Cloud adjustments from large-scale smoke–circulation interactions strongly modulate the southeastern Atlantic stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition

Diamond, Michael S.; Saide, Pablo E.; Zuidema, Paquita; Ackerman, Andrew S.; Doherty, Sarah J.; Fridlind, Ann M.; Gordon, Hamish; Howes, Calvin; Kazil, Jan; Yamaguchi, Takanobu; Zhang, Jianhao; Feingold, Graham; Wood, Robert

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022

Articles | Volume 22, issue 18

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

New observations and related modelling studies of the aerosol–cloud–climate...

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 18

Research article

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19 Sep 2022

Research article | Highlight paper |

| 19 Sep 2022

Cloud adjustments from large-scale smoke–circulation interactions strongly modulate the southeastern Atlantic stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition

Michael S. Diamond, Pablo E. Saide, Paquita Zuidema, Andrew S. Ackerman, Sarah J. Doherty, Ann M. Fridlind, Hamish Gordon, Calvin Howes, Jan Kazil, Takanobu Yamaguchi, Jianhao Zhang, Graham Feingold, and Robert Wood

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022-supplement

Data sets

Suite of Aerosol, Cloud, and Related Data Acquired Aboard P3 During ORACLES 2017, Version 2 ORACLES Science Team https://doi.org/10.5067/Suborbital/ORACLES/P3/2017_V2

CLARIFY: in-situ airborne observations by the FAAM BAE-146 aircraft Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements, Natural Environment Research Council, and Met Office http://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/38ab7089781a4560b067dd6c20af3769

ORACLES NASA Ames Research Center https://cloud1.arc.nasa.gov/oracles/data/

Layered Atlantic Smoke Interactions with Clouds (LASIC) ARM https://www.arm.gov/research/campaigns/amf2016lasic

Measurement of refractory black carbon (rBC) using the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) ARM Archive User Services https://iop.archive.arm.gov/arm-iop/2016/asi/lasic/sedlacek-sp2/

Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (AOSUHSAS), 2017-08-01 to 2017-08-31 ARM user facility https://doi.org/10.5439/1333828

Updated hourly. Balloon-Borne Sounding System (SONDEWNPN), 2016-04-29 to 2017-11-01, ARM Mobile Facility (ASI) Airport Site, Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean, Supplemental Site (S1) ARM user facility https://doi.org/10.5439/1021460

Model code and software

WRF Source Code Registration and Download University Corporation for Atmospheric Research https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/wrf/users/download/get_sources_new.php

wrf-python (Version 1.3.2.) W. Ladwig https://doi.org/10.5065/D6W094P1

Cloud Resolving Modeling of the ARM Summer 1997 IOP: Model Formulation, Results, Uncertainties, and Sensitivities (http://rossby.msrc.sunysb.edu/~marat/SAM.html) M. F. Khairoutdinov and D. A. Randall https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2003)060<0607:Crmota>2.0.Co;2

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Executive editor

Large quantities of seasonal smoke are produced by agricultural burning in Southern Africa between the months of June and October. Between 2016 and 2018A a series of large field campaigns, ORACLES, CLARIFY, and LASIC, targeted study of the atmospheric impacts of these plumes. This study synthesizes these measurements with numerical simulations to investigate how biomass burning plumes blown westward affect a well-known transition from solid stratocumulus to broken cumulus over the Atlantic Ocean. The dynamics of the cloud transition are complex, and there are many possible ways that aerosols and clouds can interact. This study is particularly notable for considering not just how smoke particles directly modify the microphysical properties of clouds through interactions in the atmospheric boundary layer, but also how they impact clouds indirectly by absorbing solar radiation above the cloud deck. A surprising finding is that microphysical interactions have only a minimal impact on cloud transitions. Instead, the breakup of stratocumulus clouds decks is substantially slowed by the absorption of sunlight by smoke plumes above clouds and its subsequent impact on the vertical temperature and moisture profile of the atmosphere.