helpful for understanding aerosol climate effects and improving climate modeling in Australia in future.
Jianping Guo, Boming Liu, Wei Gong, Lijuan Shi, Yong Zhang, Yingying Ma, Jian Zhang, Tianmeng Chen, Kaixu Bai, Ad Stoffelen, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2945–2958, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2945-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2945-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Vertical wind profiles are crucial to a wide range of atmospheric disciplines. Aeolus is the first satellite mission to directly observe wind profile information on a global scale. However, Aeolus wind products over China have thus far not been evaluated by in situ comparison. This work is expected to let the public and science community better know the Aeolus wind products and to encourage use of these valuable data in future research and applications.
Yuwei Zhang, Jiwen Fan, Zhanqing Li, and Daniel Rosenfeld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2363–2381, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Impacts of anthropogenic aerosols on deep convective clouds (DCCs) and precipitation are examined using both the Morrison bulk and spectral bin microphysics (SBM) schemes. With the SBM scheme, anthropogenic aerosols notably invigorate convective intensity and precipitation, causing better agreement between the simulated DCCs and observations; this effect is absent with the Morrison scheme, mainly due to limitations of the saturation adjustment approach for droplet condensation and evaporation.
Boming Liu, Jianping Guo, Wei Gong, Yong Zhang, Lijuan Shi, Yingying Ma, Jian Li, Xiaoran Guo, Ad Stoffelen, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-41, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-41, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Vertical wind profiles are crucial to a wide range of atmospheric disciplines. Aeolus is the first satellite mission to directly observe wind profile information on a global scale. However, Aeolus wind products over China were thus far not evaluated by in-situ comparison. This work is expected to let the public and science community better know the Aeolus wind products and to encourage use of these valuable data in future researches and applications.
Yuying Wang, Zhanqing Li, Qiuyan Wang, Xiaoai Jin, Peng Yan, Maureen Cribb, Yanan Li, Cheng Yuan, Hao Wu, Tong Wu, Rongmin Ren, and Zhaoxin Cai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 915–926, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-915-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-915-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The unexpected increase in surface ozone concentration was found along with the reduced anthropogenic emissions during the 2019 Chinese Spring Festival in Beijing. The enhanced atmospheric oxidation capacity could promote the formation of secondary aerosols, especially sulfate, which offset the decrease in PM2.5 mass concentration. This phenomenon was likely to exist throughout the entire Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region to be a contributing factor to the haze during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Zhanshan Ma, Chuanfeng Zhao, Jiandong Gong, Jin Zhang, Zhe Li, Jian Sun, Yongzhu Liu, Jiong Chen, and Qingu Jiang
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 205–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-205-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-205-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The spin-up in GRAPES_GFS, under different initial fields, goes through a dramatic adjustment in the first half-hour of integration and slow dynamic and thermal adjustments afterwards. It lasts for at least 6 h, with model adjustment gradually completed from lower to upper layers in the model. Thus, the forecast results, at least in the first 6 h, should be avoided when used. In addition, the spin-up process should repeat when the model simulation is interrupted.
Johannes Quaas, Antti Arola, Brian Cairns, Matthew Christensen, Hartwig Deneke, Annica M. L. Ekman, Graham Feingold, Ann Fridlind, Edward Gryspeerdt, Otto Hasekamp, Zhanqing Li, Antti Lipponen, Po-Lun Ma, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Athanasios Nenes, Joyce E. Penner, Daniel Rosenfeld, Roland Schrödner, Kenneth Sinclair, Odran Sourdeval, Philip Stier, Matthias Tesche, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15079–15099, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15079-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15079-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Anthropogenic pollution particles – aerosols – serve as cloud condensation nuclei and thus increase cloud droplet concentration and the clouds' reflection of sunlight (a cooling effect on climate). This Twomey effect is poorly constrained by models and requires satellite data for better quantification. The review summarizes the challenges in properly doing so and outlines avenues for progress towards a better use of aerosol retrievals and better retrievals of droplet concentrations.
Sarah E. Benish, Hao He, Xinrong Ren, Sandra J. Roberts, Ross J. Salawitch, Zhanqing Li, Fei Wang, Yuying Wang, Fang Zhang, Min Shao, Sihua Lu, and Russell R. Dickerson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14523–14545, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14523-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Airborne observations of ozone and related pollutants show smog was pervasive in spring 2016 over Hebei Province, China. We find high amounts of ozone precursors throughout and even above the PBL, continuing to generate ozone at high rates to be potentially transported downwind. Concentrations even in the rural areas of this highly industrialized province promote widespread ozone production, and we show that to improve air quality over Hebei both NOx and VOCs should be targeted.
Kaixu Bai, Ke Li, Chengbo Wu, Ni-Bin Chang, and Jianping Guo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3067–3080, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3067-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3067-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
PM2.5 data from the national air quality monitoring network in China suffered from significant inconsistency and inhomogeneity issues. To create a coherent PM2.5 concentration dataset to advance our understanding of haze pollution and its impact on weather and climate, we homogenized this PM2.5 dataset between 2015 and 2019 after filling in the data gaps. The homogenized PM2.5 data is found to better characterize the variation of aerosol in space and time compared to the original dataset.
Jiwen Fan, Yuwei Zhang, Zhanqing Li, Jiaxi Hu, and Daniel Rosenfeld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14163–14182, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14163-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14163-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the urbanization-induced land and aerosol impacts on convective clouds and precipitation over Houston. We find that Houston urbanization notably enhances storm intensity and precipitation, with the anthropogenic aerosol effect more significant. Urban land effect strengthens sea-breeze circulation, leading to a faster development of warm cloud into mixed-phase cloud and earlier rain. The anthropogenic aerosol effect accelerates the development of storms into deep convection.
Pengguo Zhao, Zhanqing Li, Hui Xiao, Fang Wu, Youtong Zheng, Maureen C. Cribb, Xiaoai Jin, and Yunjun Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13379–13397, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13379-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We discussed the different aerosol effects on lightning in plateau and basin regions of Sichuan, southwestern China. In the plateau area, the aerosol concentration is low, and aerosols (via microphysical effects) inhibit the process of warm rain and stimulate convection and lightning activity. In the basin region, however, aerosols tend to show a significant radiative effect (reducing the solar radiation reaching the surface by absorbing and scattering) and inhibit the lightning.
Yang Yang, Min Chen, Xiujuan Zhao, Dan Chen, Shuiyong Fan, Jianping Guo, and Shaukat Ali
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12527–12547, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12527-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12527-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzed the impacts of aerosol–radiation interaction on radiation and meteorological forecasts using the offline coupling of WRF and high-frequency updated AOD simulated by WRF-Chem. The results revealed that aerosol–radiation interaction had a positive influence on the improvement of predictive accuracy, including 2 m temperature (~ 73.9 %) and horizontal wind speed (~ 7.8 %), showing potential prospects for its application in regional numerical weather prediction in northern China.
Ruqian Miao, Qi Chen, Yan Zheng, Xi Cheng, Yele Sun, Paul I. Palmer, Manish Shrivastava, Jianping Guo, Qiang Zhang, Yuhan Liu, Zhaofeng Tan, Xuefei Ma, Shiyi Chen, Limin Zeng, Keding Lu, and Yuanhang Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12265–12284, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12265-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12265-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we evaluated the model performances for simulating secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) and organic aerosol (OA) in PM2.5 in China against comprehensive datasets. The potential biases from factors related to meteorology, emission, chemistry, and atmospheric removal are systematically investigated. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of modeling PM2.5, which is important for studies on the effectiveness of emission control strategies.
Boming Liu, Jianping Guo, Wei Gong, Lijuan Shi, Yong Zhang, and Yingying Ma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4589–4600, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4589-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4589-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Vertical wind profiles are crucial to a wide range of atmospheric disciplines. However, the wind profile across China remains poorly understood. Here we reveal the salient features of winds from the radar wind profile of China, including the main instruments, spatial coverage and sampling frequency. This work is expected to allow the public and scientific community to be more familiar with the nationwide network and encourage the use of these valuable data in future research and applications.
Haofei Wang, Zhengqiang Li, Yang Lv, Ying Zhang, Hua Xu, Jianping Guo, and Philippe Goloub
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8839–8854, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8839-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8839-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Lidar shows good performance in calculating the convective layer height in the daytime and the residual layer height at night, as well as having the potential to describe the stable layer height at night. The MLH seasonal change in Beijing indicates that it is low in winter and autumn and high in spring and summer. From 2014 to 2018, the magnitude of the diurnal cycle of MLH increased year by year. MLH from lidar shows better accuracy than a radiosonde when calculating surface pollution.
Haipeng Lin, Xu Feng, Tzung-May Fu, Heng Tian, Yaping Ma, Lijuan Zhang, Daniel J. Jacob, Robert M. Yantosca, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Elizabeth W. Lundgren, Jiawei Zhuang, Qiang Zhang, Xiao Lu, Lin Zhang, Lu Shen, Jianping Guo, Sebastian D. Eastham, and Christoph A. Keller
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 3241–3265, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-3241-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-3241-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Online coupling of meteorology and chemistry models often presents maintenance issues with hard-wired coding. We present WRF-GC, an one-way online coupling of the WRF meteorological model and GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry model for regional atmospheric chemistry and air quality modeling. Our coupling structure allows future versions of either parent model to be immediately integrated into WRF-GC. The WRF-GC model was able to well reproduce regional PM2.5 with greater computational efficiency.
Wenchao Han, Zhanqing Li, Fang Wu, Yuwei Zhang, Jianping Guo, Tianning Su, Maureen Cribb, Jiwen Fan, Tianmeng Chen, Jing Wei, and Seoung-Soo Lee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6479–6493, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6479-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6479-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Observational data and model simulation were used to analyze the daytime urban heat island intensity (UHII) under polluted and clean conditions in China. We found that aerosols reduce the UHII in summer but increase the UHII in winter. Two mechanisms, the aerosol radiative effect (ARE) and the aerosol dynamic effect (ADE), behave differently in summer and winter. In summer, the UHII is mainly affected by the ARE, and the ADE is weak, and the opposite is the case in winter.
Siyuan Zhou, Jing Yang, Wei-Chyung Wang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Daoyi Gong, and Peijun Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5211–5229, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5211-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5211-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol–cloud–precipitation interaction is a challenging problem in regional climate. Our study contrasted the observed diurnal variation of heavy rainfall and associated clouds over Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei between clean and polluted days during the 2002–2012 summers. We found the heavy rainfall under pollution has earlier start time, earlier peak time and longer duration, and further found the absorbing aerosols and scattering aerosols play different roles in the heavy rainfall diurnal variation.
Tianning Su, Zhanqing Li, Chengcai Li, Jing Li, Wenchao Han, Chuanyang Shen, Wangshu Tan, Jing Wei, and Jianping Guo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3713–3724, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3713-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3713-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We study the role of aerosol vertical distribution in thermodynamic stability and PBL development. Under different aerosol vertical structures, the diurnal cycles of PBLH and PM2.5 show distinct characteristics. Large differences in the heating rate affect atmospheric buoyancy and stability differently under different aerosol structures. As a result, the aerosol–PBL interaction can be strengthened by the inverse aerosol structure and potentially neutralized by the decreasing structure.
Seoung Soo Lee, George Kablick III, Zhanqing Li, Chang Hoon Jung, Yong-Sang Choi, Junshik Um, and Won Jun Choi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3357–3371, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3357-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3357-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper examines a thunderstorm-type cloud that is triggered by wildfire. This paper shows that this cloud has a substantial impact on air components such as water vapor that act as a global warming agent together with carbon dioxide. This paper also shows that that impact is strongly dependent on fire intensity. This raises a possibility that clouds, which are triggered by fire, act as a modulator of climate changes and this function as a modulator is altered by how intense fire is.
Jing Wei, Zhanqing Li, Maureen Cribb, Wei Huang, Wenhao Xue, Lin Sun, Jianping Guo, Yiran Peng, Jing Li, Alexei Lyapustin, Lei Liu, Hao Wu, and Yimeng Song
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3273–3289, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3273-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3273-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study introduced an enhanced space–time extremely randomized trees (STET) approach to improve the 1 km resolution ground-level PM2.5 estimates across China using the remote sensing technology. The STET model shows high accuracy and strong predictive power and appears to outperform most models reported by previous studies. Thus, it is of great importance for future air pollution studies at medium- or small-scale areas and will be applied to generate the historical PM2.5 dataset across China.
Kaixu Bai, Ke Li, Jianping Guo, Yuanjian Yang, and Ni-Bin Chang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1213–1226, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1213-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1213-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A novel gap-filling method called the diurnal-cycle-constrained empirical orthogonal function (DCCEOF) is proposed. Cross validation indicates that this method gives high accuracy in predicting missing values in daily PM2.5 time series by accounting for the local diurnal phases, especially by reconstructing daily extrema that cannot be accurately restored by other approaches. The DCCEOF method can be easily applied to other data sets because of its self-consistent capability.
Xinxin Fan, Jieyao Liu, Fang Zhang, Lu Chen, Don Collins, Weiqi Xu, Xiaoai Jin, Jingye Ren, Yuying Wang, Hao Wu, Shangze Li, Yele Sun, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 915–929, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-915-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-915-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol effects on visibility and climate are influenced by their hygroscopicity. By contrasting data from two techniques between summer and winter in Beijing, we investigate the effect of aerosol aging, mixing state, and local sources on its hygroscopicity. We revealed that inappropriate use of the density of BC and organics results in large uncertainty in calculating aerosols hygroscopicity. Our results are helpful for parameterization in models.
Xiaoai Jin, Yuying Wang, Zhanqing Li, Fang Zhang, Weiqi Xu, Yele Sun, Xinxin Fan, Guangyu Chen, Hao Wu, Jingye Ren, Qiuyan Wang, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 901–914, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-901-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-901-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this study the aerosol liquid water content (ALWC) is determined from aerosol hygroscopic growth factor (GF) measurement (ALWCHTDMA) and also simulated by the ISORROPIA II thermodynamic model (ALWCISO). We found that ALWC contributed by organics (ALWCOrg) accounts for 30 % ± 22 % of the total ALWC in winter in Beijing. A case study reveals that ALWCOrg plays an important role in the formation of secondary aerosols through multiphase reactions at the initial stage of a heavy-haze episode.
Zhen Liu, Yi Ming, Chun Zhao, Ngar Cheung Lau, Jianping Guo, Massimo Bollasina, and Steve Hung Lam Yim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 223–241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-223-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-223-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
OH and HO2 radicals are important trace constituents of the atmosphere that are closely coupled via several types of reaction. This paper describes a new laboratory method to simultaneously determine OH kinetics and HO2 yields from chemical processes. The instrument also provides some time resolution on HO2 detection allowing one to separate HO2 produced from the target reaction from HO2 arising from secondary chemistry. Examples of applications are presented.
Fei Wang, Zhanqing Li, Qi Jiang, Gaili Wang, Shuo Jia, Jing Duan, and Yuquan Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 14967–14977, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14967-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14967-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Though many laboratory, modeling, and field experimental studies on cloud seeding have been conducted for more than a half-century, assessing the effectiveness of cloud seeding is still very challenging due to the notorious difficulties in gaining convincing scientific evidences. The goals of this study are to evaluate any consequence of aircraft hygroscopic seeding and to develop a feasible method for analyzing the cloud seeding effect for stratocumulus clouds.
Jianjun Liu and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9515–9529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9515-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9515-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses the data collected during the TCAP field campaign to investigate the aerosol properties and the influence of aerosol loading and composition on low-warm-cloud development and microphysical properties. The results indicated that the aerosols significantly weaken the dependence of cloud development on thermodynamic conditions. Aerosol first indirect effects estimated for aerosols with a low mass of organics were larger than those for aerosols with a high mass of organics.
Chun Zhao, Mingyue Xu, Yu Wang, Meixin Zhang, Jianping Guo, Zhiyuan Hu, L. Ruby Leung, Michael Duda, and William Skamarock
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 2707–2726, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2707-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-2707-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Simulations at global uniform and variable resolutions share similar characteristics of precipitation and wind in the refined region. The experiments reveal the significant impacts of resolution on simulating the distribution and intensity of precipitation and updrafts. This study provides evidence supporting the use of convection-permitting global variable-resolution simulations to study extreme precipitation.
Jing Wei, Yiran Peng, Rashed Mahmood, Lin Sun, and Jianping Guo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7183–7207, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7183-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7183-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This study evaluates the suitability of 11 satellite-derived aerosol products in describing the spatio-temporal variations over the world. Our results show similar global patterns among these products but noticeable spatial heterogeneity and numerical differences over land regions. In general, MODIS products perform best at reflecting the spatial distributions and capturing the temporal trends of aerosol. This study help readers select a suitable aerosol dataset for their studies.
Yang Wang, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Sebastian Böhnke, Isabelle De Smedt, Russell R. Dickerson, Zipeng Dong, Hao He, Zhanqing Li, Zhengqiang Li, Donghui Li, Dong Liu, Xinrong Ren, Nicolas Theys, Yuying Wang, Yang Wang, Zhenzhu Wang, Hua Xu, Jiwei Xu, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5417–5449, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5417-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5417-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A MAX-DOAS instrument was operated to derive tropospheric vertical profiles of NO2, SO2, HONO, HCHO, CHOCHO and aerosols in the central western North China Plain in May and June 2016. The MAX-DOAS results are verified by comparisons with a collocated Raman lidar, overpass aircraft measurements, a sun photometer and in situ measurements. The contributions of regional transports and local emissions to the pollutants are evaluated based on case studies and statistic analysis.
Hao He, Xinrong Ren, Sarah E. Benish, Zhanqing Li, Fei Wang, Yuying Wang, Timothy P. Canty, Xiaobo Dong, Feng Lv, Yongtao Hu, Tong Zhu, and Russell R. Dickerson
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2019-248, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2019-248, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
We conducted aircraft measurements of air pollution in the North China Plain. Concentrations of air pollutants higher than the air quality standards were observed. Our modeling study indicates that the rate of ozone (one major air pollutant) production is determined by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which is confirmed by satellite observations. Currently, VOCs are not well regulated in China, so this study suggests the future direction of control measures to improve air quality in China.
Cheng Yuan, William K. M. Lau, Zhanqing Li, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1901–1913, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1901-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1901-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Using MERRA-2 reanalysis daily data from 2001 to 2015, we found that during strong South Asian summer monsoon years, the Asian monsoon anticyclone is more expansive and shifted northward. All the CO, carbonaceous aerosols and dust are found to be more abundant in the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL). ATAL trends are associated with increasing strength of the AMA, with earlier and enhanced vertical transport of ATAL constituents by enhanced overshooting convection over the transport regions.
Jun Chen, Zhanqing Li, Min Lv, Yuying Wang, Wei Wang, Yingjie Zhang, Haofei Wang, Xing Yan, Yele Sun, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1327–1342, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1327-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1327-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The hygroscopic growth function of aerosol particles is derived from Raman lidar, whose dependence on aerosol chemical composition is investigated using data from an aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) and a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyzer (H-TDMA) deployed in China. Two distinct cases were chosen with marked differences in their hygroscopic growth, which was fitted by the Kasten model. The differences were attributed to different amounts of chemical species.
Tianning Su, Zhanqing Li, and Ralph Kahn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 15921–15935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15921-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15921-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Surface particulate concentration has often been estimated from column-integrated aerosol optical depth (AOD). Their relationship is affected by various factors, such as the planetary layer height, meteorology (atmospheric stability, wind, relative humidity, etc.), and topography, which are investigated thoroughly using a combination of ~1500 surface station datasets, two ground-based lidars, and CALIPSO space-based lidar measurements made across China. Improved estimation of PM2.5 is achieved.
X. Shi, C. Zhao, K. Qin, Y. Yang, K. Zhang, and H. Fan
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-3-W5, 73–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W5-73-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W5-73-2018, 2018
Yingjie Zhang, Wei Du, Yuying Wang, Qingqing Wang, Haofei Wang, Haitao Zheng, Fang Zhang, Hongrong Shi, Yuxuan Bian, Yongxiang Han, Pingqing Fu, Francesco Canonaco, André S. H. Prévôt, Tong Zhu, Pucai Wang, Zhanqing Li, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14637–14651, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14637-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14637-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We have a comprehensive characterization of aerosol chemistry and particle growth events at a downwind site of a highly polluted city in the North China Plain. Aerosol particles at the urban downwind site were highly aged and mainly from secondary formation. New particle growth events were also frequently observed on both clean and polluted days. While both sulfate and SOA played important roles in particle growth during clean periods, SOA was more important than sulfate during polluted events.
Jianping Guo, Huan Liu, Zhanqing Li, Daniel Rosenfeld, Mengjiao Jiang, Weixin Xu, Jonathan H. Jiang, Jing He, Dandan Chen, Min Min, and Panmao Zhai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13329–13343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13329-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13329-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Objective analysis has been used to discriminate between the local- and synoptic-scale precipitations based on wind and pressure fields at 500 hPa. Aerosol is found to be linked with changes in the vertical structure of precipitation, depending on precipitation regimes. There has been some success in separating aerosol and meteorological influences on precipitation.
Yuying Wang, Zhanqing Li, Yingjie Zhang, Wei Du, Fang Zhang, Haobo Tan, Hanbing Xu, Tianyi Fan, Xiaoai Jin, Xinxin Fan, Zipeng Dong, Qiuyan Wang, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11739–11752, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11739-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11739-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Very different aerosol hygroscopicities and mixing states were found at these sites in the North China Plain. The PDF for 40–200 nm particles showed the particles were highly aged and internally mixed at Xingtai because of high pollution and strong photochemical reactions. A good proxy for the chemical comical composition (kappa = 0.31) in calculating CCN concentration was found. Importantly, our study investigated the influence of industrial emissions on the aerosol properties.
Fei Wang, Zhanqing Li, Xinrong Ren, Qi Jiang, Hao He, Russell R. Dickerson, Xiaobo Dong, and Feng Lv
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8995–9010, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8995-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8995-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol optical profiles are characterized for the first time over the North China Plain by aircraft measurements. Statistical summaries of the vertical distributions of aerosol optical properties focused on four target areas in the NCP region. Three typical PBL structures were found and the aerosol scattering coefficients showed different correlations with ambient RH during the field campaign. The air mass back trajectories of three PBL structures were also discussed.
Jiming Li, Qiaoyi Lv, Bida Jian, Min Zhang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Qiang Fu, Kazuaki Kawamoto, and Hua Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7329–7343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7329-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7329-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The accurate representation of cloud vertical overlap in atmospheric models is very important for predicting the total cloud cover and calculating the radiative budget. We propose a valid scheme for quantifying the degree of overlap over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The new scheme parameterizes decorrelation length scale L as a function of wind shear and atmospheric stability and improves the simulation of total cloud cover over TP when the separations between cloud layers are greater than 1 km.
Jingye Ren, Fang Zhang, Yuying Wang, Don Collins, Xinxin Fan, Xiaoai Jin, Weiqi Xu, Yele Sun, Maureen Cribb, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 6907–6921, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6907-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6907-2018, 2018
Jungbin Mok, Nickolay A. Krotkov, Omar Torres, Hiren Jethva, Zhanqing Li, Jhoon Kim, Ja-Ho Koo, Sujung Go, Hitoshi Irie, Gordon Labow, Thomas F. Eck, Brent N. Holben, Jay Herman, Robert P. Loughman, Elena Spinei, Seoung Soo Lee, Pradeep Khatri, and Monica Campanelli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2295–2311, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2295-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2295-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Measuring aerosol absorption from the shortest ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths is important for studies of climate, tropospheric photochemistry, human health, and agricultural productivity. We estimate the accuracy and demonstrate consistency of aerosol absorption retrievals from different instruments, after accounting for spectrally varying surface albedo and gaseous absorption.
Xiaowan Zhu, Guiqian Tang, Jianping Guo, Bo Hu, Tao Song, Lili Wang, Jinyuan Xin, Wenkang Gao, Christoph Münkel, Klaus Schäfer, Xin Li, and Yuesi Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4897–4910, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4897-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4897-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Our study first conducted a long-term observation of mixing layer height (MLH) with high resolution on the North China Plain (NCP), analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of regional MLH, investigated the reasons for MLH differences in the NCP and revealed the meteorological reasons for heavy haze pollution in southern Hebei. The study results provide scientific suggestions for regional industrial structure readjustment and have great importance for achieving the integrated development goals.
Tianyi Fan, Xiaohong Liu, Po-Lun Ma, Qiang Zhang, Zhanqing Li, Yiquan Jiang, Fang Zhang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Xin Yang, Fang Wu, and Yuying Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1395–1417, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1395-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1395-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We found that 22–28 % of the low AOD bias in eastern China simulated by the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 can be improved by using a new emission inventory. The concentrations of primary aerosols are closely related to the emission, while the seasonal variations of secondary aerosols depend more on atmospheric processes. This study highlights the importance of improving both the emission and atmospheric processes in modeling the atmospheric aerosols and their radiative effects.
Mengjiao Jiang, Jinqin Feng, Zhanqing Li, Ruiyu Sun, Yu-Tai Hou, Yuejian Zhu, Bingcheng Wan, Jianping Guo, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13967–13982, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13967-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13967-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol–cloud interactions have been recognized as playing an important role in precipitation. As a benchmark evaluation of model results that exclude aerosol effects, the operational precipitation forecast (before any aerosol effects included) is evaluated using multiple datasets with the goal of determining if there is any link between the model bias and aerosol loading. The forecast model overestimates light and underestimates heavy rain. Aerosols suppress light rain and enhance heavy rain.
Caiwang Zheng, Chuanfeng Zhao, Yannian Zhu, Yang Wang, Xiaoqin Shi, Xiaolin Wu, Tianmeng Chen, Fang Wu, and Yanmei Qiu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13473–13489, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13473-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13473-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzes influential factors including the aerosol type, relative humidity (RH), atmospheric boundary layer height (BLH), wind speed and direction, and aerosol vertical structure to the AOD–PM2.5 relationship. It shows that the ratio of PM2.5 to AOD, η, varies a lot with aerosol type. η is smaller for scattering-dominant (coarse mode) than for absorbing-dominant (fine mode) aerosol. The higher the RH (BLH), the larger (smaller) the η. η also decreases with the surface wind speed.
Zipeng Dong, Zhanqing Li, Xing Yu, Maureen Cribb, Xingmin Li, and Jin Dai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7997–8009, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7997-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7997-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Opposite trends in aerosol loading between the lower and upper planetary boundary layer are found on a wide range of timescales and from different types of data acquired by various platforms in China. The reversal trend is consistent with the strong vertical gradients in the aerosol-induced atmospheric heating rate that unevenly modifies the atmospheric temperature profile and alters the stability differently. The findings have multiple implications in understanding and combating air pollution.
Wei Du, Jian Zhao, Yuying Wang, Yingjie Zhang, Qingqing Wang, Weiqi Xu, Chen Chen, Tingting Han, Fang Zhang, Zhanqing Li, Pingqing Fu, Jie Li, Zifa Wang, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6797–6811, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6797-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6797-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We conducted the first simultaneous measurements of size-resolved particle number concentrations at ground level and 260 m in urban Beijing. The vertical differences strongly depend on particle sizes, with accumulation-mode particles being highly correlated at the two heights. We further demonstrated that regional emission controls have a dominant impact on accumulation-mode particles, while the influences on Aitken particles were much smaller due to the enhanced NPF events.
Yuying Wang, Fang Zhang, Zhanqing Li, Haobo Tan, Hanbing Xu, Jingye Ren, Jian Zhao, Wei Du, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5239–5251, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5239-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5239-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
A series of strict emission control measures were implemented in Beijing and the surrounding seven provinces to ensure good air quality during the 2015 China Victory Day parade, rendering a unique opportunity to investigate anthropogenic impact of aerosol properties. Submicron aerosol hygroscopicity and volatility were measured during and after the control period. By comparison we found aerosol particles became more hydrophobic and volatile due to the emission control measures.
Jian Zhao, Wei Du, Yingjie Zhang, Qingqing Wang, Chen Chen, Weiqi Xu, Tingting Han, Yuying Wang, Pingqing Fu, Zifa Wang, Zhanqing Li, and Yele Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3215–3232, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3215-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3215-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We conducted aerosol particle composition measurements at ground level and 260 m with two aerosol mass spectrometers in Beijing during the 2015 China Victory Day parade. Our results showed a stronger impact of emission controls on inorganic aerosol than OA. A larger decrease in more oxidized SOA than the less oxidized one during the control period was also observed. Our results indicate that emission controls and the changes in meteorological conditions have affected SOA formation mechanisms.
Yucong Miao, Jianping Guo, Shuhua Liu, Huan Liu, Zhanqing Li, Wanchun Zhang, and Panmao Zhai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3097–3110, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3097-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3097-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Three synoptic patterns associated with heavy aerosol pollution in Beijing were identified using an objective classification approach. Relationships between synoptic patterns, aerosol pollution, and boundary layer height in Beijing during summer were revealed as well. Further, factors/mechanisms leading to the low BLHs in Beijing were unraveled. The key findings have implications for understanding the crucial roles that meteorological factors play in forecasting aerosol pollution in Beijing.
Jianping Guo, Yucong Miao, Yong Zhang, Huan Liu, Zhanqing Li, Wanchun Zhang, Jing He, Mengyun Lou, Yan Yan, Lingen Bian, and Panmao Zhai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 13309–13319, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13309-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-13309-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The large-scale PBL climatology from sounding observations is still lacking in China. This work investigated the BLH characterization at diurnal, monthly and seasonal timescales throughout China, showing large geographic and meteorological dependences. BLH is, on average, negatively (positively) associated with the surface pressure and lower tropospheric stability (wind speed and temperature). Cloud tends to suppress the development of the PBL, which has implications for air quality forecasts.
Wanchun Zhang, Jianping Guo, Yucong Miao, Huan Liu, Yong Zhang, Zhengqiang Li, and Panmao Zhai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9951–9963, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9951-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9951-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The PBL height retrieval from CALIOP aboard CALIPSO can significantly complement the traditional ground-based methods, which is only for one site. Our study, to our current knowledge, is the first intercomparison study of PBLH on a large scale using long-term radiosonde observations in China. Three matchup schemes were proposed based on the position of radiosondes relative to CALIPSO ground tracks in China. Results indicate that CALIOP is promising for reliable PBLH retrievals.
Yahui Che, Yong Xue, Linlu Mei, Jie Guang, Lu She, Jianping Guo, Yincui Hu, Hui Xu, Xingwei He, Aojie Di, and Cheng Fan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9655–9674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9655-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9655-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Remotely sensed data could provide continuous spatial coverage of aerosol property over the pan-Eurasian area for PEEX program. The AATSR data can be used to retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD). The Aerosol_cci project provides users with three AOD retrieval algorithms for AATSR data. Because China is vast in territory and has great differences in terms of land surfaces, the combination of the AERONET and CARSNET data can validate the Level 2 AOD products from AATSR data more comprehensively.
Fang Zhang, Zhanqing Li, Yanan Li, Yele Sun, Zhenzhu Wang, Ping Li, Li Sun, Pucai Wang, Maureen Cribb, Chuanfeng Zhao, Tianyi Fan, Xin Yang, and Qingqing Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5413–5425, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5413-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5413-2016, 2016
Y. Q. Yang, J. Z. Wang, S. L. Gong, X. Y. Zhang, H. Wang, Y. Q. Wang, J. Wang, D. Li, and J. P. Guo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1353–1364, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1353-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1353-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
A new model, PLAM/h, has been developed and used in near-real-time air quality forecasts by considering both meteorology and pollutant emissions, based on the two-dimensional probability density function diagnosis model for emissions. The results show that combining the influence of regular meteorological conditions and emission factors together in the PLAM/h parameterization scheme is very effective in improving the forecasting ability for fog-haze weather in North China.
F. Zhang, Y. Li, Z. Li, L. Sun, R. Li, C. Zhao, P. Wang, Y. Sun, X. Liu, J. Li, P. Li, G. Ren, and T. Fan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13423–13437, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13423-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13423-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric aerosol particles acting as CCN are pivotal elements of the hydrological cycle and climate change. In this study, we measured and characterized NCCN in relatively clean and polluted air during the AC3Exp campaign conducted at Xianghe, China, in summer 2013. We found that aerosol particle hygroscopicity and activation are more complex for heavy pollution particles because of the diversity in particle composition and mixing state. We have also shown the possibility of using bulk κc.
Hongru Yan, Zhanqing Li, Jianping Huang, Maureen Cribb, and Jianjun Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7113–7124, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7113-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7113-2014, 2014
Jianjun Liu and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 471–483, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-471-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-471-2014, 2014
T. Logan, B. Xi, X. Dong, Z. Li, and M. Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2253–2265, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2253-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2253-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Characterization of aerosol optical depth (AOD) anomalies in September and October 2022 over Skukuza in South Africa
Technical note: Evolution of convective boundary layer height estimated by Ka-band continuous millimeter wave radar at Wuhan in central China
Fluorescence properties of long-range-transported smoke: insights from five-channel lidar observations over Moscow during the 2023 wildfire season
Lidar estimates of birch pollen number, mass, and CCN-related concentrations
Distinct effects of fine and coarse aerosols on microphysical processes of shallow-precipitation systems in summer over southern China
Increased number concentrations of small particles explain perceived stagnation in air quality over Korea
Remote-sensing detectability of airborne Arctic dust
Fluorescence spectra of atmospheric aerosols
The role of refractive indices in measuring mineral dust with high-spectral-resolution infrared satellite sounders: application to the Gobi Desert
Influence of covariance of aerosol and meteorology on co-located precipitating and non-precipitating clouds over the Indo-Gangetic Plain
Light-absorbing black carbon and brown carbon components of smoke aerosol from DSCOVR EPIC measurements over North America and central Africa
Invisible aerosol layers: improved lidar detection capabilities by means of laser-induced aerosol fluorescence
The emission, transport, and impacts of the extreme Saharan dust storm of 2015
California wildfire smoke contributes to a positive atmospheric temperature anomaly over the western United States
Dust storms from the Taklamakan Desert significantly darken snow surface on surrounding mountains
Opposite effects of aerosols and meteorological parameters on warm clouds in two contrasting regions over eastern China
Effect of wind speed on marine aerosol optical properties over remote oceans with use of spaceborne lidar observations
Assessment of smoke plume height products derived from multisource satellite observations using lidar-derived height metrics for wildfires in the western US
A remote sensing algorithm for vertically resolved cloud condensation nuclei number concentrations from airborne and spaceborne lidar observations
Opinion: Aerosol remote sensing over the next 20 years
Monitoring biomass burning aerosol transport using CALIOP observations and reanalysis models: a Canadian wildfire event in 2019
Thermal infrared observations of a western United States biomass burning aerosol plume
A new look into the impacts of dust radiative effects on the energetics of tropical easterly waves
Wind-driven emissions of coarse-mode particles in an urban environment
Measurement report: Dust and anthropogenic aerosols' vertical distributions over northern China dense aerosols gathered at the top of the mixing layer
Climatological assessment of the vertically resolved optical and microphysical aerosol properties by lidar measurements, sun photometer, and in situ observations over 17 years at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) Barcelona
Aerosol optical depth climatology from the high-resolution MAIAC product over Europe: differences between major European cities and their surrounding environments
Impact of assimilating NOAA VIIRS aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations on global AOD analysis from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)
Spectral dependence of birch and pine pollen optical properties using a synergy of lidar instruments
Validation activities of Aeolus wind products on the southeastern Iberian Peninsula
Thermal infrared dust optical depth and coarse-mode effective diameter over oceans retrieved from collocated MODIS and CALIOP observations
A comprehensive reappraisal of long-term aerosol characteristics, trends, and variability in Asia
Satellite (GOSAT-2 CAI-2) retrieval and surface (ARFINET) observations of aerosol black carbon over India
Spatiotemporal variation characteristics of global fires and their emissions
The (mis)identification of high-latitude dust events using remote sensing methods in the Yukon, Canada: a sub-daily variability analysis
Comparison of dust optical depth from multi-sensor products and MONARCH (Multiscale Online Non-hydrostatic AtmospheRe CHemistry) dust reanalysis over North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe
Understanding day–night differences in dust aerosols over the dust belt of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia
Satellite observations of smoke–cloud–radiation interactions over the Amazon rainforest
Single-scattering properties of ellipsoidal dust aerosols constrained by measured dust shape distributions
Validation of the TROPOMI/S5P aerosol layer height using EARLINET lidars
Vertical characterization of fine and coarse dust particles during an intense Saharan dust outbreak over the Iberian Peninsula in springtime 2021
Aerosol optical depth regime over megacities of the world
South American 2020 regional smoke plume: intercomparison with previous years, impact on solar radiation, and the role of Pantanal biomass burning season
Circular polarization in atmospheric aerosols
Spatiotemporal continuous estimates of daily 1 km PM2.5 from 2000 to present under the Tracking Air Pollution in China (TAP) framework
Robust evidence for reversal of the trend in aerosol effective climate forcing
Simultaneous retrievals of biomass burning aerosols and trace gases from the ultraviolet to near-infrared over northern Thailand during the 2019 pre-monsoon season
A decadal assessment of the climatology of aerosol and cloud properties over South Africa
Aerosol characterisation in the subtropical eastern North Atlantic region using long-term AERONET measurements
Long-range transport of Asian dust to the Arctic: identification of transport pathways, evolution of aerosol optical properties, and impact assessment on surface albedo changes
Marion Ranaivombola, Nelson Bègue, Lucas Vaz Peres, Farahnaz Fazel-Rastgar, Venkataraman Sivakumar, Gisèle Krysztofiak, Gwenaël Berthet, Fabrice Jegou, Stuart Piketh, and Hassan Bencherif
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3519–3540, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3519-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3519-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
From September to October 2022, the Biomass Burning Aerosol Campaign (BiBAC) in Kruger National Park revealed a significant aerosol loading linked to biomass burning activity, with southeastward transport over southern Africa and the southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO) basin. The study revealed a predominance of biomass burning aerosols and two distinct transport mechanisms of aerosol plumes and CO, underscoring the importance of east-coast observations in understanding atmospheric dynamics.
Zirui Zhang, Kaiming Huang, Fan Yi, Wei Cheng, Fuchao Liu, Jian Zhang, and Yue Jia
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3347–3361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3347-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3347-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The height of the convective boundary layer (CBLH) is related to our health due to its crucial role in pollutant dispersion. The variance of vertical velocity from millimeter wave cloud radar (MMCR) can accurately capture the diurnal evolution of the CBLH, due to a small blind range and less impact by the residual layer. The CBLH is affected by radiation, humidity, cloud, and precipitation; thus, the MMCR is suitable for monitoring the CBLH, owing to its observation capability in various weather conditions.
Igor Veselovskii, Mikhail Korenskiy, Nikita Kasianik, Boris Barchunov, Qiaoyun Hu, Philippe Goloub, and Thierry Podvin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1603–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1603-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1603-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A fluorescence lidar was used to study transported Canadian smoke in May–September 2023. The fluorescence measurements were taken at five wavelengths. The results revealed that fluorescence capacity increases with altitude, suggesting a higher concentration of organic compounds in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere than in the lower troposphere. The fluorescence spectra peaked in the 513 and 560 nm channels in smoke layers but decreased with wavelength in urban aerosols.
Maria Filioglou, Petri Tiitta, Xiaoxia Shang, Ari Leskinen, Pasi Ahola, Sanna Pätsi, Annika Saarto, Ville Vakkari, Uula Isopahkala, and Mika Komppula
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1639–1657, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1639-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1639-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Every year a vast number of people experience allergic reactions due to exposure to airborne pollen. These symptoms are concentration dependent; thus accurate information about the pollen load in the atmosphere is essential. Moreover, pollen grains and fragments of it are likely to contribute to cloud processes and suppress precipitation. Here, we estimate the concentration and cloud-relevant parameters of birch pollen in the atmosphere using observations from a PollyXT and a CL61 ceilometer.
Fengjiao Chen, Yuanjian Yang, Lu Yu, Yang Li, Weiguang Liu, Yan Liu, and Simone Lolli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1587–1601, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1587-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1587-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The microphysical mechanisms of precipitation responsible for the varied impacts of aerosol particles on shallow precipitation remain unclear. This study reveals that coarse aerosol particles invigorate shallow rainfall through enhanced coalescence processes, whereas fine aerosol particles suppress shallow rainfall through intensified microphysical breaks. These impacts are independent of thermodynamic environments but are more significant in low-humidity conditions.
Sohee Joo, Juseon Shin, Matthias Tesche, Naghmeh Dehkhoda, Taegyeong Kim, and Youngmin Noh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1023–1036, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1023-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1023-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In our study, we investigated why, in northeast Asia, visibility has not improved even though air pollution levels have decreased. By examining trends in Seoul and Ulsan, we found that the particles in the air are getting smaller, which scatters light more effectively and reduces how far we can see. Our findings suggest that changes in particle properties adversely affected public perception of air quality improvement even though the PM2.5 mass concentration is continuously decreasing.
Norman T. O'Neill, Keyvan Ranjbar, Liviu Ivănescu, Yann Blanchard, Seyed Ali Sayedain, and Yasmin AboEl-Fetouh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 27–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-27-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-27-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Dust from mid-latitude deserts or from local drainage basins is a weak component of atmospheric aerosols in the Arctic. Satellite-based dust estimates are often overestimated because dust and cloud measurements can be confused. Illustrations are given with an emphasis on the flawed claim that a classic indicator of dust (negative brightness temperature differences) is proof of the presence of airborne Arctic dust. Low-altitude warm-water plumes are the likely source of such negative values.
Jens Reichardt, Felix Lauermann, and Oliver Behrendt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3928, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3928, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Optical remote sensing systems, so-called lidars, are used to learn more about aerosols, which play an important role in atmospheric processes. The present study demonstrates that lidars, which measure the backscattering behavior of aerosols over the entire visible wavelength range, can increase our knowledge of the spatial and temporal occurrence of aerosol layers, the type of aerosol and their interaction with clouds. The focus of the publication is on wildfire aerosol and Saharan dust.
Perla Alalam, Fabrice Ducos, and Hervé Herbin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12277–12294, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12277-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study dives into the impact of mineral dust laboratory complex refractive indices (CRIs) on quantifying the dust microphysical properties using satellite infrared remote sensing. Results show that using CRIs obtained by advanced realistic techniques can improve the accuracy of these measurements, emphasizing the importance of choosing the suitable CRI in atmospheric models. This improvement is crucial for better predicting the dust radiative effect and impact on the climate.
Nabia Gulistan, Khan Alam, and Yangang Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11333–11349, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11333-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11333-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study looks at the influence of aerosol and meteorology on precipitating and non-precipitating clouds over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). A major finding of this study was that the high loading of aerosols led to a high occurrence of precipitating clouds under unstable conditions in summer. The study has the potential to open a new avenue for the scientific community to further explore and understand the complications of aerosol–cloud–precipitation over the complex topography of the IGP.
Myungje Choi, Alexei Lyapustin, Gregory L. Schuster, Sujung Go, Yujie Wang, Sergey Korkin, Ralph Kahn, Jeffrey S. Reid, Edward J. Hyer, Thomas F. Eck, Mian Chin, David J. Diner, Olga Kalashnikova, Oleg Dubovik, Jhoon Kim, and Hans Moosmüller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10543–10565, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10543-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10543-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper introduces a retrieval algorithm to estimate two key absorbing components in smoke (black carbon and brown carbon) using DSCOVR EPIC measurements. Our analysis reveals distinct smoke properties, including spectral absorption, layer height, and black carbon and brown carbon, over North America and central Africa. The retrieved smoke properties offer valuable observational constraints for modeling radiative forcing and informing health-related studies.
Benedikt Gast, Cristofer Jimenez, Albert Ansmann, Moritz Haarig, Ronny Engelmann, Felix Fritzsch, Athena Augusta Floutsi, Hannes Griesche, Kevin Ohneiser, Julian Hofer, Martin Radenz, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2586, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2586, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we discuss the enhanced detection capabilities of a fluorescence lidar in the case of optically thin aerosol layers in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region. Our results suggest that such thin aerosol layers are not so rare in the UTLS and can potentially trigger and impact cirrus cloud formation through heterogeneous ice nucleation. By altering the microphysical cloud properties, this could affect cloud evolution and lifetime, and thus their climate effect.
Brian Harr, Bing Pu, and Qinjian Jin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8625–8651, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8625-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8625-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We found that the formation of the extreme trans-Atlantic African dust event in June 2015 was associated with a brief surge in dust emissions over western North Africa and extreme circulation patterns, including intensified easterly jets, which facilitated the westward transport of dust. The dust plume modified radiative flux along its transport pathway but had minor impacts on air quality in the US due to the record-high Caribbean low-level jet advecting part of the plume to the Pacific.
James L. Gomez, Robert J. Allen, and King-Fai Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6937–6963, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6937-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6937-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Wildfires in California (CA) have grown very large during the past 20 years. These fires emit sunlight-absorbing aerosols. Analyzing observational data, our study finds that aerosols emitted from large fires in northern CA spread throughout CA and Nevada and heat the atmosphere. This heating is consistent with larger-than-normal temperatures and dry conditions. Further study is needed to determine how much the aerosols heat the atmosphere and whether they are drying the atmosphere as well.
Yuxuan Xing, Yang Chen, Shirui Yan, Xiaoyi Cao, Yong Zhou, Xueying Zhang, Tenglong Shi, Xiaoying Niu, Dongyou Wu, Jiecan Cui, Yue Zhou, Xin Wang, and Wei Pu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5199–5219, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5199-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5199-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigated the impact of dust storms from the Taklamakan Desert on surrounding high mountains and regional radiation balance. Using satellite data and simulations, researchers found that dust storms significantly darken the snow surface in the Tien Shan, Kunlun, and Qilian mountains, reaching mountains up to 1000 km away. This darkening occurs not only in spring but also during summer and autumn, leading to increased absorption of solar radiation.
Yuqin Liu, Tao Lin, Jiahua Zhang, Fu Wang, Yiyi Huang, Xian Wu, Hong Ye, Guoqin Zhang, Xin Cao, and Gerrit de Leeuw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4651–4673, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4651-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4651-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A new method, the geographical detector method (GDM), has been applied to satellite data, in addition to commonly used statistical methods, to study the sensitivity of cloud properties to aerosol over China. Different constraints for aerosol and cloud liquid water path apply over polluted and clean areas. The GDM shows that cloud parameters are more sensitive to combinations of parameters than to individual parameters, but confounding effects due to co-variation of parameters cannot be excluded.
Kangwen Sun, Guangyao Dai, Songhua Wu, Oliver Reitebuch, Holger Baars, Jiqiao Liu, and Suping Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4389–4409, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4389-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4389-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper investigates the correlation between marine aerosol optical properties and wind speeds over remote oceans using the spaceborne lidars ALADIN and CALIOP. Three remote ocean areas are selected. Pure marine aerosol optical properties at 355 nm are derived from ALADIN. The relationships between marine aerosol optical properties and wind speeds are analyzed within and above the marine atmospheric boundary layer, revealing the effect of wind speed on marine aerosols over remote oceans.
Jingting Huang, S. Marcela Loría-Salazar, Min Deng, Jaehwa Lee, and Heather A. Holmes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3673–3698, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3673-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3673-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Increased wildfire intensity has resulted in taller wildfire smoke plumes. We investigate the vertical structure of wildfire smoke plumes using aircraft lidar data and establish two effective smoke plume height metrics. Four novel satellite-based plume height products are evaluated for wildfires in the western US. Our results provide guidance on the strengths and limitations of these satellite products and set the stage for improved plume rise estimates by leveraging satellite products.
Piyushkumar N. Patel, Jonathan H. Jiang, Ritesh Gautam, Harish Gadhavi, Olga Kalashnikova, Michael J. Garay, Lan Gao, Feng Xu, and Ali Omar
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2861–2883, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2861-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2861-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Global measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are essential for understanding aerosol–cloud interactions and predicting climate change. To address this gap, we introduced a remote sensing algorithm that retrieves vertically resolved CCN number concentrations from airborne and spaceborne lidar systems. This innovation offers a global distribution of CCN concentrations from space, facilitating model evaluation and precise quantification of aerosol climate forcing.
Lorraine A. Remer, Robert C. Levy, and J. Vanderlei Martins
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2113–2127, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2113-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2113-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols are small liquid or solid particles suspended in the atmosphere, including smoke, particulate pollution, dust, and sea salt. Today, we rely on satellites viewing Earth's atmosphere to learn about these particles. Here, we speculate on the future to imagine how satellite viewing of aerosols will change. We expect more public and private satellites with greater capabilities, better ways to infer information from satellites, and merging of data with models.
Xiaoxia Shang, Antti Lipponen, Maria Filioglou, Anu-Maija Sundström, Mark Parrington, Virginie Buchard, Anton S. Darmenov, Ellsworth J. Welton, Eleni Marinou, Vassilis Amiridis, Michael Sicard, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, Mika Komppula, and Tero Mielonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1329–1344, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1329-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1329-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In June 2019, smoke particles from a Canadian wildfire event were transported to Europe. The long-range-transported smoke plumes were monitored with a spaceborne lidar and reanalysis models. Based on the aerosol mass concentrations estimated from the observations, the reanalysis models had difficulties in reproducing the amount and location of the smoke aerosols during the transport event. Consequently, more spaceborne lidar missions are needed for reliable monitoring of aerosol plumes.
Blake T. Sorenson, Jeffrey S. Reid, Jianglong Zhang, Robert E. Holz, William L. Smith Sr., and Amanda Gumber
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1231–1248, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1231-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1231-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Smoke particles are typically submicron in size and assumed to have negligible impacts at the thermal infrared spectrum. However, we show that infrared signatures can be observed over dense smoke plumes from satellites. We found that giant particles are unlikely to be the dominant cause. Rather, co-transported water vapor injected to the middle to upper troposphere and surface cooling beneath the plume due to shadowing are significant, with the surface cooling effect being the most dominant.
Farnaz Hosseinpour and Eric M. Wilcox
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 707–724, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-707-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-707-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows mechanistic relationships between the radiative effect of dust aerosols in the Saharan air layer and the kinetic energy of the African easterly waves across the tropical Atlantic Ocean using 22 years of daily satellite observations and reanalysis data based on satellite assimilation. Our findings suggest that dust aerosols not merely are transported by these waves but also contribute to the growth of waves through the enhancement of diabatic heating induced by dust.
Markus D. Petters, Tyas Pujiastuti, Ajmal Rasheeda Satheesh, Sabin Kasparoglu, Bethany Sutherland, and Nicholas Meskhidze
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 745–762, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-745-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-745-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work introduces a new method that uses remote sensing techniques to obtain surface number emissions of particles with a diameter greater than 500 nm. The technique was applied to study particle emissions at an urban site near Houston, TX, USA. The emissions followed a diurnal pattern and peaked near noon local time. The daily averaged emissions correlated with wind speed. The source is likely due to wind-driven erosion of material situated on asphalted and other hard surfaces.
Zhuang Wang, Chune Shi, Hao Zhang, Yujia Chen, Xiyuan Chi, Congzi Xia, Suyao Wang, Yizhi Zhu, Kaidi Zhang, Xintong Chen, Chengzhi Xing, and Cheng Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14271–14292, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14271-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The annual cycle of dust and anthropogenic aerosols' vertical distributions was revealed by polarization Raman lidar in Beijing. Anthropogenic aerosols typically accumulate at the top of the mixing layer (ML) due to the hygroscopic growth of atmospheric particles, and this is most significant in summer. There is no significant relationship between bottom dust mass concentration and ML height, while the dust in the upper air tends to be distributed near the mixing layer.
Simone Lolli, Michaël Sicard, Francesco Amato, Adolfo Comeron, Cristina Gíl-Diaz, Tony C. Landi, Constantino Munoz-Porcar, Daniel Oliveira, Federico Dios Otin, Francesc Rocadenbosch, Alejandro Rodriguez-Gomez, Andrés Alastuey, Xavier Querol, and Cristina Reche
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12887–12906, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12887-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12887-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluated the long-term trends and seasonal variability of the vertically resolved aerosol properties over the past 17 years in Barcelona. Results shows that air quality is improved, with a consistent drop in PM concentrations at the surface, as well as the column aerosol optical depth. The results also show that natural dust outbreaks are more likely in summer, with aerosols reaching an altitude of 5 km, while in winter, aerosols decay as an exponential with a scale height of 600 m.
Ludovico Di Antonio, Claudia Di Biagio, Gilles Foret, Paola Formenti, Guillaume Siour, Jean-François Doussin, and Matthias Beekmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12455–12475, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12455-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12455-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term (2000–2021) 1 km resolution satellite data have been used to investigate the climatological aerosol optical depth (AOD) variability and trends at different scales in Europe. Average enhancements of the local-to-regional AOD ratio at 550 nm of 57 %, 55 %, 39 % and 32 % are found for large metropolitan areas such as Barcelona, Lisbon, Paris and Athens, respectively, suggesting a non-negligible enhancement of the aerosol burden through local emissions.
Sebastien Garrigues, Melanie Ades, Samuel Remy, Johannes Flemming, Zak Kipling, Istvan Laszlo, Mark Parrington, Antje Inness, Roberto Ribas, Luke Jones, Richard Engelen, and Vincent-Henri Peuch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10473–10487, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10473-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10473-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides global monitoring of aerosols using the ECMWF forecast model constrained by the assimilation of satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD). This work aims at evaluating the assimilation of the NOAA VIIRS AOD product in the ECMWF model. It shows that the introduction of VIIRS in the CAMS data assimilation system enhances the accuracy of the aerosol analysis, particularly over Europe and desert and maritime sites.
Maria Filioglou, Ari Leskinen, Ville Vakkari, Ewan O'Connor, Minttu Tuononen, Pekko Tuominen, Samuli Laukkanen, Linnea Toiviainen, Annika Saarto, Xiaoxia Shang, Petri Tiitta, and Mika Komppula
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9009–9021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9009-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9009-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Pollen impacts climate and public health, and it can be detected in the atmosphere by lidars which measure the linear particle depolarization ratio (PDR), a shape-relevant optical parameter. As aerosols also cause depolarization, surface aerosol and pollen observations were combined with measurements from ground-based lidars operating at different wavelengths to determine the optical properties of birch and pine pollen and quantify their relative contribution to the PDR.
Jesús Abril-Gago, Pablo Ortiz-Amezcua, Diego Bermejo-Pantaleón, Juana Andújar-Maqueda, Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda, María José Granados-Muñoz, Francisco Navas-Guzmán, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Inmaculada Foyo-Moreno, and Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8453–8471, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8453-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8453-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Validation activities of Aeolus wind products were performed in Granada with different upward-probing instrumentation (Doppler lidar system and radiosondes) and spatiotemporal collocation criteria. Specific advantages and disadvantages of each instrument were identified, and an optimal comparison criterion is proposed. Aeolus was proven to provide reliable wind products, and the upward-probing instruments were proven to be useful for Aeolus wind product validation activities.
Jianyu Zheng, Zhibo Zhang, Hongbin Yu, Anne Garnier, Qianqian Song, Chenxi Wang, Claudia Di Biagio, Jasper F. Kok, Yevgeny Derimian, and Claire Ryder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8271–8304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8271-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a multi-year satellite-based retrieval of dust optical depth at 10 µm and the coarse-mode dust effective diameter over global oceans. It reveals climatological coarse-mode dust transport patterns and regional differences over the North Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and the North Pacific.
Shikuan Jin, Yingying Ma, Zhongwei Huang, Jianping Huang, Wei Gong, Boming Liu, Weiyan Wang, Ruonan Fan, and Hui Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8187–8210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8187-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8187-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To better understand the Asian aerosol environment, we studied distributions and trends of aerosol with different sizes and types. Over the past 2 decades, dust, sulfate, and sea salt aerosol decreased by 5.51 %, 3.07 %, and 9.80 %, whereas organic carbon and black carbon aerosol increased by 17.09 % and 6.23 %, respectively. The increase in carbonaceous aerosols was a feature of Asia. An exception is found in East Asia, where the carbonaceous aerosols reduced, owing largely to China's efforts.
Mukunda M. Gogoi, S. Suresh Babu, Ryoichi Imasu, and Makiko Hashimoto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8059–8079, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8059-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8059-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Considering the climate warming potential of atmospheric black carbon (BC), satellite-based retrieval is a novel idea. This study highlights the regional distribution of BC based on observations by the Cloud and Aerosol Imager-2 on board the GOSAT-2 satellite and near-surface measurements of BC in ARFINET. The satellite retrieval fairly depicts the regional and seasonal features of BC over the Indian region, which are similar to those recorded by surface observations.
Hao Fan, Xingchuan Yang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Yikun Yang, and Zhenyao Shen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7781–7798, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7781-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7781-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using 20-year multi-source data, this study shows pronounced regional and seasonal variations in fire activities and emissions. Seasonal variability of fires is larger with increasing latitude. The increase in temperature in the Northern Hemisphere's middle- and high-latitude forest regions was primarily responsible for the increase in fires and emissions, while the changes in fire occurrence in tropical regions were more influenced by the decrease in precipitation and relative humidity.
Rosemary Huck, Robert G. Bryant, and James King
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6299–6318, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6299-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6299-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that mineral aerosol (dust) emission events in high-latitude areas are under-represented in both ground- and space-based detecting methods. This is done through a suite of ground-based data to prove that dust emissions from the proglacial area, Lhù’ààn Mân, occur almost daily but are not always recorded at different timescales. Dust has multiple effects on atmospheric processes; therefore, accurate quantification is important in the calibration and validation of climate models.
Michail Mytilinaios, Sara Basart, Sergio Ciamprone, Juan Cuesta, Claudio Dema, Enza Di Tomaso, Paola Formenti, Antonis Gkikas, Oriol Jorba, Ralph Kahn, Carlos Pérez García-Pando, Serena Trippetta, and Lucia Mona
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5487–5516, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5487-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5487-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Multiscale Online Non-hydrostatic AtmospheRe CHemistry model (MONARCH) dust reanalysis provides a high-resolution 3D reconstruction of past dust conditions, allowing better quantification of climate and socioeconomic dust impacts. We assess the performance of the reanalysis needed to reproduce dust optical depth using dust-related products retrieved from satellite and ground-based observations and show that it reproduces the spatial distribution and seasonal variability of atmospheric dust well.
Jacob Z. Tindan, Qinjian Jin, and Bing Pu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5435–5466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5435-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5435-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We use the Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Interferometer (IASI) retrievals of dust variables (dust optical depth and dust layer height) and surface observations to understand the day- and nighttime variations in dust aerosols over the dust belt. Our results show that daytime dust aerosols are significantly different from nighttime, and such day–night variations are influenced by meteorological factors such as wind speed, precipitation, and turbulent motions within the atmospheric boundary layer.
Ross Herbert and Philip Stier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4595–4616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4595-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4595-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We provide robust evidence from multiple sources showing that smoke from fires in the Amazon rainforest significantly modifies the diurnal cycle of convection and cools the climate. Low to moderate amounts of smoke increase deep convective clouds and rain, whilst beyond a threshold amount, the smoke starts to suppress the convection and rain. We are currently at this threshold, suggesting increases in fires from agricultural practices or droughts will reduce cloudiness and rain over the region.
Yue Huang, Jasper F. Kok, Masanori Saito, and Olga Muñoz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2557–2577, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2557-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2557-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Global aerosol models and remote sensing retrievals use dust optical models with inconsistent and inaccurate dust shape approximations. Here, we present a new dust optical model constrained by measured dust shape distributions. This new dust optical model is an improvement on the current dust optical models used in models and retrieval algorithms, as quantified by comparisons against laboratory and field observations of dust optics.
Konstantinos Michailidis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Dimitris Balis, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Martin de Graaf, Lucia Mona, Nikolaos Papagianopoulos, Gesolmina Pappalardo, Ioanna Tsikoudi, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Anna Gialitaki, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Daniele Bortoli, Maria João Costa, Vanda Salgueiro, Alexandros Papayannis, Maria Mylonaki, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Salvatore Romano, Maria Rita Perrone, and Holger Baars
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1919–1940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Comparisons with ground-based correlative lidar measurements constitute a key component in the validation of satellite aerosol products. This paper presents the validation of the TROPOMI aerosol layer height (ALH) product, using archived quality assured ground-based data from lidar stations that belong to the EARLINET network. Comparisons between the TROPOMI ALH and co-located EARLINET measurements show good agreement over the ocean.
María Ángeles López-Cayuela, Carmen Córdoba-Jabonero, Diego Bermejo-Pantaleón, Michaël Sicard, Vanda Salgueiro, Francisco Molero, Clara Violeta Carvajal-Pérez, María José Granados-Muñoz, Adolfo Comerón, Flavio T. Couto, Rubén Barragán, María-Paz Zorzano, Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda, Constantino Muñoz-Porcar, María João Costa, Begoña Artíñano, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, Daniele Bortoli, Manuel Pujadas, Jesús Abril-Gago, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, and Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 143–161, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-143-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-143-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
An intense Saharan dust outbreak crossing the Iberian Peninsula in springtime was monitored to determinine the specific contribution of fine and coarse dust particles at five lidar stations, strategically covering its SW–central–NE pathway. Expected dust ageing along the transport started unappreciated. A different fine-dust impact on optical (~30 %) and mass (~10 %) properties was found. Use of polarized lidar measurements (mainly in elastic systems) for fine/coarse dust separation is crucial.
Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Antonis Gkikas, Ilias Fountoulakis, Akriti Masoom, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15703–15727, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15703-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15703-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Megacities' air quality is determined by atmospheric aerosols. We focus on changes over the last two decades in the 81 largest cities, using satellite data. European and American cities have lower aerosol compared to African and Asian cities. For European, North American and East Asian cities, aerosols are decreasing over time, especially in China and the US. In the remaining cities, aerosol loads are increasing, particularly in India.
Nilton Évora do Rosário, Elisa Thomé Sena, and Marcia Akemi Yamasoe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15021–15033, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15021-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15021-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The 2020 burning season in Brazil was marked by an atypically high number of fire spots across Pantanal, leading to high amounts of smoke within the biome. This study shows that smoke over Pantanal, usually a fraction of that over Amazonia, was higher and resulted mainly from fires in conservation and indigenous areas. It also contributes to highlighting Pantanal's 2020 burning season as the worst combination of a climate extreme scenario and inadequately enforced environmental regulations.
Santiago Gassó and Kirk D. Knobelspiesse
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13581–13605, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13581-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13581-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric particles interact with light resulting in observable optical polarization. Thus, we can learn about their composition from space. New satellite sensor technology measures full polarization of reflected sunlight. This paper considers circular polarization, an overlooked category of polarization with distinctive features that could bring new insights. We review existing literature and make novel computations to consider this previously underappreciated category of polarization.
Qingyang Xiao, Guannan Geng, Shigan Liu, Jiajun Liu, Xia Meng, and Qiang Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13229–13242, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13229-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13229-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We provided complete coverage PM2.5 concentrations at a 1-km resolution from 2000 to the present, carefully considering the significant changes in land use characteristics in China. This high-resolution PM2.5 data successfully revealed the local-scale PM2.5 variations. We noticed changes in PM2.5 spatial patterns in association with the clean air policies, with the pollution hotspots having transferred from urban centers to rural regions with limited air quality monitoring.
Johannes Quaas, Hailing Jia, Chris Smith, Anna Lea Albright, Wenche Aas, Nicolas Bellouin, Olivier Boucher, Marie Doutriaux-Boucher, Piers M. Forster, Daniel Grosvenor, Stuart Jenkins, Zbigniew Klimont, Norman G. Loeb, Xiaoyan Ma, Vaishali Naik, Fabien Paulot, Philip Stier, Martin Wild, Gunnar Myhre, and Michael Schulz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12221–12239, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12221-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12221-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Pollution particles cool climate and offset part of the global warming. However, they are washed out by rain and thus their effect responds quickly to changes in emissions. We show multiple datasets to demonstrate that aerosol emissions and their concentrations declined in many regions influenced by human emissions, as did the effects on clouds. Consequently, the cooling impact on the Earth energy budget became smaller. This change in trend implies a relative warming.
Ukkyo Jeong, Si-Chee Tsay, N. Christina Hsu, David M. Giles, John W. Cooper, Jaehwa Lee, Robert J. Swap, Brent N. Holben, James J. Butler, Sheng-Hsiang Wang, Somporn Chantara, Hyunkee Hong, Donghee Kim, and Jhoon Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11957–11986, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11957-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11957-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Ultraviolet (UV) measurements from satellite and ground are important for deriving information on several atmospheric trace and aerosol characteristics. Simultaneous retrievals of aerosol and trace gases in this study suggest that water uptake by aerosols is one of the important phenomena affecting aerosol properties over northern Thailand, which is important for regional air quality and climate. Obtained aerosol properties covering the UV are also important for various satellite algorithms.
Abdulaziz Tunde Yakubu and Naven Chetty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11065–11087, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11065-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11065-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study examined the source of atmospheric aerosols and their role in forming clouds and rainfall over South Africa. The research provided answers to the cause of low precipitation, mainly linked to drought and water shortages experienced over the region. Further insight into the cause of occasional flooding that occurs in other parts of the area is provided. Finally, the study described the relationship between aerosol–cloud precipitation based on observation over the region.
África Barreto, Rosa D. García, Carmen Guirado-Fuentes, Emilio Cuevas, A. Fernando Almansa, Celia Milford, Carlos Toledano, Francisco J. Expósito, Juan P. Díaz, and Sergio F. León-Luis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11105–11124, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11105-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11105-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A comprehensive characterization of atmospheric aerosols in the subtropical eastern North Atlantic has been carried out in this paper using long-term ground AERONET photometric observations over the period 2005–2020 from a unique network made up of four stations strategically located from sea level to 3555 m height on the island of Tenerife. This is a region that can be considered a key location to study the seasonal dependence of dust transport from the Sahel-Sahara.
Xiaoxi Zhao, Kan Huang, Joshua S. Fu, and Sabur F. Abdullaev
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10389–10407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10389-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10389-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Long-range transport of Asian dust to the Arctic was considered an important source of Arctic air pollution. Different transport routes to the Arctic had divergent effects on the evolution of aerosol properties. Depositions of long-range-transported dust particles can reduce the Arctic surface albedo considerably. This study implied that the ubiquitous long-transport dust from China exerted considerable aerosol indirect effects on the Arctic and may have potential biogeochemical significance.
Cited articles
Altaratz, O., Koren, I., Yair, Y., and Price, C.: Lightning response to smoke from Amazonian fires, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L07801, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL042679, 2010.
Altaratz, O., Kucienska, B., Kostinski, A., Raga, G. B., and Koren, I.: Global association of aerosol with flash density of intense lightning, Environ. Res. Lett., 12, 114037, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa922b, 2017.
Andreae, M. O.: Biomass burning: its history, use, and distribution and its impact, in: Global Biomass Burning: Atmospheric, Climatic, and Biospheric Implications, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 3–21, 1991.
Andreae, M. O.: Correlation between cloud condensation nuclei concentration and aerosol optical thickness in remote and polluted regions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 543–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-543-2009, 2009.
Bang, S. D. and Zipser, E. J.: Seeking reasons for the differences in size spectra of electrified storms over land and ocean, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 9048–9068, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025150, 2016.
Bell, T. L., Rosenfeld, D., Kim, K. M., Yoo, J. M., Lee, M. I., and Hahnenberger, M.: Midweek increase in US summer rain and storm heights suggests air pollution invigorates rainstorms, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D02209, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD008623, 2008.
Bell, T. L., Rosenfeld, D., and Kim, K. M.: Weekly cycle of lightning: evidence of storm invigoration by pollution, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L23805, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL040915, 2009.
Betz, H. D., Schumann, U., and Laroche, P.: Lightning: Principles, Instruments and Applications: Review of Modern Lightning Research, Springer Science & Business Media, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9079-0_1, 2009.
Boccippio, D. J.: Lightning scaling relations revisited, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 1086–1104, doi:10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<1086:LSRR>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Boccippio, D. J., Goodman, S. J., and Heckman, S.: Regional differences in tropical lightning distributions, J. Appl. Meteorol., 39, 2231–2248, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2001)040<2231:RDITLD>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Boucher, O., Randall, D., Artaxo, P., Bretherton, C., Feingold, G., Forster, P., Kerminen, V.-M., Kondo, Y., Liao, H., Lohmann, U., Rasch, P., Satheesh, S. K., Sherwood, S., Stevens, B., and Zhang, X. Y.: Clouds and Aerosols. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by: Stocker, T. F., Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor, M., Allen, S. K., Boschung, J., Nauels, A., Xia, Y., Bex, V., and Midgley, P. M., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 2013.
Burpee, R. W.: The origin and structure of easterly waves in the lower troposphere of North Africa, J. Atmos. Sci., 29, 77–90, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1972)029<0077:TOASOE>2.0.CO;2, 1972.
Cecil, D. J.: LIS/OTD 2.5 Degree Low Resolution Diurnal Climatology (LRDC). Dataset available online from the NASA Global Hydrology Center DAAC, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, doi:10.5067/LIS/LIS-OTD/DATA307, 2001.
Cecil, D. J.: LIS/OTD 2.5 Degree Low Resolution Monthly Climatology Time Series (LRMTS). Dataset available online from the NASA Global Hydrology Center DAAC, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, doi:10.5067/LIS/LIS-OTD/DATA309, 2006.
Cecil, D. J., Buechler, D. E., and Blakeslee, R. J.: Gridded lightning climatology from TRMM-LIS and OTD: dataset description, Atmos. Res., 135, 404–414, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2012.06.028, 2014.
Chakraborty, S., Schiro, K. A., Fu, R., and Neelin, J. D.: On the role of aerosols, humidity, and vertical wind shear in the transition of shallow-to-deep convection at the Green Ocean Amazon 2014/5 site, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11135–11148, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11135-2018, 2018.
Christian, H. J., Blakeslee, R. J., Boccippio, D. J., Boeck, W. L., Buechler, D. E., Driscoll, K. T., Goodman, S. J., Hall, J. M., Koshak, W. J., and Mach, D. M.: Global frequency and distribution of lightning as observed from space by the Optical Transient Detector, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, ACL-4, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002347, 2003.
Coniglio, M. C., Stensrud, D. J., and Wicker, L. J.: Effects of upper-level shear on the structure and maintenance of strong quasi-linear mesoscale convective systems, J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 1231–1252, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS3681.1, 2006.
da Silva, A. M., Randles, C. A., Buchard, V., Darmenov, A., Colarco, P. R., and Govindaraju, R.: File Specification for the MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero). GMAO Office Note No. 7, available at: http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/pubs/office_notes, 2015.
Dee, D. P., Uppala, S., Simmons, A., Berrisford, P., Poli, P., Kobayashi, S., Andrae, U., Balmaseda, M., Balsamo, G., and Bauer, P.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 137, 553–597, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.828, 2011.
Derbyshire, S. H., Beau, I., Bechtold, P., Grandpeix, J. Y., Piriou, J. M., Redelsperger, J. L., and Soares, P. M. M.: Sensitivity of moist convection to environmental humidity, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 130, 3055–3079, 2004.
Fan, J., Zhang, R., Li, G., and Tao, W. K.: Effects of aerosols and relative humidity on cumulus clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 112, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD008136, 2007.
Fan, J., Zhang, R., Tao, W. K., and Mohr, K.: Effects of aerosol optical properties on deep convective clouds and radiative forcing, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D08209, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009257, 2008.
Fan, J., Yuan, T., Comstock, J. M., Ghan, S., Khain, A., Leung, L. R., Li, Z., Martins, V. J., and Ovchinnikov, M.: Dominant role by vertical wind shear in regulating aerosol effects on deep convective clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D22206, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012352, 2009.
Fan, J., Leung, L. R., Rosenfeld, D., Chen, Q., Li, Z., Zhang, J., and Yan, H.: Microphysical effects determine macrophysical response for aerosol impacts on deep convective clouds, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 110, E4581–E4590, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1316830110, 2013.
Fan, J., Wang, Y., Rosenfeld, D., and Liu, X.: Review of aerosol-cloud interactions: mechanisms, significance and challenges, J. Atmos. Sci., 73, 4221–4252, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-16-0037.1, 2016.
Fan, J., Rosenfeld, D., Zhang, Y., Giangrande, S. E., Li, Z., Machado, L. A., and Barbosa, H. M.: Substantial convection and precipitation enhancements by ultrafine aerosol particles, Science, 359, 411–418, 2018.
Feingold, G. and Morley, B.: Aerosol hygroscopic properties as measured by lidar and comparison with in situ measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, 4327, doi:10.1029/2002JD002842, 2003.
Goudie, A. and Middleton, N.: Saharan dust storms: nature and consequences, Earth-Sci. Rev., 56, 179–204, doi:10.1016/S0012-8252(01)00067-8, 2001.
Guo, J., Deng, M., Lee, S. S., Wang, F., Li, Z., Zhai, P., Liu, H., Lv, W., Yao, W., and Li, X.: Delaying precipitation and lightning by air pollution over the Pearl River Delta. Part I: Observational analyses, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 6472–6488, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD023257, 2016.
Hintze, J. L. and Nelson, R. D.: Violin plots: a box plot-density trace synergism, Am. Stat., 52, 181–184, https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.1998.10480559, 1998.
Homeyer, C. R., Schumacher, C., and Hopper Jr., L. J.: Assessing the applicability of the tropical convective–stratiform paradigm in the extratropics using radar divergence profiles, J. Climate, 27, 6673–6686, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00561.1, 2014.
Huang, J., Wang, T., Wang, W., Li, Z., and Yan, H.: Climate effects of dust aerosols over East Asian arid and semiarid regions, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 11398–11416, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021796, 2014a.
Huang, J., Li, Y., Fu, C., Chen, F., Fu, Q., Dai, A., Shinoda, M., Ma, Z., Guo, W., Li, Z., Zhang, L., Liu, Y., Yu, H., He, Y., Xie, Y., Guan, X., Ji, M., Lin, L., Wang, S., Yan, H., and Wang, G.: Dryland climate change recent progress and challenges, Rev. Geophys., 55, 719–778, doi:10.1002/2016RG000550, 2014b.
Hubanks, P., Platnick, S., King, M., and Ridgway, B.: MODIS Atmosphere L3 gridded product algorithm theoretical basis document (atbd) & users guide, ATBD reference number ATBD-MOD-30, NASA, 125, 2015.
Ichoku, C., Ellison, L. T., Willmot, K. E., Matsui, T., Dezfuli, A. K., Gatebe, C. K., Wang, J., Wilcox, E. M., Lee, J., and Adegoke, J.: Biomass burning, land-cover change, and the hydrological cycle in Northern sub-Saharan Africa, Environ. Res. Lett., 11, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095005, 2016.
Igel, M. R. and van den Heever, S. C.: The relative influence of environmental characteristics on tropical deep convective morphology as observed by CloudSat, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 120, 4304–4322, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD022690, 2015.
Jayaratne, E. R. and Kuleshov. Y.: The relationship between lightning activity and surface wet bulb temperature and its variation with latitude in Australia, Meteorol. Atmos. Phys., 91, 17–24, 2006.
Kaufman, Y. J., Tanre, D., Holben, B., Mattoo, S., Remer, L., Eck, T., Vaughan, J., and Chatenet, B.: Aerosol radiative impact on spectral solar flux at the surface, derived from principal-plane sky measurements, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 635–646, doi:10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<0635:ARIOSS>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Kaufman, Y. J., Koren, I., Remer, L. A., Rosenfeld, D., and Rudich, Y.: The effect of smoke, dust, and pollution aerosol on shallow cloud development over the Atlantic Ocean, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102, 11207–11212, 2005.
Khain, A. P.: Notes on state-of-art investigation of aerosol effects on precipitation: a critical review, Environ. Res. Lett., 4, 015004, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/1/015004, 2009.
Khain, A., Pokrovsky, A., Pinsky, M., Seifert, A., and Phillips, V.: Simulation of effects of atmospheric aerosols on deep turbulent convective clouds using a spectral microphysics mixed-phase cumulus cloud model. Part I: Model description and possible applications, J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 2963–2982, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-3350.1, 2004.
Khain, A., Rosenfeld, D., and Pokrovsky, A.: Aerosol impact on the dynamics and microphysics of deep convective clouds, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 131, 2639–2663, https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.04.62, 2005.
Khain, A., BenMoshe, N., and Pokrovsky, A.: Factors determining the impact of aerosols on surface precipitation from clouds: an attempt at classification, J. Atmos. Sci., 65, 1721–1748, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAS2515.1, 2008.
Klein, W. H. and Walsh, J. E.: A comparison of pointwise screening and empirical orthogonal functions in specifying monthly surface temperature from 700 mb data, Mon. Weather Rev., 111, 669–673, 1983.
Knaff, J. A.: Implications of summertime sea level pressure anomalies in the tropical Atlantic region, J. Climate, 10, 789–804, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1997)010<0789:IOSSLP>2.0.CO;2, 1997.
Koren, I., Kaufman, Y. J., Remer, L. A., and J. V. Martins, J. V.: Measurement of the effect of Amazon smoke on inhibition of cloud formation, Science, 303, 1342–1345, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1089424, 2004.
Koren, I., Martins, J. V., Remer, L. A., and Afargan, H.: Smoke invigoration versus inhibition of clouds over the Amazon, Science, 321, 946–949, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1159185, 2008.
Koren, I., Altaratz, O., Remer, L. A., Feingold, G., Martins, J. V., and Heiblum, R. H.: Aerosol-induced intensification of rain from the tropics to the mid-latitudes, Nat. Geosci., 5, 118–122, 2012.
Lee, S. S., Guo, J., and Li, Z.: Delaying precipitation by air pollution over the Pearl River Delta. Part 2. Model simulations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 11739–11760, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024362, 2016.
Lemaître, C., Flamant, C., Cuesta, J., Raut, J.-C., Chazette, P., Formenti, P., and Pelon, J.: Radiative heating rates profiles associated with a springtime case of Bodélé and Sudan dust transport over West Africa, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 8131–8150, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-8131-2010, 2010.
Levy, R., Mattoo, S., Munchak, L., Remer, L., Sayer, A., Patadia, F., and Hsu, N.: The Collection 6 MODIS aerosol products over land and ocean, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2989–3034, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2989-2013, 2013.
Li, Z., Lau, W. M., Ramanathan, V., Wu, G., Ding, Y., Manoj, M., Liu, J., Qian, Y., Li, J., and Zhou, T.: Aerosol and monsoon climate interactions over Asia, Rev. Geophys., 54, 866–929, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015RG000500, 2016.
Li, Z., Guo, J., Ding, A., Liao, H., Liu, J., Sun, Y., Wang, T., Xue, H., Zhang, H., and Zhu, B.: Aerosol and boundary-layer interactions and impact on air quality, Natl. Sci. Rev., 4, 810–833, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwx117, 2017a.
Li, Z., Rosenfeld, D., and Fan, J.: Aerosols and their impact on radiation, clouds, precipitation, and severe weather events, Oxford Research Encyclopedias, No. PNNL-SA-124900, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.126, 2017b.
Lucas, C., Zipser, E. J., and Lemone, M. A.: Vertical velocity in oceanic convection off tropical Australia, J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 3183–3193, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1994)051<3183:VVIOCO>2.0.CO;2, 1994.
Mansell, E. R. and Ziegler, C. L.: Aerosol effects on simulated storm electrification and precipitation in a two-moment bulk microphysics model, J. Atmos. Sci., 70, 2032–2050, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-0264.1, 2013.
Mapes, B. and Houze Jr., R. A.: An integrated view of the 1987 Australin monsoon and its mesoscale convective systems. II: Vertical structure, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 119, 733–754, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49711951207, 1993.
Mapes, B. E. and Houze Jr., R. A.: Diabatic divergence profiles in western Pacific mesoscale convective systems, J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 1807–1828, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1995)052<1807:DDPIWP>2.0.CO;2, 1995.
Markson, R.: Ionospheric potential variation from temperature change over continents, XII International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity, Versailles, France, 9–13 June, 2003.
Markson, R.: The global circuit intensity – its measurement and variation over the last 50 years, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 88, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-88-2-223, 2007.
Menon, S., Hansen, J., Nazarenko, L., and Luo, Y.: Climate effects of black carbon aerosols in China and India, Science, 297, 2250–2253, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1075159, 2002.
Michalon, N., Nassif, A., Saouri, T., Royer, J. F., and Pontikis, C.: Contribution to the climatological study of lightning, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 3097–3100, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL010837, 1999.
Mitovski, T., Folkins, I., Von Salzen, K., and Sigmond, M.: Temperature, relative humidity, and divergence response to high rainfall events in the tropics: observations and models, J. Climate, 23, 3613–3625, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JCLI3436.1, 2010.
Nesbitt, S. W. and Zipser, E. J.: The diurnal cycle of rainfall and convective intensity according to three years of TRMM measurements, J. Climate, 16, 1456–1475, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442-16.10.1456, 2003.
Orville, R. E., Huffines, G., Nielsen-Gammon, J., Zhang, R., Ely, B., Steiger, S., Phillips, S., Allen, S., and Read, W.: Enhancement of cloud-to-ground lightning over Houston, Texas, Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 2597–2600, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL012990, 2001.
Pearson, K.: Mathematical contributions to the theory of evolution. III. Regression, heredity and panmixia, Philos. T. R. Soc. Lond. S-A, 187, 253–318, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1896.0007, 1896.
Platnick, S., King, M. D., Ackerman, S. A., Menzel, W. P., Baum, B. A., Riedi, J. C., and Frey, R. A.: The MODIS cloud products: Algorithms and examples from Terra, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 41, 459–473, 2003.
Price, C.: Global surface temperatures and the atmospheric electrical circuit, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 1363–1366, https://doi.org/10.1029/93GL01774, 1993.
Prospero, J. M., Ginoux, P., Torres, O., Nicholson, S. E., and Gill, T. E.: Environmental characterization of global sources of atmospheric soil dust derived from the Nimbus 7 TOMS absorbing aerosol product, Rev. Geophys., 40, 1002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000RG000095, 2002.
Redelsperger, J. L., Parsons, D. B., and Guichard, F.: Recovery processes and factors limiting cloud-top height following the arrival of a dry intrusion observed during TOGA COARE, J. Atoms. Sci, 59, 2438–2457, 2002.
Reeve, N. and Toumi, R.: Lightning activity as an indicator of climate change, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 125, 893–903, 1999.
Richardson, Y. P., Droegemeier, K. K., and Davies-Jones, R. P.: The influence of horizontal environmental variability on numerically simulated convective storms. Part I: Variations in vertical shear, Mon. Weather Rev., 135, 3429–3455, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR3463.1, 2007.
Riemann-Campe, K., Fraedrich, K., and Lunkeit, F.: Global climatology of convective available potential energy (CAPE) and convective inhibition (CIN) in ERA-40 reanalysis, Atmos. Res., 93, 534–545, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2008.09.037, 2009.
Roberts, G., Wooster, M. J., and Lagoudakis, E.: Annual and diurnal african biomass burning temporal dynamics, Biogeosciences, 6, 849-866, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-6-849-2009, 2009.
Rosenfeld, D. and Lensky, I. M.: Satellite-based insights into precipitation formation processes in continental and maritime convective clouds, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 79, 2457–2476, doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1998)079<2457:SBIIPF>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Rosenfeld, D., Rudich, Y., and Lahav, R.: Desert dust suppressing precipitation: a possible desertification feedback loop, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 98, 5975–5980, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.101122798, 2001.
Rosenfeld, D., Lohmann, U., Raga, G. B., O'Dowd, C. D., Kulmala, M., Fuzzi, S., Reissell, A., and Andreae, M. O.: Flood or drought: How do aerosols affect precipitation?, Science, 321, 1309–1313, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1160606, 2008.
Rotunno, R., Klemp, J. B., and Weisman, M. L.: A theory for strong, long-lived squall lines, J. Atmos. Sci., 45, 463–485, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2004)061<0361:ATFSLS>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Shao, Y.: Physics and Modelling of Wind Erosion, Springer Science & Business Media, 37, 2008.
Stolz, D. C., Rutledge, S. A., and Pierce, J. R.: Simultaneous influences of thermodynamics and aerosols on deep convection and lightning in the tropics, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 120, 6207–6231, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD023033, 2015.
Stolz, D. C., Rutledge, S. A., Pierce, J. R., and van den Heever, S. C.: A global lightning parameterization based on statistical relationships among environmental factors, aerosols, and convective clouds in the TRMM climatology, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 7461–7492, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD026220, 2017.
Takemi, T.: A sensitivity of squall-line intensity to environmental static stability under various shear and moisture conditions, Atoms. Res., 84, 374–389, doi:10.1016/j.atmossres.2006.10.001, 2007.
Tao, W. K., Chen, J. P., Li, Z. Q., Wang, C., and Zhang, C. D.: Impact of aerosols on convective clouds and precipitation, Rev. Geophys., 50, RG2001, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011rg000369, 2012.
Thornton, J. A., Virts, K. S., Holzworth, R. H., and Mitchell, T. P.: Lightning enhancement over major oceanic shipping lanes, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 9102–9111, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074982, 2017.
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Collatz, G. J., and Giglio, L.: Carbon emissions from fires in tropical and subtropical ecosystems, Global Change Biol., 9, 547–562, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00604.x, 2003.
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Giglio, L., Collatz, G. J., Kasibhatla, P. S., and Arellano Jr., A. F.: Interannual variability in global biomass burning emissions from 1997 to 2004, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 3423–3441, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-3423-2006, 2006.
Venevsky, S.: Importance of aerosols for annual lightning production at global scale, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 14, 4303–3325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-14-4303-2014, 2014.
Waliser, D. E. and Gautier, C.: A satellite-derived climatology of the ITCZ, J. Climate, 6, 2162–2174, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1993)006<2162:ASDCOT>2.0.CO;2, 1993.
Wall, C., Zipser, E., and Liu, C.: An investigation of the aerosol indirect effect on convective intensity using satellite observations, J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 430–447, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-13-0158.1, 2014.
Wang, F., Guo, J., Zhang, J., Huang, J., Min, M., Chen, T., Liu, H., Deng, M., and Li, X.: Multi-sensor quantification of aerosol-induced variability in warm cloud properties over eastern China, Atmos. Environ., 113, 1–9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.04.063, 2015.
Weisman, M. L. and Klemp, J. B.: The dependence of numerically simulated convective storms on vertical wind shear and buoyancy, Mon.Weather Rev., 110, 504–520, https://doi.org/ 10.1175/1520-0493(1982)110<0504:TDONSC>2.0.CO;2, 1982.
Weisman, M. L., and Rotunno, R.: “A theory for strong long-lived squall lines” revisited, J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 361–382, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2004)061<0361:ATFSLS>2.0.CO;2, 2004.
Westcott, N. E.: Summertime cloud-to-ground lightning activity around major midwestern urban areas, J. Appl. Meteorol., 34, 1633–1642, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450-34.7.1633, 1995.
Williams, E. R.: The Schumann resonance: a global tropical thermometer, Science, 256, 1184–1187, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.256.5060.1184, 1992.
Williams, E. R.: Global circuit response to seasonal variations in global surface air temperature, Mon. Weather Rev., 122, 1917–1929, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1994)122<1917:GCRTSV>2.0.CO;2, 1994.
Williams, E. R.: Global circuit response to temperature on distinct time scales: a status report, Atmospheric and Ionospheric Phenomena Associated with Earthquakes, edited by: Hayakawa, M., 939–949, Terra Sci., Tokyo, 1999.
Williams, E. R.: Lightning and climate: a review, Atmos. Res., 76, 272–287, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2004.11.014, 2005.
Williams, E. R. and Stanfill, S.: The physical origin of the land–ocean contrast in lightning activity, C. R. Phys., 3, 1277–1292, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1631-0705(02)01407-X, 2002.
Williams, E. R. and Satori, G.: Lightning, thermodynamic and hydrological comparison of the two tropical continental chimneys, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phy., 66, 1213–1231, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2004.05.015, 2004.
Williams, E. R., Rothkin, K., Stevenson, D., and Boccippio, D.: Global lightning variations caused by changes in thundersotmr flash rate and by changes in the number of thunderstorms, J. Appl. Meteorol., 39, 2223–2230, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2001)040<2223:GLVCBC>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Williams, E. R., Rosenfeld, D., Madden, N., Gerlach., J., and Avelino, E.: Comparison convective regimes over the Amazon: implications for cloud electrification, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 107, 8082, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000380, 2002.
Williams, E. R., Chan, T., and Boccippio, D.: Islands as miniature continents: another look at the land-ocean lightning contrast, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD003833, 2004.
Williams, E. R., Mushtak, V., Rosenfeld, D., Goodman, S., and Boccippio, D.: Thermodynamic conditions favorable to superlative thunderstorm updraft, mixed phase microphysics and lightning flash rate, Atmos. Res., 76, 288–306, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2004.11.009, 2005.
Xiong, Y. J., Qie, X. S., Zhou, Y. J., Yuan, T., and Zhang, T. L.: Regional response of lightning activities to relative humidity of the surface, Chin. J. Geophys., 49, 311–318, 2006.
Yuan, T., Remer, L. A., Pickering, K. E., and Yu, H.: Observational evidence of aerosol enhancement of lightning activity and convective invigoration, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L04701, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL046052, 2011.
Zhang, G. J.: Effects of entrainment on convective available potential energy and closure assumptions in convection parameterization, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D07109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010976, 2009.
Zhao, C., Tie, X., and Lin, Y.: A possible positive feedback of reduction of precipitation and increase in aerosols over eastern central China, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L11814, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL025959, 2006.
Zipser, E. J. and Lutz, K. R.: The vertical profile of radar reflectivity of convective cells: a strong indicator of storm intensity and lightning probability?, Mon. Weather Rev., 122, 1751–1759, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1994)122<1751:TVPORR>2.0.CO;2, 1994.
Short summary
Based on 11-year data of lightning flashes, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and composion, and meteorological variables, we investigated the roles of aerosol and meteorological variables in lightning. Pronounced differences in lightning were found between clean and polluted conditions. Systematic changes of boomerang shape were found in lightning frequency with AOD, with a turning point around AOD = 0.3, beyond which lightning activity is saturated for smoke aerosols but always suppressed by dust.
Based on 11-year data of lightning flashes, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and composion, and...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint