Articles | Volume 24, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4591-2024
© Author(s) 2024. 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-24-4591-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Apr 2024
Research article |
| 18 Apr 2024
| 18 Apr 2024
Comparing the simulated influence of biomass burning plumes on low-level clouds over the southeastern Atlantic under varying smoke conditions
Alejandro Baró Pérez
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm, Sweden
now at: Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University, Gothenburg 41296, Sweden
Michael S. Diamond
Department of Earth, Ocean, & Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
Frida A.-M. Bender
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm, Sweden
Abhay Devasthale
Meteorological Research Unit, Research and Development, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Norrköping, Sweden
Matthias Schwarz
GeoSphere Austria, Hohe Warte 38, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Julien Savre
Meteorological Institute, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany
Juha Tonttila
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Harri Kokkola
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Hyunho Lee
Department of Atmospheric Science, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, South Korea
David Painemal
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA
Annica M. L. Ekman
Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm, Sweden
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Tuomas Naakka, Daniel Köhler, Kalle Nordling, Petri Räisänen, Marianne Tronstad Lund, Risto Makkonen, Joonas Merikanto, Bjørn H. Samset, Victoria A. Sinclair, Jennie L. Thomas, and Annica M. L. Ekman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8127–8145, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8127-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8127-2025, 2025
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The effects of warmer sea surface temperatures and decreasing sea ice cover on polar climates have been studied using four climate models with identical prescribed changes in sea surface temperatures and sea ice cover. The models predict similar changes in air temperature and precipitation in the polar regions in a warmer climate with less sea ice. However, the models disagree on how the atmospheric circulation, i.e. the large-scale winds, will change with warmer temperatures and less sea ice.
Abhay Devasthale, Sandra Andersson, Erik Engström, Frank Kaspar, Jörg Trentmann, Anke Duguay-Tetzlaff, Jan Fokke Meirink, Erik Kjellström, Tomas Landelius, Manu Anna Thomas, and Karl-Göran Karlsson
Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 1169–1182, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1169-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1169-2025, 2025
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By compositing trends in multiple climate variables, this study presents emerging regimes that are relevant for solar energy applications. It is shown that the favourable conditions for exploiting solar energy are emerging during spring and early summer. The study also underscores the increasingly important role of clouds in regulating surface solar radiation as the aerosol concentrations are decreasing over Europe and the societal value of satellite-based climate monitoring.
Travis Toth, Gregory Schuster, Marian Clayton, Zhujun Li, David Painemal, Sharon Rodier, Jayanta Kar, Tyler Thorsen, Richard Ferrare, Mark Vaughan, Jason Tackett, Huisheng Bian, Mian Chin, Anne Garnier, Ellsworth Welton, Robert Ryan, Charles Trepte, and David Winker
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2832, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2832, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
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NASA’s CALIPSO satellite mission observed aerosols (airborne particles) globally from 2006 to 2023. Its final data products update improves its aerosol optical parameters over oceans by adjusting for regional and seasonal differences in a new measurement-model synergistic approach. This results in a more realistic aerosol characterization, specifically near coastlines (where sea salt mixes with pollution), with potential impacts to future studies of science applications (e.g., climate effects).
Xiaojian Zheng, Yan Feng, David Painemal, Meng Zhang, Shaocheng Xie, Zhujun Li, Robert Jacob, and Bethany Lusch
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3076, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3076, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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This study combined satellite observation and climate model simulation to investigate the impact of aerosols on marine clouds over Eastern North Atlantic. Using regime-based analysis, we found that cloud responses to aerosols vary significantly across different meteorological patterns. Model generally captured observed trends but exaggerated the cloud responses, performing better for shallower stratiform clouds than deeper clouds. Our findings highlight the need for further model improvements.
Sara M. Blichner, Theodore Khadir, Sini Talvinen, Paulo Artaxo, Liine Heikkinen, Harri Kokkola, Radovan Krejci, Muhammed Irfan, Twan van Noije, Tuukka Petäjä, Christopher Pöhlker, Øyvind Seland, Carl Svenhag, Antti Vartiainen, and Ilona Riipinen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2559, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2559, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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This study looks at how well climate models capture the impact of rain on particles that help form cloud droplets. Using data from three measurement stations and applying both a correlation analysis and a machine learning approach, we found that models often miss how new particles form after rain and struggle in cold environments. This matters because these particles influence cloud formation and climate.
Silvia M. Calderón, Noora Hyttinen, Harri Kokkola, Tomi Raatikainen, R. Paul Lawson, and Sami Romakkaniemi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2730, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2730, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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Field campaigns suggest that secondary ice production (SIP) via millimeter-sized supercooled droplets is responsible for the rapid glaciation and precipitation development in summer cumulus congestus clouds that lack of ice nucleating particles. We used large-eddy-simulations with sectional representation of aerosol and hydrometeor microphysics that reproduced observed hydrometeor size distributions and explained how SIP boosted rates of aggregation processes that increase surface precipitation.
Jung-Sub Lim, Yign Noh, Hyunho Lee, and Fabian Hoffmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5313–5329, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5313-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5313-2025, 2025
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Rain formation in warm clouds begins when small droplets collide, but this process can be slow without larger droplets. We used simulations to explore the role of bigger droplets, known as precipitation embryos, in triggering rain. We found that they speed up rain only when their size and number exceed a critical threshold. This threshold becomes larger when collisions are naturally efficient, such as in clouds with broad droplet size distributions or strong turbulence.
Florian Tornow, Ann Fridlind, George Tselioudis, Brian Cairns, Andrew Ackerman, Seethala Chellappan, David Painemal, Paquita Zuidema, Christiane Voigt, Simon Kirschler, and Armin Sorooshian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5053–5074, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5053-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5053-2025, 2025
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The recent NASA campaign ACTIVATE (Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment) performed 71 tandem flights in mid-latitude marine cold-air outbreaks off the US eastern seaboard. We provide meteorological and cloud transition stage context, allowing us to identify days that are most suitable for Lagrangian modeling and analysis. Surveyed cloud properties show signatures of cloud microphysical processes, such as cloud-top entrainment and secondary ice formation.
Rahul Ranjan, Liine Heikkinen, Lauri R. Ahonen, Krista Luoma, Paul Bowen, Tuukka Petäjä, Annica M. L. Ekman, Daniel G. Partridge, and Ilona Riipinen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1602, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1602, 2025
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We use multi-year measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) at a boreal forest site to inversely infer size-resolved aerosol chemical composition. We find that inorganic species are more enriched in the larger end (accumulation mode) of the sub-micron aerosol population while organics dominate the smaller end (Aitken mode). Our approach demonstrates the potential of long-term CCN measurements to infer size-resolved chemical composition of sub-micron aerosol.
Duncan Watson-Parris, Laura J. Wilcox, Camilla W. Stjern, Robert J. Allen, Geeta Persad, Massimo A. Bollasina, Annica M. L. Ekman, Carley E. Iles, Manoj Joshi, Marianne T. Lund, Daniel McCoy, Daniel M. Westervelt, Andrew I. L. Williams, and Bjørn H. Samset
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4443–4454, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4443-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4443-2025, 2025
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In 2020, regulations by the International Maritime Organization aimed to reduce aerosol emissions from ships. These aerosols previously had a cooling effect, which the regulations might reduce, revealing more greenhouse gas warming. Here we find that, while there is regional warming, the global 2020–2040 temperature rise is only +0.03 °C. This small change is difficult to distinguish from natural climate variability, indicating the regulations have had a limited effect on observed warming to date.
Sini Talvinen, Paul Kim, Emanuele Tovazzi, Eemeli Holopainen, Roxana Cremer, Thomas Kühn, Harri Kokkola, Zak Kipling, David Neubauer, João C. Teixeira, Alistair Sellar, Duncan Watson-Parris, Yang Yang, Jialei Zhu, Srinath Krishnan, Annele Virtanen, and Daniel G. Partridge
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-721, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-721, 2025
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Climate models struggle to predict how clouds and aerosols interact, affecting Earth’s energy balance. This study compares models to observations to see how they describe effects of clouds and rain on aerosols. While both models show similar overall trends, seasonal differences emerged. These, however, align with differences in key variables participating in cloud formation. The study provides tools to improve the representation of aerosol-cloud interactions in climate models.
Dominic Heslin-Rees, Peter Tunved, Diego Aliaga, Janne Lampilahti, Ilona Riipinen, Annica Ekman, Ki-Tae Park, Martina Mazzini, Stefania Gilardoni, Roseline Thakur, Kihong Park, Young Jun Yoon, Kitack Lee, Mikko Sipilä, Mauro Mazzola, and Radovan Krejci
Aerosol Research Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-11, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2025-11, 2025
Preprint under review for AR
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New particles form in the atmosphere and can influence the climate. We studied Arctic new particle formation (NPF) from 2022 to 2024 at the Zeppelin Observatory, on Svalbard. NPF occurs from April to November, peaking in late spring as sunlight increases. Some particles measured on-site grow large enough to seed clouds. Sunlight and existing aerosol particles strongly impact the likelihood of NPF, which mainly originates from marine regions, particularly the Greenland Sea.
Hongyu Liu, Bo Zhang, Richard H. Moore, Luke D. Ziemba, Richard A. Ferrare, Hyundeok Choi, Armin Sorooshian, David Painemal, Hailong Wang, Michael A. Shook, Amy Jo Scarino, Johnathan W. Hair, Ewan C. Crosbie, Marta A. Fenn, Taylor J. Shingler, Chris A. Hostetler, Gao Chen, Mary M. Kleb, Gan Luo, Fangqun Yu, Mark A. Vaughan, Yongxiang Hu, Glenn S. Diskin, John B. Nowak, Joshua P. DiGangi, Yonghoon Choi, Christoph A. Keller, and Matthew S. Johnson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2087–2121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2087-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2087-2025, 2025
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We use the GEOS-Chem model to simulate aerosol distributions and properties over the western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) during the winter and summer deployments in 2020 of the NASA ACTIVATE mission. Model results are evaluated against aircraft, ground-based, and satellite observations. The improved understanding of life cycle, composition, transport pathways, and distribution of aerosols has important implications for characterizing aerosol–cloud–meteorology interactions over WNAO.
Hans Segura, Xabier Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, Philipp Weiss, Sebastian K. Müller, Thomas Rackow, Junhong Lee, Edgar Dolores-Tesillos, Imme Benedict, Matthias Aengenheyster, Razvan Aguridan, Gabriele Arduini, Alexander J. Baker, Jiawei Bao, Swantje Bastin, Eulàlia Baulenas, Tobias Becker, Sebastian Beyer, Hendryk Bockelmann, Nils Brüggemann, Lukas Brunner, Suvarchal K. Cheedela, Sushant Das, Jasper Denissen, Ian Dragaud, Piotr Dziekan, Madeleine Ekblom, Jan Frederik Engels, Monika Esch, Richard Forbes, Claudia Frauen, Lilli Freischem, Diego García-Maroto, Philipp Geier, Paul Gierz, Álvaro González-Cervera, Katherine Grayson, Matthew Griffith, Oliver Gutjahr, Helmuth Haak, Ioan Hadade, Kerstin Haslehner, Shabeh ul Hasson, Jan Hegewald, Lukas Kluft, Aleksei Koldunov, Nikolay Koldunov, Tobias Kölling, Shunya Koseki, Sergey Kosukhin, Josh Kousal, Peter Kuma, Arjun U. Kumar, Rumeng Li, Nicolas Maury, Maximilian Meindl, Sebastian Milinski, Kristian Mogensen, Bimochan Niraula, Jakub Nowak, Divya Sri Praturi, Ulrike Proske, Dian Putrasahan, René Redler, David Santuy, Domokos Sármány, Reiner Schnur, Patrick Scholz, Dmitry Sidorenko, Dorian Spät, Birgit Sützl, Daisuke Takasuka, Adrian Tompkins, Alejandro Uribe, Mirco Valentini, Menno Veerman, Aiko Voigt, Sarah Warnau, Fabian Wachsmann, Marta Wacławczyk, Nils Wedi, Karl-Hermann Wieners, Jonathan Wille, Marius Winkler, Yuting Wu, Florian Ziemen, Janos Zimmermann, Frida A.-M. Bender, Dragana Bojovic, Sandrine Bony, Simona Bordoni, Patrice Brehmer, Marcus Dengler, Emanuel Dutra, Saliou Faye, Erich Fischer, Chiel van Heerwaarden, Cathy Hohenegger, Heikki Järvinen, Markus Jochum, Thomas Jung, Johann H. Jungclaus, Noel S. Keenlyside, Daniel Klocke, Heike Konow, Martina Klose, Szymon Malinowski, Olivia Martius, Thorsten Mauritsen, Juan Pedro Mellado, Theresa Mieslinger, Elsa Mohino, Hanna Pawłowska, Karsten Peters-von Gehlen, Abdoulaye Sarré, Pajam Sobhani, Philip Stier, Lauri Tuppi, Pier Luigi Vidale, Irina Sandu, and Bjorn Stevens
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-509, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-509, 2025
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The nextGEMS project developed two Earth system models that resolve processes of the order of 10 km, giving more fidelity to the representation of local phenomena, globally. In its fourth cycle, nextGEMS performed simulations with coupled ocean, land, and atmosphere over the 2020–2049 period under the SSP3-7.0 scenario. Here, we provide an overview of nextGEMS, insights into the model development, and the realism of multi-decadal, kilometer-scale simulations.
Mariya Petrenko, Ralph Kahn, Mian Chin, Susanne E. Bauer, Tommi Bergman, Huisheng Bian, Gabriele Curci, Ben Johnson, Johannes W. Kaiser, Zak Kipling, Harri Kokkola, Xiaohong Liu, Keren Mezuman, Tero Mielonen, Gunnar Myhre, Xiaohua Pan, Anna Protonotariou, Samuel Remy, Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Philip Stier, Toshihiko Takemura, Kostas Tsigaridis, Hailong Wang, Duncan Watson-Parris, and Kai Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1545–1567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1545-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1545-2025, 2025
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We compared smoke plume simulations from 11 global models to each other and to satellite smoke amount observations aimed at constraining smoke source strength. In regions where plumes are thick and background aerosol is low, models and satellites compare well. However, the input emission inventory tends to underestimate in many places, and particle property and loss rate assumptions vary enormously among models, causing uncertainties that require systematic in situ measurements to resolve.
Harri Kokkola, Juha Tonttila, Silvia M. Calderón, Sami Romakkaniemi, Antti Lipponen, Aapo Peräkorpi, Tero Mielonen, Edward Gryspeerdt, Timo Henrik Virtanen, Pekka Kolmonen, and Antti Arola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1533–1543, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1533-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1533-2025, 2025
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Understanding how atmospheric aerosols affect clouds is a scientific challenge. One question is how aerosols affects the amount of cloud water. We used a cloud-scale model to study these effects on marine clouds. The study showed that variations in cloud properties and instrument noise can cause bias in satellite-derived cloud water content. However, our results suggest that for similar weather conditions with well-defined aerosol concentrations, satellite data can reliably track these effects.
Luís Filipe Escusa dos Santos, Hannah C. Frostenberg, Alejandro Baró Pérez, Annica M. L. Ekman, Luisa Ickes, and Erik S. Thomson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 119–142, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-119-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-119-2025, 2025
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The Arctic is experiencing enhanced surface warming. The observed decline in Arctic sea-ice extent is projected to lead to an increase in Arctic shipping activity, which may lead to further climatic feedbacks. Using an atmospheric model and results from marine engine experiments that focused on fuel sulfur content reduction and exhaust wet scrubbing, we investigate how ship exhaust particles influence the properties of Arctic clouds. Implications for radiative surface processes are discussed.
Alejandro Uribe, Frida A.-M. Bender, and Thorsten Mauritsen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13371–13384, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13371-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13371-2024, 2024
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Our study explores climate feedbacks, vital for understanding global warming. It links them to shifts in Earth's energy balance at the atmosphere's top due to natural temperature variations. It takes roughly 50 years to establish this connection. Combined satellite observations and reanalysis suggest that Earth cools more than expected under carbon dioxide influence. However, continuous satellite data until at least the mid-2030s are crucial for refining our understanding of climate feedbacks.
Manu Anna Thomas, Klaus Wyser, Shiyu Wang, Marios Chatziparaschos, Paraskevi Georgakaki, Montserrat Costa-Surós, Maria Gonçalves Ageitos, Maria Kanakidou, Carlos Pérez García-Pando, Athanasios Nenes, Twan van Noije, Philippe Le Sager, and Abhay Devasthale
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 6903–6927, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-6903-2024, 2024
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Aerosol–cloud interactions occur at a range of spatio-temporal scales. While evaluating recent developments in EC-Earth3-AerChem, this study aims to understand the extent to which the Twomey effect manifests itself at larger scales. We find a reduction in the warm bias over the Southern Ocean due to model improvements. While we see footprints of the Twomey effect at larger scales, the negative relationship between cloud droplet number and liquid water drives the shortwave radiative effect.
Jutta Kesti, Ewan J. O'Connor, Anne Hirsikko, John Backman, Maria Filioglou, Anu-Maija Sundström, Juha Tonttila, Heikki Lihavainen, Hannele Korhonen, and Eija Asmi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9369–9386, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9369-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9369-2024, 2024
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The study combines aerosol particle measurements at the surface and vertical profiling of the atmosphere with a scanning Doppler lidar to investigate how particle transportation together with boundary layer evolution can affect particle and SO2 concentrations at the surface in the Arabian Peninsula region. The instrumentation enabled us to see elevated nucleation mode particle and SO2 concentrations at the surface when air masses transported from polluted areas are mixed in the boundary layer.
Muhammed Irfan, Thomas Kühn, Taina Yli-Juuti, Anton Laakso, Eemeli Holopainen, Douglas R. Worsnop, Annele Virtanen, and Harri Kokkola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8489–8506, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8489-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8489-2024, 2024
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The study examines how the volatility of semi-volatile organic compounds affects secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and climate. Our simulations show that uncertainties in these volatilities influence aerosol mass and climate impacts. Accurate representation of these compounds in climate models is crucial for predicting global climate patterns.
Ewan Crosbie, Luke D. Ziemba, Michael A. Shook, Taylor Shingler, Johnathan W. Hair, Armin Sorooshian, Richard A. Ferrare, Brian Cairns, Yonghoon Choi, Joshua DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Chris Hostetler, Simon Kirschler, Richard H. Moore, David Painemal, Claire Robinson, Shane T. Seaman, K. Lee Thornhill, Christiane Voigt, and Edward Winstead
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6123–6152, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6123-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6123-2024, 2024
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Marine clouds are found to clump together in regions or lines, readily discernible from satellite images of the ocean. While clustering is also a feature of deep storm clouds, we focus on smaller cloud systems associated with fair weather and brief localized showers. Two aircraft sampled the region around these shallow systems: one incorporated measurements taken within, adjacent to, and below the clouds, while the other provided a survey from above using remote sensing techniques.
Leong Wai Siu, Joseph S. Schlosser, David Painemal, Brian Cairns, Marta A. Fenn, Richard A. Ferrare, Johnathan W. Hair, Chris A. Hostetler, Longlei Li, Mary M. Kleb, Amy Jo Scarino, Taylor J. Shingler, Armin Sorooshian, Snorre A. Stamnes, and Xubin Zeng
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2739–2759, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2739-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2739-2024, 2024
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An unprecedented 3-year aerosol dataset was collected from a recent NASA field campaign over the western North Atlantic Ocean, which offers a special opportunity to evaluate two state-of-the-art remote sensing instruments, one lidar and the other polarimeter, on the same aircraft. Special attention has been paid to validate aerosol optical depth data and their uncertainties when no reference dataset is available. Physical reasons for the disagreement between two instruments are discussed.
Anton Laakso, Daniele Visioni, Ulrike Niemeier, Simone Tilmes, and Harri Kokkola
Earth Syst. Dynam., 15, 405–427, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-405-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-405-2024, 2024
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This study is the second in a two-part series in which we explore the dependency of the impacts of stratospheric sulfur injections on both the model employed and the strategy of injection utilized. The study uncovers uncertainties associated with these techniques to cool climate, highlighting how the simulated climate impacts are dependent on both the selected model and the magnitude of the injections. We also show that estimating precipitation impacts of aerosol injection is a complex task.
Shaoyue Qiu, Xue Zheng, David Painemal, Christopher R. Terai, and Xiaoli Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2913–2935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2913-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2913-2024, 2024
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The aerosol indirect effect (AIE) depends on cloud states, which exhibit significant diurnal variations in the northeastern Atlantic. Yet the AIE diurnal cycle remains poorly understood. Using satellite retrievals, we find a pronounced “U-shaped” diurnal variation in the AIE, which is contributed to by the transition of cloud states combined with the lagged cloud responses. This suggests that polar-orbiting satellites with overpass times at noon underestimate daytime mean values of the AIE.
Dominic Heslin-Rees, Peter Tunved, Johan Ström, Roxana Cremer, Paul Zieger, Ilona Riipinen, Annica M. L. Ekman, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, and Radovan Krejci
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2059–2075, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2059-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2059-2024, 2024
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Light-absorbing atmospheric particles (e.g. black carbon – BC) exert a warming effect on the Arctic climate. We show that the amount of particle light absorption decreased from 2002 to 2023. We conclude that in addition to reductions in emissions of BC, wet removal plays a role in the long-term reduction of BC in the Arctic, given the increase in surface precipitation experienced by air masses arriving at the site. The potential impact of biomass burning events is shown to have increased.
Kalle Nordling, Jukka-Pekka Keskinen, Sami Romakkaniemi, Harri Kokkola, Petri Räisänen, Antti Lipponen, Antti-Ilari Partanen, Jaakko Ahola, Juha Tonttila, Muzaffer Ege Alper, Hannele Korhonen, and Tomi Raatikainen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 869–890, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-869-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-869-2024, 2024
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Our results show that the global model is stable and it provides meaningful results. This way we can include a physics-based presentation of sub-grid physics (physics which happens on a 100 m scale) in the global model, whose resolution is on a 100 km scale.
Karl-Göran Karlsson, Martin Stengel, Jan Fokke Meirink, Aku Riihelä, Jörg Trentmann, Tom Akkermans, Diana Stein, Abhay Devasthale, Salomon Eliasson, Erik Johansson, Nina Håkansson, Irina Solodovnik, Nikos Benas, Nicolas Clerbaux, Nathalie Selbach, Marc Schröder, and Rainer Hollmann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4901–4926, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4901-2023, 2023
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This paper presents a global climate data record on cloud parameters, radiation at the surface and at the top of atmosphere, and surface albedo. The temporal coverage is 1979–2020 (42 years) and the data record is also continuously updated until present time. Thus, more than four decades of climate parameters are provided. Based on CLARA-A3, studies on distribution of clouds and radiation parameters can be made and, especially, investigations of climate trends and evaluation of climate models.
Hannah C. Frostenberg, André Welti, Mikael Luhr, Julien Savre, Erik S. Thomson, and Luisa Ickes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10883–10900, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10883-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10883-2023, 2023
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Observations show that ice-nucleating particle concentrations (INPCs) have a large variety and follow lognormal distributions for a given temperature. We introduce a new immersion freezing parameterization that applies this lognormal behavior. INPCs are drawn randomly from a temperature-dependent lognormal distribution. We then show that the ice content of the modeled Arctic stratocumulus cloud is highly sensitive to the probability of drawing large INPCs.
Simon Kirschler, Christiane Voigt, Bruce E. Anderson, Gao Chen, Ewan C. Crosbie, Richard A. Ferrare, Valerian Hahn, Johnathan W. Hair, Stefan Kaufmann, Richard H. Moore, David Painemal, Claire E. Robinson, Kevin J. Sanchez, Amy J. Scarino, Taylor J. Shingler, Michael A. Shook, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Edward L. Winstead, Luke D. Ziemba, and Armin Sorooshian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10731–10750, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10731-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10731-2023, 2023
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In this study we present an overview of liquid and mixed-phase clouds and precipitation in the marine boundary layer over the western North Atlantic Ocean. We compare microphysical properties of pure liquid clouds to mixed-phase clouds and show that the initiation of the ice phase in mixed-phase clouds promotes precipitation. The observational data presented in this study are well suited for investigating the processes that give rise to liquid and mixed-phase clouds, ice, and precipitation.
Sushant Das, Frida Bender, and Thorsten Mauritsen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1605, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1605, 2023
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Quantifying global and Indian precipitation responses to anthropogenic aerosol and CO2 forcings using multiple models is needed for reducing climate uncertainty. The response to global warming from CO2 increases precipitation both globally and over India, whereas the cooling response to sulfate aerosol leads to a reduction in precipitation in both cases. An opposite response to black carbon is noted i.e., a global decrease but an increase of precipitation over India implying changes in dynamics.
Armin Sorooshian, Mikhail D. Alexandrov, Adam D. Bell, Ryan Bennett, Grace Betito, Sharon P. Burton, Megan E. Buzanowicz, Brian Cairns, Eduard V. Chemyakin, Gao Chen, Yonghoon Choi, Brian L. Collister, Anthony L. Cook, Andrea F. Corral, Ewan C. Crosbie, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, Joshua P. DiGangi, Glenn S. Diskin, Sanja Dmitrovic, Eva-Lou Edwards, Marta A. Fenn, Richard A. Ferrare, David van Gilst, Johnathan W. Hair, David B. Harper, Miguel Ricardo A. Hilario, Chris A. Hostetler, Nathan Jester, Michael Jones, Simon Kirschler, Mary M. Kleb, John M. Kusterer, Sean Leavor, Joseph W. Lee, Hongyu Liu, Kayla McCauley, Richard H. Moore, Joseph Nied, Anthony Notari, John B. Nowak, David Painemal, Kasey E. Phillips, Claire E. Robinson, Amy Jo Scarino, Joseph S. Schlosser, Shane T. Seaman, Chellappan Seethala, Taylor J. Shingler, Michael A. Shook, Kenneth A. Sinclair, William L. Smith Jr., Douglas A. Spangenberg, Snorre A. Stamnes, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Christiane Voigt, Holger Vömel, Andrzej P. Wasilewski, Hailong Wang, Edward L. Winstead, Kira Zeider, Xubin Zeng, Bo Zhang, Luke D. Ziemba, and Paquita Zuidema
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3419–3472, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3419-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3419-2023, 2023
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The NASA Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) produced a unique dataset for research into aerosol–cloud–meteorology interactions. HU-25 Falcon and King Air aircraft conducted systematic and spatially coordinated flights over the northwest Atlantic Ocean. This paper describes the ACTIVATE flight strategy, instrument and complementary dataset products, data access and usage details, and data application notes.
Michael S. Diamond
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8259–8269, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8259-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8259-2023, 2023
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Fuel sulfur regulations were implemented for ships in 2020 to improve air quality but may also accelerate global warming. We use spatial statistics and satellite retrievals to detect changes in the size of cloud droplets and find evidence for a resulting decrease in cloud brightness within a major shipping corridor after the sulfur limits went into effect. Our results confirm both that the regulations are being followed and that they are having a warming influence via their effect on clouds.
Ines Bulatovic, Julien Savre, Michael Tjernström, Caroline Leck, and Annica M. L. Ekman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7033–7055, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7033-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7033-2023, 2023
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We use numerical modeling with detailed cloud microphysics to investigate a low-altitude cloud system consisting of two cloud layers – a type of cloud situation which was commonly observed during the summer of 2018 in the central Arctic (north of 80° N). The model generally reproduces the observed cloud layers and the thermodynamic structure of the lower atmosphere well. The cloud system is maintained unless there are low aerosol number concentrations or high large-scale wind speeds.
Ian Chang, Lan Gao, Connor J. Flynn, Yohei Shinozuka, Sarah J. Doherty, Michael S. Diamond, Karla M. Longo, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Gregory R. Carmichael, Patricia Castellanos, Arlindo M. da Silva, Pablo E. Saide, Calvin Howes, Zhixin Xue, Marc Mallet, Ravi Govindaraju, Qiaoqiao Wang, Yafang Cheng, Yan Feng, Sharon P. Burton, Richard A. Ferrare, Samuel E. LeBlanc, Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Kristina Pistone, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Kerry G. Meyer, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, Adeyemi A. Adebiyi, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Sundar A. Christopher, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4283–4309, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4283-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4283-2023, 2023
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Abundant aerosols are present above low-level liquid clouds over the southeastern Atlantic during late austral spring. The model simulation differences in the proportion of aerosol residing in the planetary boundary layer and in the free troposphere can greatly affect the regional aerosol radiative effects. This study examines the aerosol loading and fractional aerosol loading in the free troposphere among various models and evaluates them against measurements from the NASA ORACLES campaign.
Aiden R. Jönsson and Frida A.-M. Bender
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 345–365, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-345-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-345-2023, 2023
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The Earth has nearly the same mean albedo in both hemispheres, a feature not well replicated by climate models. Global warming causes changes in surface and cloud properties that affect albedo and that feed back into the warming. We show that models predict more darkening due to ice loss in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere in response to increasing CO2 concentrations. This is, to varying degrees, counteracted by changes in cloud cover, with implications for cloud feedback on climate.
Tuuli Miinalainen, Harri Kokkola, Antti Lipponen, Antti-Pekka Hyvärinen, Vijay Kumar Soni, Kari E. J. Lehtinen, and Thomas Kühn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3471–3491, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3471-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3471-2023, 2023
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We simulated the effects of aerosol emission mitigation on both global and regional radiative forcing and city-level air quality with a global-scale climate model. We used a machine learning downscaling approach to bias-correct the PM2.5 values obtained from the global model for the Indian megacity New Delhi. Our results indicate that aerosol mitigation could result in both improved air quality and less radiative heating for India.
Peter Kuma, Frida A.-M. Bender, Alex Schuddeboom, Adrian J. McDonald, and Øyvind Seland
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 523–549, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-523-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-523-2023, 2023
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We present a machine learning method for determining cloud types in climate model output and satellite observations based on ground observations of cloud genera. We analyse cloud type biases and changes with temperature in climate models and show that the bias is anticorrelated with climate sensitivity. Models simulating decreasing stratiform and increasing cumuliform clouds with increased CO2 concentration tend to have higher climate sensitivity than models simulating the opposite tendencies.
Ville Leinonen, Harri Kokkola, Taina Yli-Juuti, Tero Mielonen, Thomas Kühn, Tuomo Nieminen, Simo Heikkinen, Tuuli Miinalainen, Tommi Bergman, Ken Carslaw, Stefano Decesari, Markus Fiebig, Tareq Hussein, Niku Kivekäs, Radovan Krejci, Markku Kulmala, Ari Leskinen, Andreas Massling, Nikos Mihalopoulos, Jane P. Mulcahy, Steffen M. Noe, Twan van Noije, Fiona M. O'Connor, Colin O'Dowd, Dirk Olivie, Jakob B. Pernov, Tuukka Petäjä, Øyvind Seland, Michael Schulz, Catherine E. Scott, Henrik Skov, Erik Swietlicki, Thomas Tuch, Alfred Wiedensohler, Annele Virtanen, and Santtu Mikkonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12873–12905, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12873-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12873-2022, 2022
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We provide the first extensive comparison of detailed aerosol size distribution trends between in situ observations from Europe and five different earth system models. We investigated aerosol modes (nucleation, Aitken, and accumulation) separately and were able to show the differences between measured and modeled trends and especially their seasonal patterns. The differences in model results are likely due to complex effects of several processes instead of certain specific model features.
Silvia M. Calderón, Juha Tonttila, Angela Buchholz, Jorma Joutsensaari, Mika Komppula, Ari Leskinen, Liqing Hao, Dmitri Moisseev, Iida Pullinen, Petri Tiitta, Jian Xu, Annele Virtanen, Harri Kokkola, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12417–12441, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12417-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12417-2022, 2022
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The spatial and temporal restrictions of observations and oversimplified aerosol representation in large eddy simulations (LES) limit our understanding of aerosol–stratocumulus interactions. In this closure study of in situ and remote sensing observations and outputs from UCLALES–SALSA, we have assessed the role of convective overturning and aerosol effects in two cloud events observed at the Puijo SMEAR IV station, Finland, a diurnal-high aerosol case and a nocturnal-low aerosol case.
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
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12113–12151, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022, 2022
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Smoke from southern Africa blankets the southeast Atlantic from June-October, overlying a major transition region between overcast and scattered clouds. The smoke affects Earth's radiation budget by absorbing sunlight and changing cloud properties. We investigate these effects in regional climate and large eddy simulation models based on international field campaigns. We find that large-scale circulation changes more strongly affect cloud transitions than smoke microphysical effects in our case.
Sini Isokääntä, Paul Kim, Santtu Mikkonen, Thomas Kühn, Harri Kokkola, Taina Yli-Juuti, Liine Heikkinen, Krista Luoma, Tuukka Petäjä, Zak Kipling, Daniel Partridge, and Annele Virtanen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11823–11843, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11823-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11823-2022, 2022
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This research employs air mass history analysis and observations to study how clouds and precipitation affect atmospheric aerosols during transport to a boreal forest site. The mass concentrations of studied chemical species showed exponential decrease as a function of accumulated rain along the air mass route. Our analysis revealed in-cloud sulfate formation, while no major changes in organic mass were seen. Most of the in-cloud-formed sulfate could be assigned to particle sizes above 200 nm.
Qirui Zhong, Nick Schutgens, Guido van der Werf, Twan van Noije, Kostas Tsigaridis, Susanne E. Bauer, Tero Mielonen, Alf Kirkevåg, Øyvind Seland, Harri Kokkola, Ramiro Checa-Garcia, David Neubauer, Zak Kipling, Hitoshi Matsui, Paul Ginoux, Toshihiko Takemura, Philippe Le Sager, Samuel Rémy, Huisheng Bian, Mian Chin, Kai Zhang, Jialei Zhu, Svetlana G. Tsyro, Gabriele Curci, Anna Protonotariou, Ben Johnson, Joyce E. Penner, Nicolas Bellouin, Ragnhild B. Skeie, and Gunnar Myhre
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11009–11032, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11009-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11009-2022, 2022
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Aerosol optical depth (AOD) errors for biomass burning aerosol (BBA) are evaluated in 18 global models against satellite datasets. Notwithstanding biases in satellite products, they allow model evaluations. We observe large and diverse model biases due to errors in BBA. Further interpretations of AOD diversities suggest large biases exist in key processes for BBA which require better constraining. These results can contribute to further model improvement and development.
Marje Prank, Juha Tonttila, Jaakko Ahola, Harri Kokkola, Thomas Kühn, Sami Romakkaniemi, and Tomi Raatikainen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10971–10992, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10971-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10971-2022, 2022
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Aerosols and clouds persist as the dominant sources of uncertainty in climate projections. In this modelling study, we investigate the role of marine aerosols in influencing the lifetime of low-level clouds. Our high resolution simulations show that sea spray can both extend and shorten the lifetime of the cloud layer depending on the model setup. The impact of the primary marine organics is relatively limited while secondary aerosol from monoterpenes can have larger impact.
Edward Gryspeerdt, Daniel T. McCoy, Ewan Crosbie, Richard H. Moore, Graeme J. Nott, David Painemal, Jennifer Small-Griswold, Armin Sorooshian, and Luke Ziemba
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3875–3892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3875-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3875-2022, 2022
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Droplet number concentration is a key property of clouds, influencing a variety of cloud processes. It is also used for estimating the cloud response to aerosols. The satellite retrieval depends on a number of assumptions – different sampling strategies are used to select cases where these assumptions are most likely to hold. Here we investigate the impact of these strategies on the agreement with in situ data, the droplet number climatology and estimates of the indirect radiative forcing.
Cheng You, Michael Tjernström, and Abhay Devasthale
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8037–8057, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8037-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8037-2022, 2022
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In winter when solar radiation is absent in the Arctic, the poleward transport of heat and moisture into the high Arctic becomes the main contribution of Arctic warming. Over completely frozen ocean sectors, total surface energy budget is dominated by net long-wave heat, while over the Barents Sea, with an open ocean to the south, total net surface energy budget is dominated by the surface turbulent heat.
Zhujun Li, David Painemal, Gregory Schuster, Marian Clayton, Richard Ferrare, Mark Vaughan, Damien Josset, Jayanta Kar, and Charles Trepte
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2745–2766, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2745-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2745-2022, 2022
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For more than 15 years, CALIPSO has revolutionized our understanding of the role of aerosols in climate. Here we evaluate CALIPSO aerosol typing over the ocean using an independent CALIPSO–CloudSat product. The analysis suggests that CALIPSO correctly categorizes clean marine aerosol over the open ocean, elevated smoke over the SE Atlantic, and dust over the tropical Atlantic. Similarities between clean and dusty marine over the open ocean implies that algorithm modifications are warranted.
Jaakko Ahola, Tomi Raatikainen, Muzaffer Ege Alper, Jukka-Pekka Keskinen, Harri Kokkola, Antti Kukkurainen, Antti Lipponen, Jia Liu, Kalle Nordling, Antti-Ilari Partanen, Sami Romakkaniemi, Petri Räisänen, Juha Tonttila, and Hannele Korhonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4523–4537, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4523-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4523-2022, 2022
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Clouds are important for the climate, and cloud droplets have a significant role in cloud properties. Cloud droplets form when air rises and cools and water vapour condenses on small particles that can be natural or of anthropogenic origin. Currently, the updraft velocity, meaning how fast the air rises, is poorly represented in global climate models. In our study, we show three methods that will improve the depiction of updraft velocity and which properties are vital to updrafts.
Tomi Raatikainen, Marje Prank, Jaakko Ahola, Harri Kokkola, Juha Tonttila, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3763–3778, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3763-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3763-2022, 2022
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Mineral dust or similar ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are needed to initiate cloud droplet freezing at temperatures common in shallow clouds. In this work we examine how INPs that are released from the sea surface impact marine clouds. Our high-resolution simulations show that turbulent updraughts carry these particles effectively up to the clouds, where they initiate cloud droplet freezing. Sea surface INP emissions become more important with decreasing background dust INP concentrations.
Jessica Slater, Hugh Coe, Gordon McFiggans, Juha Tonttila, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2937–2953, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2937-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2937-2022, 2022
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This paper shows the specific impact of black carbon (BC) on the aerosol–planetary boundary layer (PBL) feedback and its influence on a Beijing haze episode. Overall, this paper shows that strong temperature inversions prevent BC heating within the PBL from significantly increasing PBL height, while BC above the PBL suppresses PBL development significantly through the day. From this we suggest a method by which both locally and regionally emitted BC may impact urban pollution episodes.
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
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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.
Manu Anna Thomas, Abhay Devasthale, and Michael Kahnert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 119–137, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-119-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-119-2022, 2022
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The Southern Ocean (SO) covers a large area of our planet and its boundary layer is dominated by sea salt aerosols during winter. These aerosols have large implications for the regional climate through their direct and indirect effects. Using satellite and reanalysis data, we document if and how the aerosol properties over the SO are dependent on different local meteorological parameters. Such an observational assessment is necessary to improve the understanding of atmospheric aerosol processes.
Anton Laakso, Ulrike Niemeier, Daniele Visioni, Simone Tilmes, and Harri Kokkola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 93–118, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-93-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-93-2022, 2022
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The use of different spatio-temporal sulfur injection strategies with different magnitudes to create an artificial reflective aerosol layer to cool the climate is studied using sectional and modal aerosol schemes in a climate model. There are significant differences in the results depending on the aerosol microphysical module used. Different spatio-temporal injection strategies have a significant impact on the magnitude and zonal distribution of radiative forcing and atmospheric dynamics.
Sarah J. Doherty, Pablo E. Saide, Paquita Zuidema, Yohei Shinozuka, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Hamish Gordon, Marc Mallet, Kerry Meyer, David Painemal, Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Amie Dobracki, James R. Podolske, Sharon P. Burton, Richard A. Ferrare, Calvin Howes, Pierre Nabat, Gregory R. Carmichael, Arlindo da Silva, Kristina Pistone, Ian Chang, Lan Gao, Robert Wood, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1–46, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1-2022, 2022
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Between July and October, biomass burning smoke is advected over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, leading to climate forcing. Model calculations of forcing by this plume vary significantly in both magnitude and sign. This paper compares aerosol and cloud properties observed during three NASA ORACLES field campaigns to the same in four models. It quantifies modeled biases in properties key to aerosol direct radiative forcing and evaluates how these biases propagate to biases in forcing.
Manu Anna Thomas, Abhay Devasthale, and Tiina Nygård
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16593–16608, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16593-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16593-2021, 2021
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The impact of transported pollutants and their spatial distribution in the Arctic are governed by the local atmospheric circulation or weather states. Therefore, we investigated eight different atmospheric circulation types observed during the spring season in the Arctic. Using satellite and reanalysis datasets, this study provides a comprehensive assessment of the typical circulation patterns that can lead to enhanced or reduced pollution concentrations in the different sectors of the Arctic.
Maria Sand, Bjørn H. Samset, Gunnar Myhre, Jonas Gliß, Susanne E. Bauer, Huisheng Bian, Mian Chin, Ramiro Checa-Garcia, Paul Ginoux, Zak Kipling, Alf Kirkevåg, Harri Kokkola, Philippe Le Sager, Marianne T. Lund, Hitoshi Matsui, Twan van Noije, Dirk J. L. Olivié, Samuel Remy, Michael Schulz, Philip Stier, Camilla W. Stjern, Toshihiko Takemura, Kostas Tsigaridis, Svetlana G. Tsyro, and Duncan Watson-Parris
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15929–15947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15929-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15929-2021, 2021
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Absorption of shortwave radiation by aerosols can modify precipitation and clouds but is poorly constrained in models. A total of 15 different aerosol models from AeroCom phase III have reported total aerosol absorption, and for the first time, 11 of these models have reported in a consistent experiment the contributions to absorption from black carbon, dust, and organic aerosol. Here, we document the model diversity in aerosol absorption.
David Painemal, Douglas Spangenberg, William L. Smith Jr., Patrick Minnis, Brian Cairns, Richard H. Moore, Ewan Crosbie, Claire Robinson, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Edward L. Winstead, and Luke Ziemba
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6633–6646, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6633-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6633-2021, 2021
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Cloud properties derived from satellite sensors are critical for the global monitoring of climate. This study evaluates satellite-based cloud properties over the North Atlantic using airborne data collected during NAAMES. Satellite observations of droplet size and cloud optical depth tend to compare well with NAAMES data. The analysis indicates that the satellite pixel resolution and the specific viewing geometry need to be taken into account in research applications.
Hossein Dadashazar, David Painemal, Majid Alipanah, Michael Brunke, Seethala Chellappan, Andrea F. Corral, Ewan Crosbie, Simon Kirschler, Hongyu Liu, Richard H. Moore, Claire Robinson, Amy Jo Scarino, Michael Shook, Kenneth Sinclair, K. Lee Thornhill, Christiane Voigt, Hailong Wang, Edward Winstead, Xubin Zeng, Luke Ziemba, Paquita Zuidema, and Armin Sorooshian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10499–10526, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10499-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10499-2021, 2021
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This study investigates the seasonal cycle of cloud drop number concentration (Nd) over the western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) using multiple datasets. Reasons for the puzzling discrepancy between the seasonal cycles of Nd and aerosol concentration were identified. Results indicate that Nd is highest in winter (when aerosol proxy values are often lowest) due to conditions both linked to cold-air outbreaks and that promote greater droplet activation.
Erik Johansson, Abhay Devasthale, Michael Tjernström, Annica M. L. Ekman, Klaus Wyser, and Tristan L'Ecuyer
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 4087–4101, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4087-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4087-2021, 2021
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Understanding the coupling of clouds to large-scale circulation is a grand challenge for the climate community. Cloud radiative heating (CRH) is a key parameter in this coupling and is therefore essential to model realistically. We, therefore, evaluate a climate model against satellite observations. Our findings indicate good agreement in the seasonal pattern of CRH even if the magnitude differs. We also find that increasing the horizontal resolution in the model has little effect on the CRH.
Georgia Sotiropoulou, Luisa Ickes, Athanasios Nenes, and Annica M. L. Ekman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9741–9760, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9741-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9741-2021, 2021
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Mixed-phase clouds are a large source of uncertainty in projections of the Arctic climate. This is partly due to the poor representation of the cloud ice formation processes. Implementing a parameterization for ice multiplication due to mechanical breakup upon collision of two ice particles in a high-resolution model improves cloud ice phase representation; however, cloud liquid remains overestimated.
Kristina Pistone, Paquita Zuidema, Robert Wood, Michael Diamond, Arlindo M. da Silva, Gonzalo Ferrada, Pablo E. Saide, Rei Ueyama, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, James Podolske, David Noone, Ryan Bennett, Eric Stith, Gregory Carmichael, Jens Redemann, Connor Flynn, Samuel LeBlanc, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, and Yohei Shinozuka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9643–9668, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9643-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9643-2021, 2021
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Using aircraft-based measurements off the Atlantic coast of Africa, we found the springtime smoke plume was strongly correlated with the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere (more smoke indicated more humidity). We see the same general feature in satellite-assimilated and free-running models. Our analysis suggests this relationship is not caused by the burning but originates due to coincident continental meteorology plus fires. This air is transported over the ocean without further mixing.
Alejandro Baró Pérez, Abhay Devasthale, Frida A.-M. Bender, and Annica M. L. Ekman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6053–6077, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6053-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6053-2021, 2021
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We study the impacts of above-cloud biomass burning plumes on radiation and clouds over the southeast Atlantic using data derived from satellite observations and data-constrained model simulations. A substantial amount of the aerosol within the plumes is not classified as smoke by the satellite. The atmosphere warms more with increasing smoke aerosol loading. No clear influence of aerosol type, loading, or moisture within the overlying aerosol plumes is detected on the cloud top cooling rates.
Ines Bulatovic, Adele L. Igel, Caroline Leck, Jost Heintzenberg, Ilona Riipinen, and Annica M. L. Ekman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3871–3897, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3871-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3871-2021, 2021
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We use detailed numerical modelling to show that small aerosol particles (diameters ~25–80 nm; so-called Aitken mode particles) significantly influence low-level cloud properties in the clean summertime high Arctic. The small particles can help sustain clouds when the concentration of larger particles is low (<10–20 cm-3). Measurements from four different observational campaigns in the high Arctic support the modelling results as they indicate that Aitken mode aerosols are frequently activated.
Antti Ruuskanen, Sami Romakkaniemi, Harri Kokkola, Antti Arola, Santtu Mikkonen, Harri Portin, Annele Virtanen, Kari E. J. Lehtinen, Mika Komppula, and Ari Leskinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1683–1695, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1683-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1683-2021, 2021
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The study focuses mainly on cloud-scavenging efficiency of absorbing particulate matter (mainly black carbon) but additionally covers cloud-scavenging efficiency of scattering particles and statistics of cloud condensation nuclei. The main findings give insight into how black carbon is distributed in different particle sizes and the sensitivity to cloud scavenged. The main findings are useful for large-scale modelling for evaluating cloud scavenging.
Jens Redemann, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Sarah J. Doherty, Bernadette Luna, Samuel E. LeBlanc, Michael S. Diamond, Yohei Shinozuka, Ian Y. Chang, Rei Ueyama, Leonhard Pfister, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Amie N. Dobracki, Arlindo M. da Silva, Karla M. Longo, Meloë S. Kacenelenbogen, Connor J. Flynn, Kristina Pistone, Nichola M. Knox, Stuart J. Piketh, James M. Haywood, Paola Formenti, Marc Mallet, Philip Stier, Andrew S. Ackerman, Susanne E. Bauer, Ann M. Fridlind, Gregory R. Carmichael, Pablo E. Saide, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Brian Cairns, Brent N. Holben, Kirk D. Knobelspiesse, Simone Tanelli, Tristan S. L'Ecuyer, Andrew M. Dzambo, Ousmane O. Sy, Greg M. McFarquhar, Michael R. Poellot, Siddhant Gupta, Joseph R. O'Brien, Athanasios Nenes, Mary Kacarab, Jenny P. S. Wong, Jennifer D. Small-Griswold, Kenneth L. Thornhill, David Noone, James R. Podolske, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Peter Pilewskie, Hong Chen, Sabrina P. Cochrane, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Timothy J. Lang, Eric Stith, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Richard A. Ferrare, Sharon P. Burton, Chris A. Hostetler, David J. Diner, Felix C. Seidel, Steven E. Platnick, Jeffrey S. Myers, Kerry G. Meyer, Douglas A. Spangenberg, Hal Maring, and Lan Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1507–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1507-2021, 2021
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Southern Africa produces significant biomass burning emissions whose impacts on regional and global climate are poorly understood. ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) is a 5-year NASA investigation designed to study the key processes that determine these climate impacts. The main purpose of this paper is to familiarize the broader scientific community with the ORACLES project, the dataset it produced, and the most important initial findings.
Juha Tonttila, Ali Afzalifar, Harri Kokkola, Tomi Raatikainen, Hannele Korhonen, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1035–1048, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1035-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1035-2021, 2021
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The focus of this study is on rain enhancement by deliberate injection of small particles into clouds (
cloud seeding). The particles, usually released from an aircraft, are expected to enhance cloud droplet growth, but its practical feasibility is somewhat uncertain. To improve upon this, we simulate the seeding effects with a numerical model. The model reproduces the main features seen in field observations, with a strong sensitivity to the total mass of the injected particle material.
Lena Frey, Frida A.-M. Bender, and Gunilla Svensson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 577–595, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-577-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-577-2021, 2021
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We investigate the vertical distribution of aerosol in the climate model NorESM1-M in five regions of marine stratocumulus clouds. We thereby analyze the total aerosol extinction to facilitate a comparison with satellite data. We find that the model underestimates aerosol extinction throughout the troposphere, especially elevated aerosol layers. Further, we perform sensitivity experiments to identify the processes most important for vertical aerosol distribution in our model.
Jonas Gliß, Augustin Mortier, Michael Schulz, Elisabeth Andrews, Yves Balkanski, Susanne E. Bauer, Anna M. K. Benedictow, Huisheng Bian, Ramiro Checa-Garcia, Mian Chin, Paul Ginoux, Jan J. Griesfeller, Andreas Heckel, Zak Kipling, Alf Kirkevåg, Harri Kokkola, Paolo Laj, Philippe Le Sager, Marianne Tronstad Lund, Cathrine Lund Myhre, Hitoshi Matsui, Gunnar Myhre, David Neubauer, Twan van Noije, Peter North, Dirk J. L. Olivié, Samuel Rémy, Larisa Sogacheva, Toshihiko Takemura, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Svetlana G. Tsyro
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 87–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-87-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-87-2021, 2021
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Simulated aerosol optical properties as well as the aerosol life cycle are investigated for 14 global models participating in the AeroCom initiative. Considerable diversity is found in the simulated aerosol species emissions and lifetimes, also resulting in a large diversity in the simulated aerosol mass, composition, and optical properties. A comparison with observations suggests that, on average, current models underestimate the direct effect of aerosol on the atmosphere radiation budget.
Eemeli Holopainen, Harri Kokkola, Anton Laakso, and Thomas Kühn
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 6215–6235, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-6215-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-6215-2020, 2020
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This paper introduces an in-cloud wet deposition scheme for liquid and ice phase clouds for global aerosol–climate models. With the default setup, our wet deposition scheme behaves spuriously and better representation can be achieved with this scheme when black carbon is mixed with soluble compounds at emission time. This work is done as many of the global models fail to reproduce the transport of black carbon to the Arctic, which may be due to the poor representation of wet removal in models.
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
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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.
Laura J. Wilcox, Zhen Liu, Bjørn H. Samset, Ed Hawkins, Marianne T. Lund, Kalle Nordling, Sabine Undorf, Massimo Bollasina, Annica M. L. Ekman, Srinath Krishnan, Joonas Merikanto, and Andrew G. Turner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11955–11977, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11955-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11955-2020, 2020
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Projected changes in man-made aerosol range from large reductions to moderate increases in emissions until 2050. Rapid reductions between the present and the 2050s lead to enhanced increases in global and Asian summer monsoon precipitation relative to scenarios with continued increases in aerosol. Relative magnitude and spatial distribution of aerosol changes are particularly important for South Asian summer monsoon precipitation changes, affecting the sign of the trend in the coming decades.
Jessica Slater, Juha Tonttila, Gordon McFiggans, Paul Connolly, Sami Romakkaniemi, Thomas Kühn, and Hugh Coe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11893–11906, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11893-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11893-2020, 2020
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The feedback effect between aerosol particles, radiation and meteorology reduces turbulent motion and results in increased surface aerosol concentrations during Beijing haze. Observational analysis and regional modelling studies have examined the feedback effect but these studies are limited. In this work, we set up a high-resolution model for the Beijing environment to examine the sensitivity of the aerosol feedback effect to initial meteorological conditions and aerosol loading.
Jaakko Ahola, Hannele Korhonen, Juha Tonttila, Sami Romakkaniemi, Harri Kokkola, and Tomi Raatikainen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11639–11654, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11639-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11639-2020, 2020
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In this study, we present an improved cloud model that reproduces the behaviour of mixed-phase clouds containing liquid droplets and ice crystals in more detail than before. This model is a convenient computational tool that enables the study of phenomena that cannot fit into a laboratory. These clouds have a significant role in climate, but they are not yet properly understood. Here, we show the advantages of the new model in a case study focusing on Arctic mixed-phase clouds.
Luisa Ickes, Grace C. E. Porter, Robert Wagner, Michael P. Adams, Sascha Bierbauer, Allan K. Bertram, Merete Bilde, Sigurd Christiansen, Annica M. L. Ekman, Elena Gorokhova, Kristina Höhler, Alexei A. Kiselev, Caroline Leck, Ottmar Möhler, Benjamin J. Murray, Thea Schiebel, Romy Ullrich, and Matthew E. Salter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11089–11117, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11089-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11089-2020, 2020
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The Arctic is a region where aerosols are scarce. Sea spray might be a potential source of aerosols acting as ice-nucleating particles. We investigate two common phytoplankton species (Melosira arctica and Skeletonema marinoi) and present their ice nucleation activity in comparison with Arctic seawater microlayer samples from different field campaigns. We also aim to understand the aerosolization process of marine biological samples and the potential effect on the ice nucleation activity.
Innocent Kudzotsa, Harri Kokkola, Juha Tonttila, Tomi Raatikainen, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-851, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-851, 2020
Publication in ACP not foreseen
María A. Burgos, Elisabeth Andrews, Gloria Titos, Angela Benedetti, Huisheng Bian, Virginie Buchard, Gabriele Curci, Zak Kipling, Alf Kirkevåg, Harri Kokkola, Anton Laakso, Julie Letertre-Danczak, Marianne T. Lund, Hitoshi Matsui, Gunnar Myhre, Cynthia Randles, Michael Schulz, Twan van Noije, Kai Zhang, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Urs Baltensperger, Anne Jefferson, James Sherman, Junying Sun, Ernest Weingartner, and Paul Zieger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10231–10258, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10231-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10231-2020, 2020
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We investigate how well models represent the enhancement in scattering coefficients due to particle water uptake, and perform an evaluation of several implementation schemes used in ten Earth system models. Our results show the importance of the parameterization of hygroscopicity and model chemistry as drivers of some of the observed diversity amongst model estimates. The definition of dry conditions and the phenomena taking place in this relative humidity range also impact the model evaluation.
David Painemal, Fu-Lung Chang, Richard Ferrare, Sharon Burton, Zhujun Li, William L. Smith Jr., Patrick Minnis, Yan Feng, and Marian Clayton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7167–7177, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7167-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7167-2020, 2020
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Aerosol–cloud interactions (ACIs) are the most uncertain aspect of anthropogenic forcing. Although satellites provide the observational dataset for the global ACI quantification, retrievals are limited to vertically integrated quantities (e.g., aerosol optical depth – AOD), which are typically used as an aerosol proxy. This study demonstrates that matching vertically resolved aerosol from CALIOP at the cloud-layer height with satellite cloud retrievals reduces uncertainties in ACI estimates.
Thomas Kühn, Kaarle Kupiainen, Tuuli Miinalainen, Harri Kokkola, Ville-Veikko Paunu, Anton Laakso, Juha Tonttila, Rita Van Dingenen, Kati Kulovesi, Niko Karvosenoja, and Kari E. J. Lehtinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5527–5546, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5527-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5527-2020, 2020
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We investigate the effects of black carbon (BC) mitigation on Arctic climate and human health, accounting for the concurrent reduction of other aerosol species. While BC is attributed a net warming effect on climate, most other aerosol species cool the planet. We find that the direct radiative effect of mitigating BC induces cooling, while aerosol–cloud effects offset this cooling and introduce large uncertainties. Furthermore, the reduced aerosol emissions reduce human mortality considerably.
Anna Possner, Ryan Eastman, Frida Bender, and Franziska Glassmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3609–3621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3609-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3609-2020, 2020
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Cloud water content and the number of droplets inside clouds covary with boundary layer depth. This covariation may amplify the change in water content due to a change in droplet number inferred from long-term observations. Taking this into account shows that the change in water content for increased droplet number in observations and high-resolution simulations agrees in shallow boundary layers. Meanwhile, deep boundary layers are under-sampled in process-scale simulations and observations.
Maria Sand, Terje K. Berntsen, Annica M. L. Ekman, Hans-Christen Hansson, and Anna Lewinschal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3079–3089, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3079-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3079-2020, 2020
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There has been a growing interest in reducing emissions of soot particles to slow global warming and improve air quality. However, estimating the effect of reduced emissions is complex, as soot particles absorb solar radiation and influence heating rates, clouds, and humidity and can influence climate far outside their emission region. Here we investigate the impact of soot emitted in four major emissions areas, using different emissions rates, to see whether location and magnitude matter.
Sam Pennypacker, Michael Diamond, and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2341–2351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2341-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2341-2020, 2020
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Using observations from instruments deployed to a small island in the southeast Atlantic, we study days when the atmospheric concentrations of particles near the surface are exceptionally low. Interestingly, these ultra-clean boundary layers occur in the same months as the smokiest boundary layers associated with biomass burning in Africa. We find evidence that enhancements in drizzle scavenging, on top of a seasonal maximum in cloudiness and precipitation, likely drive these conditions.
Giulia Saponaro, Moa K. Sporre, David Neubauer, Harri Kokkola, Pekka Kolmonen, Larisa Sogacheva, Antti Arola, Gerrit de Leeuw, Inger H. H. Karset, Ari Laaksonen, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1607–1626, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1607-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1607-2020, 2020
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The understanding of cloud processes is based on the quality of the representation of cloud properties. We compared cloud parameters from three models with satellite observations. We report on the performance of each data source, highlighting strengths and deficiencies, which should be considered when deriving the effect of aerosols on cloud properties.
Samuel E. LeBlanc, Jens Redemann, Connor Flynn, Kristina Pistone, Meloë Kacenelenbogen, Michal Segal-Rosenheimer, Yohei Shinozuka, Stephen Dunagan, Robert P. Dahlgren, Kerry Meyer, James Podolske, Steven G. Howell, Steffen Freitag, Jennifer Small-Griswold, Brent Holben, Michael Diamond, Robert Wood, Paola Formenti, Stuart Piketh, Gillian Maggs-Kölling, Monja Gerber, and Andreas Namwoonde
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1565–1590, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1565-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1565-2020, 2020
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The southeast Atlantic during August–October experiences layers of smoke from biomass burning over marine stratocumulus clouds. Here we present the light attenuation of the smoke and its dependence in the spatial, vertical, and spectral domain through direct measurements from an airborne platform during September 2016. From our observations of this climatically important smoke, we found an average aerosol optical depth of 0.32 at 500 nm, slightly lower than comparative satellite measurements.
Georgia Sotiropoulou, Sylvia Sullivan, Julien Savre, Gary Lloyd, Thomas Lachlan-Cope, Annica M. L. Ekman, and Athanasios Nenes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1301–1316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1301-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1301-2020, 2020
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Arctic clouds constitute a large source of uncertainty in predictions of future climate. Observations indicate that the number concentration of cloud ice crystals exceeds the concentration of aerosols that can act as ice-nucleating particles (INPs). We show that ice multiplication due to mechanical break-up upon collisions between the few primary ice crystals (formed from INPs) can explain the discrepancy. Including a description of the process in climate models can improve cloud representation.
Manu Anna Thomas, Abhay Devasthale, Tristan L'Ecuyer, Shiyu Wang, Torben Koenigk, and Klaus Wyser
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3759–3772, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3759-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3759-2019, 2019
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Snow cover significantly influences the surface albedo and radiation budget. Therefore, a realistic representation of snowfall in climate models is important. Here, using decade-long estimates of snowfall derived from the satellite sensor, four climate models are evaluated to assess how well they simulate snowfall in the Arctic. It is found that light and median snowfall is overestimated by the models in comparison to the satellite observations, and extreme snowfall is underestimated.
David Neubauer, Sylvaine Ferrachat, Colombe Siegenthaler-Le Drian, Philip Stier, Daniel G. Partridge, Ina Tegen, Isabelle Bey, Tanja Stanelle, Harri Kokkola, and Ulrike Lohmann
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3609–3639, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3609-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3609-2019, 2019
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The global aerosol–climate model ECHAM6.3–HAM2.3 as well as the previous model versions ECHAM5.5–HAM2.0 and ECHAM6.1–HAM2.2 are evaluated. The simulation of clouds has improved in ECHAM6.3–HAM2.3. This has an impact on effective radiative forcing due to aerosol–radiation and aerosol–cloud interactions and equilibrium climate sensitivity, which are weaker in ECHAM6.3–HAM2.3 than in the previous model versions.
Laura J. Wilcox, Nick Dunstone, Anna Lewinschal, Massimo Bollasina, Annica M. L. Ekman, and Eleanor J. Highwood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9081–9095, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9081-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9081-2019, 2019
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Asian anthropogenic aerosol emissions have increased rapidly since 1980. In winter, this has resulted in warming over China and cooling over India. Using models of different levels of complexity, we show that Asian-aerosol-induced heating anomalies in the western and northern North Pacific establish a circulation pattern that causes cooling in North America and Europe. This connection makes these regions potentially sensitive to any reductions of Asian aerosol emissions in the near future.
Manu Anna Thomas, Abhay Devasthale, Torben Koenigk, Klaus Wyser, Malcolm Roberts, Christopher Roberts, and Katja Lohmann
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 1679–1702, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1679-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1679-2019, 2019
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Cloud processes occur at scales ranging from few micrometres to hundreds of kilometres. Their representation in global climate models and their fidelity are thus sensitive to the choice of spatial resolution. Here, cloud radiative effects simulated by models are evaluated using a satellite dataset, with a focus on investigating the sensitivity to spatial resolution. The evaluations are carried out using two approaches: the traditional statistical comparisons and the process-oriented evaluation.
Ina Tegen, David Neubauer, Sylvaine Ferrachat, Colombe Siegenthaler-Le Drian, Isabelle Bey, Nick Schutgens, Philip Stier, Duncan Watson-Parris, Tanja Stanelle, Hauke Schmidt, Sebastian Rast, Harri Kokkola, Martin Schultz, Sabine Schroeder, Nikos Daskalakis, Stefan Barthel, Bernd Heinold, and Ulrike Lohmann
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 1643–1677, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1643-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1643-2019, 2019
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We describe a new version of the aerosol–climate model ECHAM–HAM and show tests of the model performance by comparing different aspects of the aerosol distribution with different datasets. The updated version of HAM contains improved descriptions of aerosol processes, including updated emission fields and cloud processes. While there are regional deviations between the model and observations, the model performs well overall.
Mona Kurppa, Antti Hellsten, Pontus Roldin, Harri Kokkola, Juha Tonttila, Mikko Auvinen, Christoph Kent, Prashant Kumar, Björn Maronga, and Leena Järvi
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 1403–1422, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1403-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1403-2019, 2019
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This paper describes the implementation of a sectional aerosol module, SALSA, into the PALM model system 6.0. The first evaluation study shows excellent agreements with measurements. Furthermore, we show that ignoring the dry deposition of aerosol particles can overestimate aerosol number concentrations by 20 %, whereas condensation and dissolutional growth increase the total aerosol mass by over 10 % in this specific urban environment.
David Painemal, Marian Clayton, Richard Ferrare, Sharon Burton, Damien Josset, and Mark Vaughan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 2201–2217, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2201-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-2201-2019, 2019
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We present 1 year of a new CALIOP-based aerosol extinction coefficient and lidar ratio over the ocean, with the goal of providing a flexible dataset for climate research as well as independent retrievals that can be helpful for refining CALIPSO Science Team algorithms. The retrievals are derived by constraining the lidar equation with an aerosol optical depth estimated from cross-calibrated CALIOP and CloudSat surface echos.
Anna Lewinschal, Annica M. L. Ekman, Hans-Christen Hansson, Maria Sand, Terje K. Berntsen, and Joakim Langner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2385–2403, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2385-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2385-2019, 2019
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We use a global climate model to study how anthropogenic emissions of short-lived atmospheric particles in different parts of the world influence the global temperature distribution. We find that the global mean temperature change per unit emission is similar for all emission regions, and the largest temperature response is found in the Arctic no matter where the emissions occur. However, for European emissions, the temperature change per unit emission is found to depend on emission strength.
Michael Boy, Erik S. Thomson, Juan-C. Acosta Navarro, Olafur Arnalds, Ekaterina Batchvarova, Jaana Bäck, Frank Berninger, Merete Bilde, Zoé Brasseur, Pavla Dagsson-Waldhauserova, Dimitri Castarède, Maryam Dalirian, Gerrit de Leeuw, Monika Dragosics, Ella-Maria Duplissy, Jonathan Duplissy, Annica M. L. Ekman, Keyan Fang, Jean-Charles Gallet, Marianne Glasius, Sven-Erik Gryning, Henrik Grythe, Hans-Christen Hansson, Margareta Hansson, Elisabeth Isaksson, Trond Iversen, Ingibjorg Jonsdottir, Ville Kasurinen, Alf Kirkevåg, Atte Korhola, Radovan Krejci, Jon Egill Kristjansson, Hanna K. Lappalainen, Antti Lauri, Matti Leppäranta, Heikki Lihavainen, Risto Makkonen, Andreas Massling, Outi Meinander, E. Douglas Nilsson, Haraldur Olafsson, Jan B. C. Pettersson, Nønne L. Prisle, Ilona Riipinen, Pontus Roldin, Meri Ruppel, Matthew Salter, Maria Sand, Øyvind Seland, Heikki Seppä, Henrik Skov, Joana Soares, Andreas Stohl, Johan Ström, Jonas Svensson, Erik Swietlicki, Ksenia Tabakova, Throstur Thorsteinsson, Aki Virkkula, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Yusheng Wu, Paul Zieger, and Markku Kulmala
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2015–2061, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2015-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2015-2019, 2019
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The Nordic Centre of Excellence CRAICC (Cryosphere–Atmosphere Interactions in a Changing Arctic Climate), funded by NordForsk in the years 2011–2016, is the largest joint Nordic research and innovation initiative to date and aimed to strengthen research and innovation regarding climate change issues in the Nordic region. The paper presents an overview of the main scientific topics investigated and provides a state-of-the-art comprehensive summary of what has been achieved in CRAICC.
Michael S. Diamond, Amie Dobracki, Steffen Freitag, Jennifer D. Small Griswold, Ashley Heikkila, Steven G. Howell, Mary E. Kacarab, James R. Podolske, Pablo E. Saide, and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14623–14636, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14623-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14623-2018, 2018
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Smoke from Africa can mix into clouds over the southeast Atlantic and create new droplets, which brightens the clouds, reflects more sunlight, and thus cools the region. Using aircraft data from a NASA field campaign, we find that cloud properties are correlated with smoke as expected when the smoke is below the clouds but not when smoke is above the clouds because it takes several days for clouds to mix smoke downward. We recommend methods that can track clouds as they move for future studies.
Harri Kokkola, Thomas Kühn, Anton Laakso, Tommi Bergman, Kari E. J. Lehtinen, Tero Mielonen, Antti Arola, Scarlet Stadtler, Hannele Korhonen, Sylvaine Ferrachat, Ulrike Lohmann, David Neubauer, Ina Tegen, Colombe Siegenthaler-Le Drian, Martin G. Schultz, Isabelle Bey, Philip Stier, Nikos Daskalakis, Colette L. Heald, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 3833–3863, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3833-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3833-2018, 2018
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In this paper we present a global aerosol–chemistry–climate model with the focus on its representation for atmospheric aerosol particles. In the model, aerosols are simulated using the aerosol module SALSA2.0, which in this paper is compared to satellite, ground, and aircraft-based observations of the properties of atmospheric aerosol. Based on this study, the model simulated aerosol properties compare well with the observations.
Scarlet Stadtler, Thomas Kühn, Sabine Schröder, Domenico Taraborrelli, Martin G. Schultz, and Harri Kokkola
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 3235–3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3235-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3235-2018, 2018
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Atmospheric aerosols interact with our climate system and have adverse health effects. Nevertheless, these particles are a source of uncertainty in climate projections and the formation process of secondary aerosols formed by organic gas-phase precursors is particularly not fully understood. In order to gain a deeper understanding of secondary organic aerosol formation, this model system explicitly represents gas-phase and aerosol formation processes. Finally, this allows for process discussion.
Robin G. Stevens, Katharina Loewe, Christopher Dearden, Antonios Dimitrelos, Anna Possner, Gesa K. Eirund, Tomi Raatikainen, Adrian A. Hill, Benjamin J. Shipway, Jonathan Wilkinson, Sami Romakkaniemi, Juha Tonttila, Ari Laaksonen, Hannele Korhonen, Paul Connolly, Ulrike Lohmann, Corinna Hoose, Annica M. L. Ekman, Ken S. Carslaw, and Paul R. Field
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11041–11071, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11041-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11041-2018, 2018
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We perform a model intercomparison of summertime high Arctic clouds. Observed concentrations of aerosol particles necessary for cloud formation fell to extremely low values, coincident with a transition from cloudy to nearly cloud-free conditions. Previous analyses have suggested that at these low concentrations, the radiative properties of the clouds are determined primarily by these particle concentrations. The model results strongly support this hypothesis.
Ian Boutle, Jeremy Price, Innocent Kudzotsa, Harri Kokkola, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7827–7840, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7827-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7827-2018, 2018
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Aerosol processes are a key mechanism in the development of fog. Poor representation of aerosol–fog interaction can result in large biases in fog forecasts, such as surface temperatures which are too high and fog which is too deep and long lived. A relatively simple representation of aerosol–fog interaction can actually lead to significant improvements in forecasting. Aerosol–fog interaction can have a large effect on the climate system but is poorly represented in climate models.
Quentin Bourgeois, Annica M. L. Ekman, Jean-Baptiste Renard, Radovan Krejci, Abhay Devasthale, Frida A.-M. Bender, Ilona Riipinen, Gwenaël Berthet, and Jason L. Tackett
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7709–7720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7709-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7709-2018, 2018
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The altitude of aerosols is crucial as they can impact cloud formation and radiation. In this study, satellite observations have been used to characterize the global aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the boundary layer and the free troposphere. The free troposphere contributes 39 % to the global AOD during daytime. Overall, the results have implications for the description of budgets, sources, sinks and transport of aerosol particles as presently described in the atmospheric model.
Martin G. Schultz, Scarlet Stadtler, Sabine Schröder, Domenico Taraborrelli, Bruno Franco, Jonathan Krefting, Alexandra Henrot, Sylvaine Ferrachat, Ulrike Lohmann, David Neubauer, Colombe Siegenthaler-Le Drian, Sebastian Wahl, Harri Kokkola, Thomas Kühn, Sebastian Rast, Hauke Schmidt, Philip Stier, Doug Kinnison, Geoffrey S. Tyndall, John J. Orlando, and Catherine Wespes
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 1695–1723, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1695-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-1695-2018, 2018
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The chemistry–climate model ECHAM-HAMMOZ contains a detailed representation of tropospheric and stratospheric reactive chemistry and state-of-the-art parameterizations of aerosols. It thus allows for detailed investigations of chemical processes in the climate system. Evaluation of the model with various observational data yields good results, but the model has a tendency to produce too much OH in the tropics. This highlights the important interplay between atmospheric chemistry and dynamics.
Daniel T. McCoy, Paul R. Field, Anja Schmidt, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Frida A.-M. Bender, Ben J. Shipway, Adrian A. Hill, Jonathan M. Wilkinson, and Gregory S. Elsaesser
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 5821–5846, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5821-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-5821-2018, 2018
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Here we use a combination of global convection-permitting models, satellite observations and the Holuhraun volcanic eruption to demonstrate that aerosol enhances the cloud liquid content and brightness of midlatitude cyclones. This is important because the strength of anthropogenic radiative forcing is uncertain, leading to uncertainty in the climate sensitivity consistent with observed temperature record.
Daniel T. McCoy, Frida A.-M. Bender, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Johannes K. Mohrmann, Dennis L. Hartmann, Robert Wood, and Paul R. Field
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2035–2047, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2035-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2035-2018, 2018
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The interaction between clouds and aerosols represents the largest source of uncertainty in the anthropogenic radiative forcing. Cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) is the state variable that moderates the interaction between aerosol and clouds. Here we show that CDNC decreases off the coasts of East Asia and North America due to controls on emissions. We support this analysis through an examination of volcanism in Hawaii and Vanuatu.
Lukas Pichelstorfer, Dominik Stolzenburg, John Ortega, Thomas Karl, Harri Kokkola, Anton Laakso, Kari E. J. Lehtinen, James N. Smith, Peter H. McMurry, and Paul M. Winkler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1307–1323, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1307-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1307-2018, 2018
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Quantification of new particle formation as a source of atmospheric aerosol is clearly of importance for climate and health aspects. In our new study we developed two analysis methods that allow retrieval of nanoparticle growth dynamics at much higher precision than it was possible so far. Our results clearly demonstrate that growth rates show much more variation than is currently known and suggest that the Kelvin effect governs growth in the sub-10 nm size range.
Martin Stengel, Stefan Stapelberg, Oliver Sus, Cornelia Schlundt, Caroline Poulsen, Gareth Thomas, Matthew Christensen, Cintia Carbajal Henken, Rene Preusker, Jürgen Fischer, Abhay Devasthale, Ulrika Willén, Karl-Göran Karlsson, Gregory R. McGarragh, Simon Proud, Adam C. Povey, Roy G. Grainger, Jan Fokke Meirink, Artem Feofilov, Ralf Bennartz, Jedrzej S. Bojanowski, and Rainer Hollmann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 881–904, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-881-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-881-2017, 2017
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We present new cloud property datasets based on measurements from the passive imaging satellite sensors AVHRR, MODIS, ATSR2, AATSR and MERIS. Retrieval systems were developed that include cloud detection and cloud typing followed by optimal estimation retrievals of cloud properties (e.g. cloud-top pressure, effective radius, optical thickness, water path). Special features of all datasets are spectral consistency and rigorous uncertainty propagation from pixel-level data to monthly properties.
Manu Anna Thomas and Abhay Devasthale
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 12071–12080, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12071-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12071-2017, 2017
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Episodes of extreme pollution events of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can seriously hamper air quality. But under which meteorological conditions do such extreme pollution events occur over Scandinavia? Using observational and reanalysis data it is shown that south-westerly winds (sustained for at least a few days) dominate during extreme events and cause an increase in humidity and clouds. South-easterly winds have the second largest contribution and the pollution transport is rapid when they prevail.
Lars Norin, Abhay Devasthale, and Tristan S. L'Ecuyer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3249–3263, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3249-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3249-2017, 2017
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For a high-latitude country like Sweden snowfall is an important contributor to the regional water cycle. For Sweden, large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, or weather states, are important for precipitation variability. In this work we investigate the sensitivity of snowfall to weather states over Sweden to eight selected weather states. The analysis is based on measurements from ground-based radar, satellite observations, spatially interpolated in situ observations, and reanalysis data.
Lena Frey, Frida A.-M. Bender, and Gunilla Svensson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9145–9162, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9145-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9145-2017, 2017
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In this study, the cloud albedo effect in climate models is investigated, separating the influence of anthropogenic sulfate and non-sulfate aerosols. Cloud albedo changes induced by added anthropogenic aerosols are found to be determined by changes in the cloud water content rather than model sensitivity to monthly aerosol variations. The results also indicate that the background aerosol is the main driver for a cloud brightening effect on the month-to-month scale.
Sami Romakkaniemi, Zubair Maalick, Antti Hellsten, Antti Ruuskanen, Olli Väisänen, Irshad Ahmad, Juha Tonttila, Santtu Mikkonen, Mika Komppula, and Thomas Kühn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7955–7964, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7955-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-7955-2017, 2017
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Surface topography affects aerosol–cloud interactions in boundary layer clouds. Local topography effects should be screened out from in situ observations before results can be generalised into a larger scale. Here we present modelling and observational results from a measurement station residing in a 75 m tower on top of a 150 m hill, and analyse how landscape affects the cloud formation, and which factors should be taken into account when aerosol effect on cloud droplet formation is studied.
Anton Laakso, Hannele Korhonen, Sami Romakkaniemi, and Harri Kokkola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6957–6974, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6957-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6957-2017, 2017
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Based on simulations, equatorial stratospheric sulfur injections have shown to be an efficient strategy to counteract ongoing global warming. However, equatorial injections would result in relatively larger cooling in low latitudes than in high latitudes. This together with greenhouse-gas-induced warming would lead to cooling in the Equator and warming in the high latitudes. Results of this study show that a more optimal cooling effect is achieved by varying the injection area seasonally.
Katharina Loewe, Annica M. L. Ekman, Marco Paukert, Joseph Sedlar, Michael Tjernström, and Corinna Hoose
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6693–6704, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6693-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6693-2017, 2017
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Processes that affect Arctic mixed-phase cloud life cycle are extremely important for the surface energy budget. Three different sensitivity experiments mimic changes in the advection of air masses with different thermodynamic profiles and aerosol properties to find the potential mechanisms leading to the dissipation of the cloud. We found that the reduction of the cloud droplet number concentration was likely the primary contributor to the dissipation of the observed Arctic mixed-phase cloud.
Antti Arola, Thomas F. Eck, Harri Kokkola, Mikko R. A. Pitkänen, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5991–6001, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5991-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5991-2017, 2017
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One of the issues that hinder the measurement-based assessment of aerosol–cloud interactions by remote sensing methods is that typically aerosols and clouds cannot be measured simultaneously by passive remote sensing methods. AERONET includes the SDA product that provides the fine-mode AOD also in mixed cloud–aerosol observations. These measurements have not yet been fully exploited in studies of aerosol–cloud interactions. We applied SDA for this kind of analysis.
Karl-Göran Karlsson, Kati Anttila, Jörg Trentmann, Martin Stengel, Jan Fokke Meirink, Abhay Devasthale, Timo Hanschmann, Steffen Kothe, Emmihenna Jääskeläinen, Joseph Sedlar, Nikos Benas, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, Cornelia Schlundt, Diana Stein, Stefan Finkensieper, Nina Håkansson, and Rainer Hollmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5809–5828, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5809-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5809-2017, 2017
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The paper presents the second version of a global climate data record based on satellite measurements from polar orbiting weather satellites. It describes the global evolution of cloudiness, surface albedo and surface radiation during the time period 1982–2015. The main improvements of algorithms are described together with some validation results. In addition, some early analysis is presented of some particularly interesting climate features (Arctic albedo and cloudiness + global cloudiness).
Juha Tonttila, Zubair Maalick, Tomi Raatikainen, Harri Kokkola, Thomas Kühn, and Sami Romakkaniemi
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 169–188, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-169-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-169-2017, 2017
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Novel techniques for modelling the aerosol–cloud interactions are implemented in a cloud-resolving model. The new methods improve the representation of the poorly constrained effects of cloud processing, precipitation and the wet removal of particles on the aerosol population and the associated feedbacks. The detailed representation of these processes yields more realistic simulation of the evolution of boundary layer clouds and fogs, as compared to results obtained using more simple methods.
Tero Mielonen, Anca Hienola, Thomas Kühn, Joonas Merikanto, Antti Lipponen, Tommi Bergman, Hannele Korhonen, Pekka Kolmonen, Larisa Sogacheva, Darren Ghent, Antti Arola, Gerrit de Leeuw, and Harri Kokkola
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2016-625, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2016-625, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We studied the temperature dependence of AOD and its radiative effects over the southeastern US. We used spaceborne observations of AOD, LST and tropospheric NO2 with simulations of ECHAM-HAMMOZ. The level of AOD in this region is governed by anthropogenic emissions but the temperature dependency is most likely caused by BVOC emissions. According to the observations and simulations, the regional clear-sky DRE for biogenic aerosols is −0.43 ± 0.88 W/m2/K and −0.86 ± 0.06 W/m2/K, respectively.
Jani Huttunen, Harri Kokkola, Tero Mielonen, Mika Esa Juhani Mononen, Antti Lipponen, Juha Reunanen, Anders Vilhelm Lindfors, Santtu Mikkonen, Kari Erkki Juhani Lehtinen, Natalia Kouremeti, Alkiviadis Bais, Harri Niska, and Antti Arola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8181–8191, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8181-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8181-2016, 2016
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For a good estimate of the current forcing by anthropogenic aerosols, knowledge in past is needed. One option to lengthen time series is to retrieve aerosol optical depth from solar radiation measurements. We have evaluated several methods for this task. Most of the methods produce aerosol optical depth estimates with a good accuracy. However, machine learning methods seem to be the most applicable not to produce any systematic biases, since they do not need constrain the aerosol properties.
Kristina Pistone, Puppala S. Praveen, Rick M. Thomas, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Eric M. Wilcox, and Frida A.-M. Bender
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5203–5227, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5203-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5203-2016, 2016
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A recent field campaign (CARDEX) in the northern Indian Ocean concurrently measured cloud and aerosol properties and atmospheric structure and dynamics from a ground-based observatory and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These new measurements show a correlation between highly polluted conditions and increased cloud water content, concurrent with higher atmospheric temperature and humidity. Such correlations may be of interest in future studies of the effects of pollution on cloud properties.
N. I. Kristiansen, A. Stohl, D. J. L. Olivié, B. Croft, O. A. Søvde, H. Klein, T. Christoudias, D. Kunkel, S. J. Leadbetter, Y. H. Lee, K. Zhang, K. Tsigaridis, T. Bergman, N. Evangeliou, H. Wang, P.-L. Ma, R. C. Easter, P. J. Rasch, X. Liu, G. Pitari, G. Di Genova, S. Y. Zhao, Y. Balkanski, S. E. Bauer, G. S. Faluvegi, H. Kokkola, R. V. Martin, J. R. Pierce, M. Schulz, D. Shindell, H. Tost, and H. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3525–3561, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3525-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3525-2016, 2016
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Processes affecting aerosol removal from the atmosphere are not fully understood. In this study we investigate to what extent atmospheric transport models can reproduce observed loss of aerosols. We compare measurements of radioactive isotopes, that attached to ambient sulfate aerosols during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, to 19 models using identical emissions. Results indicate aerosol removal that is too fast in most models, and apply to aerosols that have undergone long-range transport.
Zak Kipling, Philip Stier, Colin E. Johnson, Graham W. Mann, Nicolas Bellouin, Susanne E. Bauer, Tommi Bergman, Mian Chin, Thomas Diehl, Steven J. Ghan, Trond Iversen, Alf Kirkevåg, Harri Kokkola, Xiaohong Liu, Gan Luo, Twan van Noije, Kirsty J. Pringle, Knut von Salzen, Michael Schulz, Øyvind Seland, Ragnhild B. Skeie, Toshihiko Takemura, Kostas Tsigaridis, and Kai Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2221–2241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2221-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2221-2016, 2016
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The vertical distribution of atmospheric aerosol is an important factor in its effects on climate. In this study we use a sophisticated model of the many interacting processes affecting aerosol in the atmosphere to show that the vertical distribution is typically dominated by only a few of these processes. Constraining these physical processes may help to reduce the large differences between models. However, the important processes are not always the same for different types of aerosol.
F. Höpner, F. A.-M. Bender, A. M. L. Ekman, P. S. Praveen, C. Bosch, J. A. Ogren, A. Andersson, Ö. Gustafsson, and V. Ramanathan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1045–1064, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1045-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1045-2016, 2016
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The paper presents aerosol properties measured during the Cloud Aerosol Radiative Forcing Experiment (CARDEX) on the Maldives Islands in winter 2012. The vertical distribution of absorbing aerosol which is very relevant to the radiative forcing in that region, is investigated. A method for determining particle absorption and equivalent black carbon concentration from lidar extinction coefficients, characteristic single scattering albedo and mass absorption efficiency, is presented and evaluated.
A. Laakso, H. Kokkola, A.-I. Partanen, U. Niemeier, C. Timmreck, K. E. J. Lehtinen, H. Hakkarainen, and H. Korhonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 305–323, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-305-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-305-2016, 2016
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We have studied the impacts of a volcanic eruption during solar radiation management (SRM) using an aerosol-climate model ECHAM5-HAM-SALSA and an Earth system model MPI-ESM. A volcanic eruption during stratospheric sulfur geoengineering would lead to larger particles and smaller amount of new particles than if an volcano erupts in normal atmospheric conditions. Thus, volcanic eruption during SRM would lead to only a small additional cooling which would last for a significantly shorter period.
L. Norin, A. Devasthale, T. S. L'Ecuyer, N. B. Wood, and M. Smalley
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5009–5021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5009-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5009-2015, 2015
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The ability to estimate snowfall accurately is important for both weather and climate applications. In this work we have intercompared snowfall estimates from two observing systems: the space-based Cloud Profiling Radar on board NASA's CloudSat satellite and Swerad, the ground-based Swedish national weather radar network. The intercomparison shows encouraging agreement between these two observing systems despite their different sensitivities and user applications.
E. Andersson, M. Kahnert, and A. Devasthale
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 3747–3763, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3747-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-3747-2015, 2015
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This study investigate the representation of hemispheric transport in a regional chemical transport model (CTM) in terms of lateral boundary conditions (LBCs). We evaluate the LBCs both directly with satellite retrievals and indirectly by forcing a regional CTM with LBCs and compare to in-domain observations. We believe that our work makes an important contribution to the methodology of validating LBCs for regional modelling.
A. Arola, G. L. Schuster, M. R. A. Pitkänen, O. Dubovik, H. Kokkola, A. V. Lindfors, T. Mielonen, T. Raatikainen, S. Romakkaniemi, S. N. Tripathi, and H. Lihavainen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 12731–12740, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12731-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12731-2015, 2015
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There have been relatively few measurement-based estimates for the direct radiative effect of brown carbon so far. This is first time that the direct radiative effect of brown carbon is estimated by exploiting the AERONET-retrieved imaginary indices. We estimated it for four sites in the Indo-Gangetic Plain: Karachi, Lahore,
Kanpur and Gandhi College.
E. Johansson, A. Devasthale, T. L'Ecuyer, A. M. L. Ekman, and M. Tjernström
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11557–11570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11557-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11557-2015, 2015
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Both radiative and latent heat components of total diabatic heating influence Indian monsoon dynamics. This study investigates radiative component in detail, focusing on various cloud types that have largest radiative impact during summer monsoon over the Indian subcontinent. The vertical structure of radiative heating and its intra-seasonal variability is investigated with particular emphasis on the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region.
M. A. Thomas, M. Kahnert, C. Andersson, H. Kokkola, U. Hansson, C. Jones, J. Langner, and A. Devasthale
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1885–1898, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1885-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1885-2015, 2015
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We have showed that a coupled modelling system is beneficial in the sense that more complex processes can be included to better represent the aerosol processes starting from their formation, their interactions with clouds and provide better estimate of radiative forcing. Using this model set up, we estimated an annual mean 'indirect' radiative forcing of -0.64W/m2. This means that aerosols, solely by their capability of altering the microphysical properties of clouds can cool the Earth system.
J. Tonttila, E. J. O'Connor, A. Hellsten, A. Hirsikko, C. O'Dowd, H. Järvinen, and P. Räisänen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 5873–5885, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5873-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-5873-2015, 2015
C. Andersson, R. Bergström, C. Bennet, L. Robertson, M. Thomas, H. Korhonen, K. E. J. Lehtinen, and H. Kokkola
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 171–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-171-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-171-2015, 2015
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We have integrated the sectional aerosol dynamics model SALSA into the European scale chemistry-transport model MATCH. The combined model reproduces observed higher particle number concentration (PNCs) in central Europe and lower concentrations in remote regions; however, the total PNC is underestimated. The low nucleation rate coefficient used in this study is an important reason for the underestimation.
J. Tonttila, H. Järvinen, and P. Räisänen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 703–714, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-703-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-703-2015, 2015
E. M. Dunne, S. Mikkonen, H. Kokkola, and H. Korhonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 13631–13642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13631-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-13631-2014, 2014
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Marine clouds have a strong effect on the Earth's radiative balance. One proposed climate feedback is that, in a warming climate, marine aerosol emissions will change due to changing wind speeds. We have examined the processes that affect aerosol emissions and removal over 15 years, and high-temporal-resolution output over 2 months. We conclude that wind trends are unlikely to cause a strong feedback in marine regions, but changes in removal processes or transport from continental regions may.
A.-I. Partanen, E. M. Dunne, T. Bergman, A. Laakso, H. Kokkola, J. Ovadnevaite, L. Sogacheva, D. Baisnée, J. Sciare, A. Manders, C. O'Dowd, G. de Leeuw, and H. Korhonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11731–11752, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11731-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11731-2014, 2014
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New parameterizations for the sea spray aerosol source flux and its organic fraction were incorporated into a global aerosol-climate model. The emissions of sea salt were considerably less than previous estimates. This study demonstrates that sea spray aerosol may actually decrease the number of cloud droplets, which has a warming effect on climate. Overall, sea spray aerosol was predicted to have a global cooling effect due to the scattering of solar radiation from sea spray aerosol particles.
M. A. Thomas and A. Devasthale
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11545–11555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11545-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11545-2014, 2014
K. Tsigaridis, N. Daskalakis, M. Kanakidou, P. J. Adams, P. Artaxo, R. Bahadur, Y. Balkanski, S. E. Bauer, N. Bellouin, A. Benedetti, T. Bergman, T. K. Berntsen, J. P. Beukes, H. Bian, K. S. Carslaw, M. Chin, G. Curci, T. Diehl, R. C. Easter, S. J. Ghan, S. L. Gong, A. Hodzic, C. R. Hoyle, T. Iversen, S. Jathar, J. L. Jimenez, J. W. Kaiser, A. Kirkevåg, D. Koch, H. Kokkola, Y. H Lee, G. Lin, X. Liu, G. Luo, X. Ma, G. W. Mann, N. Mihalopoulos, J.-J. Morcrette, J.-F. Müller, G. Myhre, S. Myriokefalitakis, N. L. Ng, D. O'Donnell, J. E. Penner, L. Pozzoli, K. J. Pringle, L. M. Russell, M. Schulz, J. Sciare, Ø. Seland, D. T. Shindell, S. Sillman, R. B. Skeie, D. Spracklen, T. Stavrakou, S. D. Steenrod, T. Takemura, P. Tiitta, S. Tilmes, H. Tost, T. van Noije, P. G. van Zyl, K. von Salzen, F. Yu, Z. Wang, Z. Wang, R. A. Zaveri, H. Zhang, K. Zhang, Q. Zhang, and X. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10845–10895, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10845-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10845-2014, 2014
S. V. Henriksson, J.-P. Pietikäinen, A.-P. Hyvärinen, P. Räisänen, K. Kupiainen, J. Tonttila, R. Hooda, H. Lihavainen, D. O'Donnell, L. Backman, Z. Klimont, and A. Laaksonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 10177–10192, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10177-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-10177-2014, 2014
N. Rastak, S. Silvergren, P. Zieger, U. Wideqvist, J. Ström, B. Svenningsson, M. Maturilli, M. Tesche, A. M. L. Ekman, P. Tunved, and I. Riipinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7445–7460, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7445-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7445-2014, 2014
A. Devasthale and L. Norin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1605–1617, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1605-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1605-2014, 2014
G. W. Mann, K. S. Carslaw, C. L. Reddington, K. J. Pringle, M. Schulz, A. Asmi, D. V. Spracklen, D. A. Ridley, M. T. Woodhouse, L. A. Lee, K. Zhang, S. J. Ghan, R. C. Easter, X. Liu, P. Stier, Y. H. Lee, P. J. Adams, H. Tost, J. Lelieveld, S. E. Bauer, K. Tsigaridis, T. P. C. van Noije, A. Strunk, E. Vignati, N. Bellouin, M. Dalvi, C. E. Johnson, T. Bergman, H. Kokkola, K. von Salzen, F. Yu, G. Luo, A. Petzold, J. Heintzenberg, A. Clarke, J. A. Ogren, J. Gras, U. Baltensperger, U. Kaminski, S. G. Jennings, C. D. O'Dowd, R. M. Harrison, D. C. S. Beddows, M. Kulmala, Y. Viisanen, V. Ulevicius, N. Mihalopoulos, V. Zdimal, M. Fiebig, H.-C. Hansson, E. Swietlicki, and J. S. Henzing
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4679–4713, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4679-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4679-2014, 2014
C. Wesslén, M. Tjernström, D. H. Bromwich, G. de Boer, A. M. L. Ekman, L.-S. Bai, and S.-H. Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2605–2624, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2605-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2605-2014, 2014
T. Koenigk, A. Devasthale, and K.-G. Karlsson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1987–1998, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1987-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1987-2014, 2014
H. Kokkola, P. Yli-Pirilä, M. Vesterinen, H. Korhonen, H. Keskinen, S. Romakkaniemi, L. Hao, A. Kortelainen, J. Joutsensaari, D. R. Worsnop, A. Virtanen, and K. E. J. Lehtinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1689–1700, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1689-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1689-2014, 2014
T. Korhola, H. Kokkola, H. Korhonen, A.-I. Partanen, A. Laaksonen, K. E. J. Lehtinen, and S. Romakkaniemi
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 161–174, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-161-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-161-2014, 2014
A. Lipponen, V. Kolehmainen, S. Romakkaniemi, and H. Kokkola
Geosci. Model Dev., 6, 2087–2098, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-2087-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-2087-2013, 2013
A. I. Partanen, A. Laakso, A. Schmidt, H. Kokkola, T. Kuokkanen, J.-P. Pietikäinen, V.-M. Kerminen, K. E. J. Lehtinen, L. Laakso, and H. Korhonen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12059–12071, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12059-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12059-2013, 2013
D. Painemal, P. Minnis, and S. Sun-Mack
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9997–10003, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9997-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9997-2013, 2013
J. Tonttila, P. Räisänen, and H. Järvinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 7551–7565, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7551-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7551-2013, 2013
A. Devasthale, J. Sedlar, T. Koenigk, and E. J. Fetzer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 7441–7450, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7441-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7441-2013, 2013
J. Zábori, R. Krejci, J. Ström, P. Vaattovaara, A. M. L. Ekman, M. E. Salter, E. M. Mårtensson, and E. D. Nilsson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4783–4799, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4783-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4783-2013, 2013
A. Kirkevåg, T. Iversen, Ø. Seland, C. Hoose, J. E. Kristjánsson, H. Struthers, A. M. L. Ekman, S. Ghan, J. Griesfeller, E. D. Nilsson, and M. Schulz
Geosci. Model Dev., 6, 207–244, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-207-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-207-2013, 2013
D. Painemal and P. Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 917–931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-917-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-917-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Regional variability of aerosol impacts on clouds and radiation in global kilometer-scale simulations
A novel method to quantify the uncertainty contribution of aerosol–radiation interaction factors
Exploring the aerosol activation properties in coastal shallow convection using cloud- and particle-resolving models
Machine-learning-assisted inference of the particle charge fraction and the ion-induced nucleation rates during new particle formation events
Modeling CMAQ dry deposition treatment over the western Pacific: a distinct characteristic of mineral dust and anthropogenic aerosols
Impact of post-monsoon crop residue burning on PM2.5 over northern India: optimizing emissions using a high-density in situ surface observation network
Modeling simulation of aerosol light absorption over the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region: the impact of mixing state and aging processes
An investigation of the impact of Canadian wildfires on US air quality using model, satellite, and ground measurements
How to trace the origins of short-lived atmospheric species: an Arctic example
Dust-producing weather patterns of the North American Great Plains
High-resolution air quality maps for Bucharest using a mixed-effects modeling framework
Interdecadal shift in the impact of winter land-sea thermal contrasts on following spring transcontinental dust transport pathways in North Africa
Anthropogenic and Natural Causes for the Interannual Variation of PM2.5 in East Asia During Summer Monsoon Periods From 2008 to 2018
Construction and application of a pollen emissions model based on phenology and random forests
An uncertain future for the climate and health impacts of anthropogenic aerosols in Africa
The impact of uncertainty in black carbon's refractive index on simulated optical depth and radiative forcing
Gas-phase collision rate enhancement factors for acid-base clusters up to 2 nm in diameter from atomistic simulation and the interacting hard sphere model
How well are aerosol–cloud interactions represented in climate models? – Part 2: Isolating the aerosol impact on clouds following the 2014–15 Holuhraun eruption
Characterization of brown carbon absorption in different European environments through source contribution analysis
Accounting for the black carbon aging process in a two-way coupled meteorology–air quality model
The effectiveness of solar radiation management using fine sea spray across multiple climatic regions
A global dust emission dataset for estimating dust radiative forcings in climate models
Tropospheric aerosols over the western North Atlantic Ocean during the winter and summer deployments of ACTIVATE 2020: life cycle, transport, and distribution
Spatial and temporal evolution of future atmospheric reactive nitrogen deposition in China under different climate change mitigation strategies
Steady-state mixing state of black carbon aerosols from a particle-resolved model
Direct radiative forcing of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosol and the influencing factors over China
Distinctive dust weather intensities in North China resulted from two types of atmospheric circulation anomalies
Biomass burning emission analysis based on MODIS aerosol optical depth and AeroCom multi-model simulations: implications for model constraints and emission inventories
The effect of organic nucleation on the indirect radiative forcing with a semi-explicit chemical mechanism for highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs)
Quasi-weekly oscillation of regional PM2.5 transport over China driven by the synoptic-scale disturbance of the East Asian winter monsoon circulation
Solar radiation estimation in West Africa: impact of dust conditions during the 2021 dry season
Modeling urban pollutant transport at multi-resolutions: Impacts of turbulent mixing
Homogeneous ice nucleation in adsorbed water films: A theoretical approach
Gaps in our understanding of ice-nucleating particle sources exposed by global simulation of the UK Earth System Model
The role of interfacial tension in the size-dependent phase separation of atmospheric aerosol particles
Impact of Topographic Wind Conditions on Dust Particle Size Distribution: Insights from a Regional Dust Reanalysis Dataset
Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China
Seasonal differences in observed versus modeled new particle formation over boreal regions
Warming effects of reduced sulfur emissions from shipping
The key role of atmospheric absorption in the Asian summer monsoon response to dust emissions in CMIP6 models
Multi-model effective radiative forcing of the 2020 sulfur cap for shipping
Representation of iron aerosol size distributions of anthropogenic emissions is critical in evaluating atmospheric soluble iron input to the ocean
Radiative and climate effects of aerosol scattering in long-wave radiation based on global climate modeling
Revealing dominant patterns of aerosol regimes in the lower troposphere and their evolution from preindustrial times to the future in global climate model simulations
Improving estimation of a record-breaking east Asian dust storm emission with lagged aerosol Ångström exponent observations
Impact of biomass burning aerosols (BBA) on the tropical African climate in an ocean–atmosphere–aerosol coupled climate model
Retrieval of refractive index and water content for the coating materials of aged black carbon aerosol based on optical properties: a theoretical analysis
Strong inter-model differences and biases in CMIP6 simulations of PM2.5, aerosol optical depth, and precipitation over Africa
Predicting hygroscopic growth of organosulfur aerosol particles using COSMOtherm
Dust aerosol from the Aralkum Desert influences the radiation budget and atmospheric dynamics of Central Asia
Ross J. Herbert, Andrew I. L. Williams, Philipp Weiss, Duncan Watson-Parris, Elisabeth Dingley, Daniel Klocke, and Philip Stier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7789–7814, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7789-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7789-2025, 2025
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Clouds exist at scales that climate models struggle to represent, limiting our knowledge of how climate change may impact clouds. Here we use a new kilometer-scale global model representing an important step towards the necessary scale. We focus on how aerosol particles modify clouds, radiation, and precipitation. We find the magnitude and manner of responses tend to vary from region to region, highlighting the potential of global kilometer-scale simulations and a need to represent aerosols in climate models.
Bishuo He and Chunsheng Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7765–7776, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7765-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7765-2025, 2025
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Factor uncertainty analysis helps us understand the impacts of factors on complex systems. Traditional methods have many limitations. This study introduces a new method to measure how each factor contributes to uncertainty. It gains insights into the role of each variable and works for all multi-factor systems. As an application, we analyzed how aerosols affect solar radiation and identified the key factors. These analyses can improve our understanding of the role of aerosols in climate change.
Ge Yu, Yueya Wang, Zhe Wang, and Xiaoming Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7527–7542, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7527-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7527-2025, 2025
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Studying the cloud-forming capacity of aerosols is crucial in climate research. The PartMC model can provide detailed particle information and help these studies. This model is integrated with the ideal meteorological Cloud Model 1 (CM1) to simulate the aerosols at cloud-forming locations. Significant changes are revealed in the hygroscopicity distribution of aerosols within ascending air parcels. Additionally, different ascent times also affect aerosol aging processes.
Pan Wang, Yue Zhao, Jiandong Wang, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Jingkun Jiang, and Chenxi Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7431–7446, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7431-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7431-2025, 2025
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We developed a numerical model to investigate the evolution of the charge state of newly formed atmospheric particles. Based on the simulation results, we successfully employed neural networks to predict particle charge states and estimate ion-induced nucleation rates. This study provides new insights into the dynamics of particle charging and introduces advanced methods for evaluating ion-induced nucleation in atmospheric research.
Steven Soon-Kai Kong, Joshua S. Fu, Neng-Huei Lin, Guey-Rong Sheu, and Wei-Syun Huang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7245–7268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7245-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7245-2025, 2025
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The accuracy of the chemical transport model, a key focus of our research, is strongly dependent on the dry deposition parameterization. Our findings show that the refined CMAQ dust model correlated well with ground-based and high-altitude in situ measurements by implementing the suggested dry deposition schemes. Furthermore, we reveal the mixing state of two types of aerosols at the upper level, a finding supported by both the optimized model and measurements.
Mizuo Kajino, Kentaro Ishijima, Joseph Ching, Kazuyo Yamaji, Rio Ishikawa, Tomoki Kajikawa, Tanbir Singh, Tomoki Nakayama, Yutaka Matsumi, Koyo Kojima, Taisei Machida, Takashi Maki, Prabir K. Patra, and Sachiko Hayashida
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7137–7160, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7137-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7137-2025, 2025
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Air pollution in Delhi during the post-monsoon period is severe, and association with intensive crop residue burning (CRB) over Punjab state has attracted attention. However, the relationship has been unclear as the CRB emissions conventionally derived from satellites were underestimated due to clouds or thick smoke/haze over the region. We evaluated the impact of CRB on PM2.5 to be about 50 %, based on a combination of numerical modeling and an observation network using low-cost sensors we installed.
Huiyun Du, Jie Li, Xueshun Chen, Gabriele Curci, Fangqun Yu, Yele Sun, Xu Dao, Song Guo, Zhe Wang, Wenyi Yang, Lianfang Wei, and Zifa Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5665–5681, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5665-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5665-2025, 2025
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Inadequate consideration of mixing states and coatings on black carbon (BC) hinders aerosol radiation forcing quantification. Core–shell mixing aligns well with observations, but partial internal mixing is a more realistic representation. We used a microphysics module to determine the fraction of embedded BC and coating aerosols, constraining the mixing state. This reduced absorption enhancement by 30 %–43 % in northern China, offering insights into BC's radiative effects.
Zhixin Xue, Nair Udaysankar, and Sundar A. Christopher
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5497–5517, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5497-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5497-2025, 2025
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Canadian wildfires in August 2018 significantly increased surface air pollution across the United States (US) – by up to 69 % in some areas. Using model, satellite, and ground measurements, the study highlights how weather patterns and long-range smoke transport drive pollution. The northwestern US was most affected by Canadian wildfire smoke, while the northeastern US experienced the least impact. These findings indicate the growing concern that wildfire smoke poses to air quality across the US.
Anderson Da Silva, Louis Marelle, Jean-Christophe Raut, Yvette Gramlich, Karolina Siegel, Sophie L. Haslett, Claudia Mohr, and Jennie L. Thomas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5331–5354, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5331-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5331-2025, 2025
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Particle sources in polar climates are unclear, affecting climate representation in models. This study introduces an evaluated method for tracking particles with backward modeling. Tests on simulated particles allowed us to show that traditional detection methods often misidentify sources. An improved method that accurately traces the origins of aerosol particles in the Arctic is presented. The study recommends using this enhanced method for better source identification of atmospheric species.
Stuart Evans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4833–4845, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4833-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4833-2025, 2025
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This study of the North American Great Plains identifies the various weather patterns responsible for blowing dust in all parts of the region using a weather pattern classification. In the southwestern plains passing cold fronts are the primary cause of dust; in the understudied northern plains, summertime patterns and southerly pre-frontal winds are most important in the west and east, respectively. These results are valuable to understanding and forecasting dust in this complex source region.
Camelia Talianu, Jeni Vasilescu, Doina Nicolae, Alexandru Ilie, Andrei Dandocsi, Anca Nemuc, and Livio Belegante
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4639–4654, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4639-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4639-2025, 2025
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For Bucharest, Romania's capital, mobile measurements during two intensive campaigns and mixed-effect LUR (land-use regression) models to derive seasonal maps of near-surface PM10, NO2 and UFPs (ultrafine particles) have successfully been used. The model's performance was evaluated, demonstrating its potential for high-resolution mapping in other cities with well-characterized urban structures and diverse in situ monitoring stations.
Qi Wen, Yan Li, Mengying Du, Wenjun Song, Linbo Wei, Zhilan Wang, and Xu Li
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-826, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-826, 2025
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We find that, through an interdecadal phase-locking effect of sea-land thermal forcing-North Atlantic Oscillation-Westerly Jet coupling, springtime dust from North Africa is more likely to be transported eastwards (extending into North America) after the late 1990s, whereas before that time westward transport paths for dust were more frequent. Subject to thermal forcing, wind speed and drought contribute to dust emissions in the two periods, respectively.
Danyang Ma, Min Xie, Huan He, Tijian Wang, Mengzhu Xi, Lingyun Feng, Shuxian Zhang, and Shitong Chen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-10, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-10, 2025
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The PM2.5 concentration in China underwent significant changes in 2013. We examined the underlying causes from three perspectives: anthropogenic pollutant emissions, meteorological conditions, and CO2 concentration variations. Our study highlighted the importance of considering the role of CO2 on vegetation when predicting PM2.5 concentrations and developing corresponding control strategies.
Jiangtao Li, Xingqin An, Zhaobin Sun, Caihua Ye, Qing Hou, Yuxin Zhao, and Zhe Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3583–3602, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3583-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3583-2025, 2025
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Climate change and pollution have intensified pollen allergies. We developed a pollen emissions model using phenology and random forests. Key factors affecting annual pollen emissions include temperature, relative humidity and sunshine hours. Pollen dispersal starts around 10 August, peaks around 30 August and ends by 25 September, lasting about 45 d. Over time, annual pollen emissions exhibit significant fluctuations and a downward trend.
Joe Adabouk Amooli, Marianne T. Lund, Sourangsu Chowdhury, Gunnar Myhre, Ane N. Johansen, Bjørn H. Samset, and Daniel M. Westervelt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-948, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-948, 2025
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We analyze various projections of African aerosol emissions and their potential impacts on climate and public health. We find that future emissions vary widely across emission projections, with differences in sectoral emission distributions. Using the Oslo chemical transport model, we show that air pollution exposure in some regions of Africa could increase significantly by 2050, increasing pollution-related deaths, with most scenarios projecting aerosol-induced warming over sub-Saharan Africa.
Ruth A. R. Digby, Knut von Salzen, Adam H. Monahan, Nathan P. Gillett, and Jiangnan Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3109–3130, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3109-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3109-2025, 2025
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The refractive index of black carbon (BCRI), which determines how much energy black carbon absorbs and scatters, is difficult to measure, and different climate models use different values. We show that varying the BCRI across commonly used values can increase absorbing aerosol optical depth by 42 % and the warming effect from interactions between black carbon and radiation by 47 %, an appreciable fraction of the overall spread between models reported in recent literature assessments.
Valtteri Tikkanen, Huan Yang, Hanna Vehkamäki, and Bernhard Reischl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-507, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-507, 2025
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Collisions of neutral molecules and clusters is the prevalent pathway in atmospheric new particle formation. In heavily polluted urban areas, where clusters are formed rapidly and in large number, cluster-cluster collisions also become relevant. We calculate cluster-cluster collision rates from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and an interacting hard sphere model. Not accounting for long-range attractive interactions underestimates collision and particle formation rates significantly.
George Jordan, Florent Malavelle, Jim Haywood, Ying Chen, Ben Johnson, Daniel Partridge, Amy Peace, Eliza Duncan, Duncan Watson-Parris, David Neubauer, Anton Laakso, Martine Michou, and Pierre Nabat
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-835, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-835, 2025
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The 2014–15 Holuhraun eruption created a vast aerosol plume that acted as a natural experiment to assess how well climate models capture changes in cloud properties due to increased aerosol. We find that the models accurately represent the observed shift to smaller, more numerous cloud droplets. However, the models diverge in their aerosol induced changes to large-scale cloud properties, particularly cloud liquid water content. Our study shows that Holuhraun had a cooling effect on the Earth.
Hector Navarro-Barboza, Jordi Rovira, Vincenzo Obiso, Andrea Pozzer, Marta Via, Andres Alastuey, Xavier Querol, Noemi Perez, Marjan Savadkoohi, Gang Chen, Jesus Yus-Díez, Matic Ivancic, Martin Rigler, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Stergios Vratolis, Olga Zografou, Maria Gini, Benjamin Chazeau, Nicolas Marchand, Andre S. H. Prevot, Kaspar Dallenbach, Mikael Ehn, Krista Luoma, Tuukka Petäjä, Anna Tobler, Jaroslaw Necki, Minna Aurela, Hilkka Timonen, Jarkko Niemi, Olivier Favez, Jean-Eudes Petit, Jean-Philippe Putaud, Christoph Hueglin, Nicolas Pascal, Aurélien Chauvigné, Sébastien Conil, Marco Pandolfi, and Oriol Jorba
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2667–2694, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2667-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2667-2025, 2025
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Brown carbon (BrC) absorbs ultraviolet (UV) and visible light, influencing climate. This study explores BrC's imaginary refractive index (k) using data from 12 European sites. Residential emissions are a major organic aerosol (OA) source in winter, while secondary organic aerosol (SOA) dominates in summer. Source-specific k values were derived, improving model accuracy. The findings highlight BrC's climate impact and emphasize source-specific constraints in atmospheric models.
Yuzhi Jin, Jiandong Wang, Chao Liu, David C. Wong, Golam Sarwar, Kathleen M. Fahey, Shang Wu, Jiaping Wang, Jing Cai, Zeyuan Tian, Zhouyang Zhang, Jia Xing, Aijun Ding, and Shuxiao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2613–2630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2613-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2613-2025, 2025
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Black carbon (BC) affects climate and the environment, and its aging process alters its properties. Current models, like WRF-CMAQ, lack full accounting for it. We developed the WRF-CMAQ-BCG model to better represent BC aging by introducing bare and coated BC species and their conversion. The WRF-CMAQ-BCG model introduces the capability to simulate BC mixing states and bare and coated BC wet deposition, and it improves the accuracy of BC mass concentration and aerosol optics.
Zhe Song, Shaocai Yu, Pengfei Li, Ningning Yao, Lang Chen, Yuhai Sun, Boqiong Jiang, and Daniel Rosenfeld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2473–2494, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2473-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2473-2025, 2025
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Our results with injected sea salt aerosols for five open oceans show that sea salt aerosols with low injection amounts dominate shortwave radiation, mainly through indirect effects. As indirect aerosol effects saturate with increasing injection rates, direct effects exceed indirect effects. This implies that marine cloud brightening is best implemented in areas with extensive cloud cover, while aerosol direct scattering effects remain dominant when clouds are scarce.
Danny M. Leung, Jasper F. Kok, Longlei Li, David M. Lawrence, Natalie M. Mahowald, Simone Tilmes, and Erik Kluzek
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2311–2331, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2311-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2311-2025, 2025
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This study derives a gridded dust emission dataset for 1841–2000 by employing a combination of observed dust from core records and reanalyzed global dust cycle constraints. We evaluate the ability of global models to replicate the observed historical dust variability by using the emission dataset to force a historical simulation in an Earth system model. We show that prescribing our emissions forces the model to better match observations than other mechanistic models.
Hongyu Liu, Bo Zhang, Richard H. Moore, Luke D. Ziemba, Richard A. Ferrare, Hyundeok Choi, Armin Sorooshian, David Painemal, Hailong Wang, Michael A. Shook, Amy Jo Scarino, Johnathan W. Hair, Ewan C. Crosbie, Marta A. Fenn, Taylor J. Shingler, Chris A. Hostetler, Gao Chen, Mary M. Kleb, Gan Luo, Fangqun Yu, Mark A. Vaughan, Yongxiang Hu, Glenn S. Diskin, John B. Nowak, Joshua P. DiGangi, Yonghoon Choi, Christoph A. Keller, and Matthew S. Johnson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2087–2121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2087-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2087-2025, 2025
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We use the GEOS-Chem model to simulate aerosol distributions and properties over the western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) during the winter and summer deployments in 2020 of the NASA ACTIVATE mission. Model results are evaluated against aircraft, ground-based, and satellite observations. The improved understanding of life cycle, composition, transport pathways, and distribution of aerosols has important implications for characterizing aerosol–cloud–meteorology interactions over WNAO.
Mingrui Ma, Jiachen Cao, Dan Tong, Bo Zheng, and Yu Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2147–2166, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2147-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2147-2025, 2025
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We combined two global climate change pathways and three national emission control scenarios to analyze the future evolution of reactive nitrogen (Nr) deposition till the 2060s in China with air quality modeling. We show China’s clean air and carbon neutrality policies would overcome the adverse effects of climate change and efficiently reduce Nr deposition. The outflow of Nr fluxes from mainland China to the west Pacific would also be clearly reduced from continuous stringent emission controls.
Zhouyang Zhang, Jiandong Wang, Jiaping Wang, Nicole Riemer, Chao Liu, Yuzhi Jin, Zeyuan Tian, Jing Cai, Yueyue Cheng, Ganzhen Chen, Bin Wang, Shuxiao Wang, and Aijun Ding
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1869–1881, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1869-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1869-2025, 2025
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Black carbon (BC) exerts notable warming effects. We use a particle-resolved model to investigate the long-term behavior of the BC mixing state, revealing its compositions, coating thickness distribution, and optical properties all stabilize with a characteristic time of less than 1 d. This study can effectively simplify the description of the BC mixing state, which facilitates the precise assessment of the optical properties of BC aerosols in global and chemical transport models.
Shuangqin Yang, Yusi Liu, Li Chen, Nan Cao, Jing Wang, and Shuang Gao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3705, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3705, 2025
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Black carbon, primary brown carbon, and secondary brown carbon are the leading light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols (LACs) that contribute significantly to climate change. We modified the GEOS-Chem model to simulate the climate change by LACs based on local emission inventory, and explored the impacts of LACs properties and atmospheric variables on the corresponding DRFs in seven regions of China. The study confirms the warming effect of LACs and deepens our knowledge of their climatic effects.
Qianyi Huo, Zhicong Yin, Xiaoqing Ma, and Huijun Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1711–1724, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1711-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1711-2025, 2025
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Dust days during the spring seasons of 2015–2023 in North China were classified into Mongolian cyclone and cold high types depending on the presence of the Mongolian cyclone. The Mongolian cyclone type led to more frequent and severe dust weather, indicated by PM10 concentrations. To comprehensively forecast the two types of dust weather, a common predictor was established based on 500 hPa anomalous circulation systems, offering insights for dust weather forecasting and climate prediction.
Mariya Petrenko, Ralph Kahn, Mian Chin, Susanne E. Bauer, Tommi Bergman, Huisheng Bian, Gabriele Curci, Ben Johnson, Johannes W. Kaiser, Zak Kipling, Harri Kokkola, Xiaohong Liu, Keren Mezuman, Tero Mielonen, Gunnar Myhre, Xiaohua Pan, Anna Protonotariou, Samuel Remy, Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Philip Stier, Toshihiko Takemura, Kostas Tsigaridis, Hailong Wang, Duncan Watson-Parris, and Kai Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1545–1567, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1545-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1545-2025, 2025
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We compared smoke plume simulations from 11 global models to each other and to satellite smoke amount observations aimed at constraining smoke source strength. In regions where plumes are thick and background aerosol is low, models and satellites compare well. However, the input emission inventory tends to underestimate in many places, and particle property and loss rate assumptions vary enormously among models, causing uncertainties that require systematic in situ measurements to resolve.
Xinyue Shao, Minghuai Wang, Xinyi Dong, Yaman Liu, Stephen R. Arnold, Leighton A. Regayre, Duseong S. Jo, Wenxiang Shen, Hao Wang, Man Yue, Jingyi Wang, Wenxin Zhang, and Ken S. Carslaw
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4135, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4135, 2025
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This study uses a global chemistry-climate model to investigate how new particle formation (NPF) from highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) contributes to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in both preindustrial (PI) and present-day (PD) environments, and its impact on aerosol indirect radiative forcing. The findings highlight the crucial role of biogenic emissions in climate change, providing new insights for carbon-neutral scenarios and enhancing understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions.
Yongqing Bai, Tianliang Zhao, Kai Meng, Yue Zhou, Jie Xiong, Xiaoyun Sun, Lijuan Shen, Yanyu Yue, Yan Zhu, Weiyang Hu, and Jingyan Yao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1273–1287, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1273-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1273-2025, 2025
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We proposed a composite statistical method to identify the quasi-weekly oscillation (QWO) of regional PM2.5 transport over China in winter from 2015 to 2019. The QWO of regional PM2.5 transport is constrained by synoptic-scale disturbances of the East Asian winter monsoon circulation with the periodic activities of the Siberian high, providing a new insight into the understanding of regional pollutant transport with meteorological drivers in atmospheric environment changes.
Léo Clauzel, Sandrine Anquetin, Christophe Lavaysse, Gilles Bergametti, Christel Bouet, Guillaume Siour, Rémy Lapere, Béatrice Marticorena, and Jennie Thomas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 997–1021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-997-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-997-2025, 2025
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Solar energy production in West Africa is set to rise and needs accurate solar radiation estimates which are affected by desert dust. This work analyses a March 2021 dust event using a modelling strategy incorporating desert dust. Results show that considering desert dust cuts errors in solar radiation estimates by 75 % and reduces surface solar radiation by 18 %. This highlights the importance of incorporating dust aerosols into solar forecasting for better accuracy.
Zining Yang, Qiuyan Du, Qike Yang, Chun Zhao, Gudongze Li, Zihan Xia, Mingyue Xu, Renmin Yuan, Yubin Li, Kaihui Xia, Jun Gu, and Jiawang Feng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3890, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3890, 2025
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This study investigates the impact of turbulent mixing on black carbon (BC) concentrations in urban areas using WRF-Chem at 25, 5, and 1 km resolutions. Significant variations in BC and turbulent mixing occur mainly at night. Higher resolutions reduce BC overestimation due to enhanced PBL mixing coefficients and vertical wind fluxes. Small-scale eddies at higher resolutions increase BC lifetime and column concentrations. Land use and terrain variations across multi-resolutions affect PBL mixing.
Ari Laaksonen, Golnaz Roudsari, Ana A. Piedehierro, and André Welti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4095, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4095, 2025
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The mechanisms of ice nucleation at temperatures below 235 K have remained unclear for the past century. We suggest that ice nucleation is caused by the freezing of water adsorbed on aerosol surfaces. To test this hypothesis, we derived theoretical equations to predict the exact atmospheric conditions under which ice nucleation occurs. Our predictions agree well with experiments. The new theory thus provides a basis for an improved description of ice nucleation in the atmosphere.
Ross J. Herbert, Alberto Sanchez-Marroquin, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Kirsty J. Pringle, Stephen R. Arnold, Benjamin J. Murray, and Kenneth S. Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 291–325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-291-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-291-2025, 2025
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Aerosol particles that help form ice in clouds vary in number and type around the world and with time. However, in many weather and climate models cloud ice is not linked to aerosols that are known to nucleate ice. Here we report the first steps towards representing ice-nucleating particles within the UK Earth System Model. We conclude that in addition to ice nucleation by sea spray and mineral components of soil dust, we also need to represent ice nucleation by the organic components of soils.
Ryan Schmedding and Andreas Zuend
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 327–346, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-327-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-327-2025, 2025
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Four different approaches for computing the interfacial tension between liquid phases in aerosol particles were tested for particles with diameters from 10 nm to more than 5 μm. Antonov's rule led to the strongest reductions in the onset relative humidity of liquid–liquid phase separation and reproduced measured interfacial tensions for highly immiscible systems. A modified form of the Butler equation was able to best reproduce measured interfacial tensions in more miscible systems.
Xinyue Huang, Wenyu Gao, and Hosein Foroutan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3076, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3076, 2024
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This study investigates the relationship between wind-blown dust aerosols size distribution and wind conditions over topography at a regional scale, utilizing 10 years of dust reanalysis data. Linear regression models suggest that higher wind speeds and steeper land slopes, particularly under uphill winds, are associated with increased fractions of coarser dust particles. Moreover, these positive correlations weaken during summer and afternoon events, likely related to the haboob storms.
Lulu Yuan, Wenchao Han, Jiachen Meng, Yang Wang, Haojie Yu, and Wenze Li
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350, 2024
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This study utilizes multi-source data to reveal the impact of various urban functional zones in China on the spatial distribution of pollutants. The findings indicate that the residential and commercial zones see notable air quality gains, but the improvement of air quality in the transportation zone is the least considerable. Moreover, the industrial zone has the most seasonal air quality variation. Therefore, air pollution prevention policies should consider differences in functional zones.
Carl Svenhag, Pontus Roldin, Tinja Olenius, Robin Wollesen de Jonge, Sara Blichner, Daniel Yazgi, and Moa Sporre
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3626, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3626, 2024
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This study investigates the model representation of how particles are formed and grow in the atmosphere. Using modeled and observed data from two boreal forest stations in 2018, we identify key factors for NPF to improve particle-climate predictions in the global EC-Earth3 model. Comparisons with the detailed ADCHEM model show that adding ammonia improves particle growth predictions, though EC-Earth3 still highly underestimates the number of particles during warmer months.
Masaru Yoshioka, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Ben B. B. Booth, Colin P. Morice, and Ken S. Carslaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13681–13692, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13681-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13681-2024, 2024
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A 2020 regulation has reduced sulfur emissions from shipping by about 80 %, leading to a decrease in atmospheric aerosols that have a cooling effect primarily by affecting cloud properties and amounts. Our climate model simulations predict a global temperature increase of 0.04 K over the next 3 decades as a result, which could contribute to surpassing the Paris Agreement's 1.5 °C target. Reduced aerosols may have also contributed to the recent temperature spikes.
Alcide Zhao, Laura J. Wilcox, and Claire L. Ryder
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13385–13402, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13385-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13385-2024, 2024
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Climate models include desert dust aerosols, which cause atmospheric heating and can change circulation patterns. We assess the effect of dust on the Indian and east Asian summer monsoons through multi-model experiments isolating the effect of dust in current climate models for the first time. Dust atmospheric heating results in a southward shift of western Pacific equatorial rainfall and an enhanced Indian summer monsoon. This shows the importance of accurate dust representation in models.
Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Rachael Byrom, Øivind Hodnebrog, Caroline Jouan, and Gunnar Myhre
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13361–13370, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13361-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13361-2024, 2024
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In 2020, new regulations by the International Maritime Organization regarding sulfur emissions came into force, reducing emissions of SO2 from the shipping sector by approximately 80 %. In this study, we use multiple models to calculate how much the Earth energy balance changed due to the emission reduction or the so-called effective radiative forcing. The calculated effective radiative forcing is weak, comparable to the effect of the increase in CO2 over the last 2 to 3 years.
Mingxu Liu, Hitoshi Matsui, Douglas S. Hamilton, Sagar D. Rathod, Kara D. Lamb, and Natalie M. Mahowald
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13115–13127, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13115-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13115-2024, 2024
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Atmospheric aerosol deposition provides bioavailable iron to promote marine primary production, yet the estimates of its fluxes remain highly uncertain. This study, by performing global aerosol simulations, demonstrates that iron-containing particle size upon emission is a critical factor in regulating soluble iron input to open oceans. Further observational constraints on this are needed to reduce modeling uncertainties.
Thomas Drugé, Pierre Nabat, Martine Michou, and Marc Mallet
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3659, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3659, 2024
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Aerosol scattering in long-wave radiation is often neglected in climate models. In this study, we analyze its impact through a physical modeling of this process in the CNRM ARPEGE-Climat model. It mainly leads to surface LW radiation increases across Sahara, Sahel and Arabian Peninsula, resulting in daily minimum near-surface temperature rises. Other changes in atmospheric fields are also simulated.
Jingmin Li, Mattia Righi, Johannes Hendricks, Christof G. Beer, Ulrike Burkhardt, and Anja Schmidt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12727–12747, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12727-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12727-2024, 2024
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Aiming to understand underlying patterns and trends in aerosols, we characterize the spatial patterns and long-term evolution of lower tropospheric aerosols by clustering multiple aerosol properties from preindustrial times to the year 2050 under three Shared
Socioeconomic Pathway scenarios. The results provide a clear and condensed picture of the spatial extent and distribution of aerosols for different time periods and emission scenarios.
Socioeconomic Pathway scenarios. The results provide a clear and condensed picture of the spatial extent and distribution of aerosols for different time periods and emission scenarios.
Yueming Cheng, Tie Dai, Junji Cao, Daisuke Goto, Jianbing Jin, Teruyuki Nakajima, and Guangyu Shi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12643–12659, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12643-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12643-2024, 2024
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In March 2021, east Asia experienced an outbreak of severe dust storms after an absence of 1.5 decades. Here, we innovatively used the time-lagged ground-based aerosol size information with the fixed-lag ensemble Kalman smoother to optimize dust emission and reproduce the dust storm. This work is valuable for not only the quantification of health damage, aviation risks, and profound impacts on the Earth's system but also revealing the climatic driving force and the process of desertification.
Marc Mallet, Aurore Voldoire, Fabien Solmon, Pierre Nabat, Thomas Drugé, and Romain Roehrig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12509–12535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12509-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12509-2024, 2024
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This study investigates the interactions between smoke aerosols and climate in tropical Africa using a coupled ocean–atmosphere–aerosol climate model. The work shows that smoke plumes have a significant impact by increasing the low-cloud fraction, decreasing the ocean and continental surface temperature and reducing the precipitation of coastal western Africa. It also highlights the role of the ocean temperature response and its feedbacks for the September–November season.
Jia Liu, Cancan Zhu, Donghui Zhou, and Jinbao Han
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12341–12354, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12341-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12341-2024, 2024
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The hydrophilic coatings of aged black carbon (BC) particles absorb moisture during the hygroscopic growth process, but it is difficult to characterize how much water is absorbed under different relative humidities (RHs). In this study, we propose a method to obtain the water content in the coatings based on the equivalent complex refractive index retrieved from optical properties. This method is verified from a theoretical perspective, and it performs well for thickly coated BC at high RHs.
Catherine Anne Toolan, Joe Adabouk Amooli, Laura J. Wilcox, Bjørn H. Samset, Andrew G. Turner, and Daniel M. Westervelt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3057, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3057, 2024
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Our research explores how well air pollution and rainfall patterns in Africa are represented in current climate models, by comparing model data to observations from 1981 to 2023. While most models capture seasonal air quality changes well, they struggle to replicate the distribution of non-dust pollutants and certain rainfall patterns, especially over east Africa. Improving these models is crucial for better climate predictions and preparing for future risks.
Zijun Li, Angela Buchholz, and Noora Hyttinen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11717–11725, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11717-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11717-2024, 2024
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Evaluating organosulfur (OS) hygroscopicity is important for assessing aerosol–cloud climate interactions in the post-fossil-fuel future, when SO2 emissions decrease and OS compounds become increasingly important. Here a state-of-the-art quantum-chemistry-based method was used to predict the hygroscopic growth factors (HGFs) of a group of atmospherically relevant OS compounds and their mixtures with (NH4)2SO4. A good agreement was observed between their model-estimated and experimental HGFs.
Jamie R. Banks, Bernd Heinold, and Kerstin Schepanski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11451–11475, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11451-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11451-2024, 2024
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The Aralkum is a new desert in Central Asia formed by the desiccation of the Aral Sea. This has created a source of atmospheric dust, with implications for the balance of solar and thermal radiation. Simulating these effects using a dust transport model, we find that Aralkum dust adds radiative cooling effects to the surface and atmosphere on average but also adds heating events. Increases in surface pressure due to Aralkum dust strengthen the Siberian High and weaken the summer Asian heat low.
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Short summary
We use a numerical model to study interactions between humid light-absorbing aerosol plumes, clouds, and radiation over the southeast Atlantic. We find that the warming produced by the aerosols reduces cloud cover, especially in highly polluted situations. Aerosol impacts on drizzle play a minor role. However, aerosol effects on cloud reflectivity and moisture-induced changes in cloud cover dominate the climatic response and lead to an overall cooling by the biomass burning plumes.
We use a numerical model to study interactions between humid light-absorbing aerosol plumes,...
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