Articles | Volume 24, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5713-2024
© 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-24-5713-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 May 2024
Research article |
| 17 May 2024
| 17 May 2024
Interactions between trade wind clouds and local forcings over the Great Barrier Reef: a case study using convection-permitting simulations
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Science, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Science, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Climate Extreme (CLEX), Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Steven Siems
Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Climate Extreme (CLEX), Melbourne, VIC, Australia
School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Michael Manton
School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Daniel Harrison
National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Related authors
No articles found.
E. Johanna Horchler, Joel Alroe, Luke Harrison, Luke Cravigan, Daniel P. Harrison, and Zoran D. Ristovski
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-465, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-465, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosols play a role in global climate by interacting with incoming solar radiation and by taking up water vapour from the atmosphere to form clouds. Enhancing local-scale cloud cover can reduce sea surface temperatures. Coral bleaching events increased in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) as sea surface temperatures rise. Our study found that the number of aerosols and the cloud forming ability over the GBR increased if the aerosols were transported from inland Australia rather than the ocean.
Tahereh Alinejadtabrizi, Yi Huang, Francisco Lang, Steven Siems, Michael Manton, Luis Ackermann, Melita Keywood, Ruhi Humphries, Paul Krummel, Alastair Williams, and Greg Ayers
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2631–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2631-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2631-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds over the Southern Ocean are crucial to Earth's energy balance, but understanding the factors that control them is complex. Our research examines how weather patterns affect tiny particles called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which influence cloud properties. Using data from Kennaook / Cape Grim, we found that winter air from Antarctica brings cleaner conditions with lower CCN, while summer patterns from Australia transport more particles. Precipitation also helps reduce CCN in winter.
Robert G. Ryan, Lilani Toms-Hardman, Alexander Smirnov, Daniel Harrison, and Robyn Schofield
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1111, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1111, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Measurements of aerosol vertical distribution are key for understanding how they interact with clouds and sunlight. Such measurements are currently lacking at the Great Barrier Reef, limiting our ability to validate climate models in this sensitive, ecologically rich environment. Here we use a range of techniques to quantify the vertical variation of aerosols above the Great Barrier Reef for the first time, using the comparison of techniques to also infer aerosol spatial variation.
Francisco Lang, Steven T. Siems, Yi Huang, Tahereh Alinejadtabrizi, and Luis Ackermann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1451–1466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1451-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1451-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Marine low-level clouds play a crucial role in the Earth's energy balance, trapping heat from the surface and reflecting sunlight back into space. These clouds are distinguishable by their large-scale spatial structures, primarily characterized as hexagonal patterns with either filled (closed) or empty (open) cells. Utilizing satellite observations, these two cloud type patterns have been categorized over the Southern Ocean and North Pacific Ocean through a pattern recognition program.
Francisco Lang, Luis Ackermann, Yi Huang, Son C. H. Truong, Steven T. Siems, and Michael J. Manton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2135–2152, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2135-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2135-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Marine low-level clouds cover vast areas of the Southern Ocean, and they are essential to the Earth system energy balance. We use 3 years of satellite observations to group low-level clouds by their spatial structure using a pattern-recognizing program. We studied two primary cloud type patterns, i.e. open and closed clouds. Open clouds are uniformly distributed over the storm track, while closed clouds are most predominant in the southeastern Indian Ocean. Closed clouds exhibit a daily cycle.
Andrew T. Prata, Stuart A. Young, Steven T. Siems, and Michael J. Manton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8599–8618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8599-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8599-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We have studied the optical properties of ash-rich and sulfate-rich volcanic aerosols by analysing satellite observations of three different volcanic eruptions. Our results indicate that ash particles have distinctive optical properties when compared to sulfates. We expect our results will improve space-borne lidar detection of volcanic aerosols and provide new insight into their interaction with the atmosphere and solar radiation.
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
The critical number and size of precipitation embryos to accelerate warm rain initiation
Impact on the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition of the interaction of cloud microphysics and macrophysics with large-scale circulation
Technical note: Phase space depiction of cloud condensation nuclei activation and cloud droplet diffusional growth
Impact of wildfire smoke on Arctic cirrus formation – Part 2: Simulation of MOSAiC 2019–2020 cases
Constraining aerosol–cloud adjustments by uniting surface observations with a perturbed parameter ensemble
Investigating ice formation pathways using a novel two-moment multi-class cloud microphysics scheme
Microphysics regimes due to haze–cloud interactions: cloud oscillation and cloud collapse
Impact of secondary ice production on thunderstorm electrification under different aerosol conditions
Accelerated impact of airborne glaciogenic seeding of stratiform clouds by turbulence
Model analysis of biases in the satellite-diagnosed aerosol effect on the cloud liquid water path
Evaluation of biases in mid-to-high-latitude surface snowfall and cloud phase in ERA5 and CMIP6 using satellite observations
Failed cyclogenesis of a mesoscale convective system near Cape Verde: The role of the Saharan trade wind layer among other inhibiting factors observed during the CADDIWA field campaign
Dynamical imprints on precipitation cluster statistics across a hierarchy of high-resolution simulations
Ice formation processes key in determining WCB outflow cirrus properties
Role of a key microphysical factor in mixed-phase stratocumulus clouds and their interactions with aerosols
High-resolution modelling of early contrail evolution from hydrogen-powered aircraft
Investigating the impact of subgrid-scale aerosol-cloud interaction on mesoscale meteorology prediction
Correction of ERA5 temperature and relative humidity biases by bivariate quantile mapping for contrail formation analysis
Can pollen affect precipitation?
Potential impacts of marine fuel regulations on an Arctic stratocumulus case and its radiative response
The impact of the mesh size and microphysics scheme on the representation of mid-level clouds in the ICON model in hilly and complex terrain
The role of ascent timescales for warm conveyor belt (WCB) moisture transport into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS)
Magnitude and timescale of liquid water path adjustments to cloud droplet number concentration perturbations for nocturnal non-precipitating marine stratocumulus
On the Processes Determining the Slope of Cloud-Water Adjustments in Non-Precipitating Stratocumulus
Estimating the concentration of silver iodide needed to detect unambiguous signatures of glaciogenic cloud seeding
On the impact of thunder on cloud ice crystals and droplets
Ice-nucleating particle concentration impacts cloud properties over Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, in COSMO-CLM2
Numerical simulation of aerosol concentration effects on cloud droplet size spectrum evolutions of warm stratiform clouds in Jiangxi, China
The impact of aerosol on cloud water: a heuristic perspective
Cold pools mediate mesoscale adjustments of trade-cumulus fields to changes in cloud-droplet number concentration
The presence of clouds lowers climate sensitivity in the MPI-ESM1.2 climate model
Diurnal variation in an amplified canopy urban heat island during heat wave periods in the megacity of Beijing: roles of mountain–valley breeze and urban morphology
Diurnal evolution of non-precipitating marine stratocumuli in a large-eddy simulation ensemble
Ambient and Intrinsic Dependencies of Evolving Ice-Phase Particles within a Decaying Winter Storm During IMPACTS
Counteracting Influences of Gravitational Settling Modulate Aerosol Impacts on Cloud Base Lowering Fog Characteristics
Numerical Case Study of the Aerosol-Cloud-Interactions in Warm Boundary Layer Clouds over the Eastern North Atlantic with an Interactive Chemistry Module
High ice water content in tropical mesoscale convective systems (a conceptual model)
Evolution of cloud droplet temperature and lifetime in spatiotemporally varying subsaturated environments with implications for ice nucleation at cloud edges
Effect of secondary ice production processes on the simulation of ice pellets using the Predicted Particle Properties microphysics scheme
Simulated particle evolution within a winter storm: contributions of riming to radar moments and precipitation fallout
Arctic Multilayer Clouds Require Accurate Thermodynamic Profiles and Efficient Primary and Secondary Ice Processes for a Realistic Structure and Composition
A thermal-driven graupel generation process to explain dry-season convective vigor over the Amazon
Modeling homogeneous ice nucleation from drop-freezing experiments: impact of droplet volume dispersion and cooling rates
Cloud water adjustments to aerosol perturbations are buffered by solar heating in non-precipitating marine stratocumuli
Glaciation of mixed-phase clouds: insights from bulk model and bin-microphysics large-eddy simulation informed by laboratory experiment
Influence of Temperature and Humidity on Contrail Formation Regions in EMAC: A Spring Case Study
Microphysical processes involving the vapour phase dominate in simulated low-level Arctic clouds
Understanding aerosol–cloud interactions using a single-column model for a cold-air outbreak case during the ACTIVATE campaign
On the sensitivity of aerosol–cloud interactions to changes in sea surface temperature in radiative–convective equilibrium
Exploring aerosol–cloud interactions in liquid-phase clouds over eastern China and its adjacent ocean using the WRF-Chem–SBM model
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Je-Yun Chun, Robert Wood, Peter N. Blossey, and Sarah J. Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5251–5271, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5251-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5251-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores how aerosols affect clouds transitioning from stratocumulus to cumulus along trade winds under varying atmospheric conditions. We found that aerosols typically reduce precipitation and raise cloud height, but their impact changes when subsidence changes by aerosol enhancement are considered. Our findings indicate that the cooling effect of aerosols might be overestimated if these atmospheric changes are not accounted for.
Wojciech W. Grabowski and Hanna Pawlowska
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5273–5285, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5273-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5273-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
A simple diagram to depict cloud droplets' formation via the activation of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) as well as their subsequent growth and evaporation is presented.
Albert Ansmann, Cristofer Jimenez, Daniel A. Knopf, Johanna Roschke, Johannes Bühl, Kevin Ohneiser, and Ronny Engelmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4867–4884, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4867-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4867-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we focus on the potential impact of wildfire smoke on cirrus formation. Aerosol and cirrus observations with lidar and radar during the MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition, presented in the companion paper (Ansmann et al., 2025), are closely linked to comprehensive modeling of ice nucleation in cirrus evolution processes, presented in this article. A clear impact of wildfire smoke on cirrus formation was found.
August Mikkelsen, Daniel T. McCoy, Trude Eidhammer, Andrew Gettelman, Ci Song, Hamish Gordon, and Isabel L. McCoy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4547–4570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4547-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4547-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Whether increased aerosol increases or decreases liquid cloud mass has been a longstanding question. Observed correlations suggest that aerosols thin liquid cloud, but we are able to show that observations were consistent with an increase in liquid cloud in response to aerosols by leveraging a model where causality could be traced.
Tim Lüttmer, Peter Spichtinger, and Axel Seifert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4505–4529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4505-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4505-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate ice formation pathways in idealized convective clouds using a novel microphysics scheme that distinguishes between five ice classes each with their own unique formation mechanism. Ice crystals from rime splintering form the lowermost layer of ice crystals around the updraft core. The majority of ice crystals in the anvil of the convective cloud stems from frozen droplets. Ice stemming from homogeneous and deposition nucleation was only relevant in the overshoot.
Fan Yang, Hamed Fahandezh Sadi, Raymond A. Shaw, Fabian Hoffmann, Pei Hou, Aaron Wang, and Mikhail Ovchinnikov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3785–3806, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3785-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3785-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Large-eddy simulations of a convection cloud chamber show two new microphysics regimes, cloud oscillation and cloud collapse, due to haze–cloud interactions. Our results suggest that haze particles and their interactions with cloud droplets should be considered especially in polluted conditions. To properly simulate haze–cloud interactions, we need to resolve droplet activation and deactivation processes, instead of using Twomey-type activation parameterization.
Shiye Huang, Jing Yang, Jiaojiao Li, Qian Chen, Qilin Zhang, and Fengxia Guo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1831–1850, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1831-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1831-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol and secondary ice production are both vital to charge separation in thunderstorms, but the relative importance of different SIP processes to cloud electrification under different aerosol conditions is not well understood. In this study, we show in a clean environment, the shattering of freezing drops has the greatest effect on the charging rate, while in a polluted environment, both rime splintering and the shattering of freezing drops have a significant effect on cloud electrification.
Meilian Chen, Xiaoqin Jing, Jiaojiao Li, Jing Yang, Xiaobo Dong, Bart Geerts, Yan Yin, Baojun Chen, Lulin Xue, Mengyu Huang, Ping Tian, and Shaofeng Hua
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-47, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-47, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Several recent studies have reported complete cloud glaciation induced by airborne-based glaciogenic cloud seeding over plains. Since turbulence is an important factor to maintain clouds in mixed-phase, it is hypothesized that turbulence may have an impact on the seeding effect. This hypothesis is evident in the present study, which shows turbulence can accelerate the impact of airborne glaciogenic seeding of stratiform clouds.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Franziska Hellmuth, Tim Carlsen, Anne Sophie Daloz, Robert Oscar David, Haochi Che, and Trude Storelvmo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1353–1383, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1353-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1353-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This article compares the occurrence of supercooled liquid-containing clouds (sLCCs) and their link to surface snowfall in CloudSat–CALIPSO, ERA5, and the CMIP6 models. Significant discrepancies were found, with ERA5 and CMIP6 consistently overestimating sLCC and snowfall frequency. This bias is likely due to cloud microphysics parameterization. This conclusion has implications for accurately representing cloud phase and snowfall in future climate projections.
Guillaume Feger, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Thibaut Dauhut, Julien Delanoë, and Pierre Coutris
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-105, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-105, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Saharan air at trade wind layer, cold pools, and upper tropospheric dry air are identified as the three main factors inhibiting the cyclogenesis of the Pierre Henri mesoscale convective system. The findings were obtained trough observations made during two flights of the CADDIWA campaign and a convection-permitting simulation run with the Meso-NH model. They provide new insights into the complex dynamics of cyclogenesis in the Cape Verde region and challenge the existing model of the SAL.
Claudia Christine Stephan and Bjorn Stevens
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1209–1226, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1209-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1209-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical precipitation cluster area and intensity distributions follow power laws, but the physical processes responsible for this behavior remain unknown. We analyze global simulations that realistically represent precipitation processes. We consider Earth-like planets as well as virtual planets to realize different types of large-scale dynamics. Our finding is that power laws in Earth’s precipitation cluster statistics stem from the robust power laws in Earth’s atmospheric wind field.
Tim Lüttmer, Annette Miltenberger, and Peter Spichtinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-185, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-185, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate ice formation pathways in a warm conveyor belt case study. We employ a multi-phase microphysics scheme that distinguishes between ice from different nucleation processes. Ice crystals in the cirrus outflow mostly stem from in-situ formation. Hence they were formed directly from the vapor phase. Sedimentational redistribution modulates cirrus properties and leads to a disagreement between cirrus origin classifications based on thermodynamic history and nucleation processes.
Seoung Soo Lee, Chang Hoon Jung, Jinho Choi, Young Jun Yoon, Junshik Um, Youtong Zheng, Jianping Guo, Manguttathil G. Manoj, Sang-Keun Song, and Kyung-Ja Ha
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 705–726, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-705-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-705-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study attempts to test a general factor that explains differences in the properties of different mixed-phase clouds using a modeling tool. Although this attempt is not to identify a factor that can perfectly explain and represent the properties of different mixed-phase clouds, we believe that this attempt acts as a valuable stepping stone towards a more complete, general way of using climate models to better predict climate change.
Annemarie Lottermoser and Simon Unterstraßer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3859, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3859, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Contrail-cirrus significantly contributes to aviation's overall climate impact. As hydrogen combustion and fuel cell use are emerging technologies for aircraft propulsion, we simulated individual contrails from hydrogen propulsion during the first six minutes after exhaust emission, termed the vortex phase. The ice crystal loss during that stage is crucial as the number of ice crystals has a large impact on the further evolution of contrails into contrail-cirrus and their radiative forcing.
Wenjie Zhang, Hong Wang, Xiaoye Zhang, Yue Peng, Zhaodong Liu, Deying Wang, Da Zhang, Chen Han, Yang Zhao, Junting Zhong, Wenxing Jia, Huiqiong Ning, and Huizheng Che
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3677, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3677, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We implement a real-time subgrid-scale aerosol-cloud interaction (ACI) mechanism in a mesoscale atmospheric chemistry system and find that subgrid-scale ACI can improve meteorological factors predictions. This study demonstrates the importance of real-time subgrid-scale ACI to weather forecast and the necessity of multiscale ACI studies.
Kevin Wolf, Nicolas Bellouin, Olivier Boucher, Susanne Rohs, and Yun Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 157–181, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-157-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-157-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis and airborne in situ observations from IAGOS are compared in terms of the representation of the contrail formation potential and the presence of supersaturation. Differences are traced back to biases in ERA5 relative humidity fields. Those biases are addressed by applying a quantile mapping technique that significantly improved contrail estimation based on post-processed ERA5 data.
Marje Prank, Juha Tonttila, Xiaoxia Shang, Sami Romakkaniemi, and Tomi Raatikainen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 183–197, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-183-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-183-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Large primary bioparticles such as pollen can be abundant in the atmosphere. In humid conditions pollen can rupture and release a large number of fine sub-pollen particles (SPPs). The paper investigates what kind of birch pollen concentrations are needed for the pollen and SPPs to start playing a noticeable role in cloud processes and alter precipitation formation. In the studied cases only the largest observed pollen concentrations were able to noticeably alter the precipitation formation.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Nadja Omanovic, Brigitta Goger, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 14145–14175, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14145-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14145-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluated the numerical weather model ICON in two horizontal resolutions with two bulk microphysics schemes over hilly and complex terrain in Switzerland and Austria, respectively. We focused on the model's ability to simulate mid-level clouds in summer and winter. By combining observational data from two different field campaigns, we show that an increase in the horizontal resolution and a more advanced cloud microphysics scheme is strongly beneficial for cloud representation.
Cornelis Schwenk and Annette Miltenberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 14073–14099, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14073-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14073-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) transport moisture into the upper atmosphere, where it acts as a greenhouse gas. This transport is not well understood, and the role of rapidly rising air is unclear. We simulate a WCB and look at fast- and slow-rising air to see how moisture is (differently) transported. We find that for fast-ascending air more ice particles reach higher into the atmosphere and that frozen cloud particles are removed differently than during slow ascent, which has more water vapour.
Yao-Sheng Chen, Prasanth Prabhakaran, Fabian Hoffmann, Jan Kazil, Takanobu Yamaguchi, and Graham Feingold
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3891, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3891, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Injecting sea salt aerosols into marine stratiform clouds can distribute the cloud water over more droplets in smaller sizes. This process is expected to make the clouds brighter, allowing them to reflect more sunlight back to space. However, it may also cause the clouds to lose water over time, reducing their ability to reflect sunlight. We use a computer model to show that the loss of cloud water occurs relatively quickly and does not completely offset the initial brightening.
Fabian Hoffmann, Yao-Sheng Chen, and Graham Feingold
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3893, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3893, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds reflect a substantial portion of the incoming solar radiation back into space. This capacity is determined by the number of cloud droplets, which in turn is influenced by the number of aerosol particles, forming the basis for aerosol-cloud-climate interactions. In this study, we use a simple mixed-layer approach to understand the effect of aerosol on cloud water in non-precipitating stratocumulus.
Jing Yang, Jiaojiao Li, Meilian Chen, Xiaoqin Jing, Yan Yin, Bart Geerts, Zhien Wang, Yubao Liu, Baojun Chen, Shaofeng Hua, Hao Hu, Xiaobo Dong, Ping Tian, Qian Chen, and Yang Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13833–13848, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13833-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13833-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Detecting unambiguous signatures is vital for examining cloud-seeding impacts, but often, seeding signatures are immersed in natural variability. In this study, reflectivity changes induced by glaciogenic seeding using different AgI concentrations are investigated under various conditions, and a method is developed to estimate the AgI concentration needed to detect unambiguous seeding signatures. The results aid in operational seeding-based decision-making regarding the amount of AgI dispersed.
Konstantinos Kourtidis, Stavros Stathopoulos, and Vassilis Amiridis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3314, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3314, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The loud sound of thunder will induce mechanical effects on cloud droplets and ice particles, causing changes in their size distribution.
Florian Sauerland, Niels Souverijns, Anna Possner, Heike Wex, Preben Van Overmeiren, Alexander Mangold, Kwinten Van Weverberg, and Nicole van Lipzig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13751–13768, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13751-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13751-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use a regional climate model, COSMO-CLM², enhanced with a module resolving aerosol processes, to study Antarctic clouds. We prescribe different concentrations of ice-nucleating particles to our model to assess how these clouds respond to concentration changes, validating results with cloud and aerosol observations from the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station. Our results show that aerosol–cloud interactions vary with temperature, providing valuable insights into Antarctic cloud dynamics.
Yi Li, Xiaoli Liu, and Hengjia Cai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13525–13540, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13525-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13525-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The influence of different aerosol modes on cloud processes remains controversial. We modified the aerosol spectra and concentrations to simulate a warm stratiform cloud process in Jiangxi, China, using the WRF-SBM scheme. Research shows that different aerosol spectra have diverse effects on cloud droplet spectra, cloud development, and the correlation between dispersion (ε) and cloud physics quantities. Compared to cloud droplet concentration, ε is more sensitive to the volume radius.
Fabian Hoffmann, Franziska Glassmeier, and Graham Feingold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13403–13412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13403-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13403-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds constitute a major cooling influence on Earth's climate system by reflecting a large fraction of the incident solar radiation back to space. This ability is controlled by the number of cloud droplets, which is governed by the number of aerosol particles in the atmosphere, laying the foundation for so-called aerosol–cloud–climate interactions. In this study, a simple model to understand the effect of aerosol on cloud water is developed and applied.
Pouriya Alinaghi, Fredrik Jansson, Daniel A. Blázquez, and Franziska Glassmeier
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3501, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3501, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Shallow clouds in the trades are a major source of uncertainty in climate projections. These clouds organize into striking mesoscale patterns that are exactly what climate models lack. This study explores the origin of such patterns and investigates how variations in microscale properties control them. The importance of microscale effects is compared to that of large-scale forcing on the mesoscale organization of trade-cumulus fields.
Andrea Mosso, Thomas Hocking, and Thorsten Mauritsen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12793–12806, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12793-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12793-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds play a crucial role in the Earth's energy balance, as they can either warm up or cool down the area they cover depending on their height and depth. They are expected to alter their behaviour under climate change, affecting the warming generated by greenhouse gases. This paper proposes a new method to estimate their overall effect on this warming by simulating a climate where clouds are transparent. Results show that with the model used, clouds have a stabilising effect on climate.
Tao Shi, Yuanjian Yang, Ping Qi, and Simone Lolli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12807–12822, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12807-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12807-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper explored the formation mechanisms of the amplified canopy urban heat island intensity (ΔCUHII) during heat wave (HW) periods in the megacity of Beijing from the perspectives of mountain–valley breeze and urban morphology. During the mountain breeze phase, high-rise buildings with lower sky view factors (SVFs) had a pronounced effect on the ΔCUHII. During the valley breeze phase, high-rise buildings exerted a dual influence on the ΔCUHII.
Yao-Sheng Chen, Jianhao Zhang, Fabian Hoffmann, Takanobu Yamaguchi, Franziska Glassmeier, Xiaoli Zhou, and Graham Feingold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12661–12685, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12661-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12661-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Marine stratocumulus cloud is a type of shallow cloud that covers the vast areas of Earth's surface. It plays an important role in Earth's energy balance by reflecting solar radiation back to space. We used numerical models to simulate a large number of marine stratocumuli with different characteristics. We found that how the clouds develop throughout the day is affected by the level of humidity in the air above the clouds and how closely the clouds connect to the ocean surface.
Andrew DeLaFrance, Lynn McMurdie, Angela Rowe, and Andrew Heymsfield
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3423, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3423, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Numerical modeling simulations are used to investigate ice crystal growth and decay processes within a banded region of enhanced precipitation rates during a prominent winter storm. We identify robust primary ice growth in the upper portion of the cloud but decay exceeding 70 % during fallout through a subsaturated layer. The ice fall characteristics and decay rate are sensitive to the ambient cloud properties which has implications for radar-based measurements and precipitation accumulations.
Nathan H. Pope and Adele L. Igel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3214, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3214, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We used PAFOG, an atmospheric model that simulates a single column, to study the sensitivity of marine fog formed through the lowering of the base of a stratus cloud to meteorology and aerosols. We found that higher aerosol concentration reduces the likelihood and duration of fog, but leads to denser fog. This overall trend was caused by multiple physical mechanisms depending on conditions.
Hsiang-He Lee, Xue Zheng, Shaoyue Qiu, and Yuan Wang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3199, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3199, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The study investigates how aerosol-cloud interactions affect warm boundary layer stratiform clouds over the Eastern North Atlantic. High-resolution WRF-Chem simulations reveal that non-rain clouds at the edges of cloud systems are prone to evaporation, leading to an aerosol drying effect and a transition of aerosols back to accumulation mode for future activation. The study emphasizes that this dynamic behavior is often not adequately represented in most previous prescribed-aerosol simulations.
Alexei Korolev, Zhipeng Qu, Jason Milbrandt, Ivan Heckman, Mélissa Cholette, Mengistu Wolde, Cuong Nguyen, Greg M. McFarquhar, Paul Lawson, and Ann M. Fridlind
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11849–11881, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11849-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11849-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The phenomenon of high ice water content (HIWC) occurs in mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) when a large number of small ice particles with typical sizes of a few hundred micrometers is found at high altitudes. It was found that secondary ice production in the vicinity of the melting layer plays a key role in the formation and maintenance of HIWC. This study presents a conceptual model of the formation of HIWC in tropical MCSs based on in situ observations and numerical simulation.
Puja Roy, Robert M. Rauber, and Larry Di Girolamo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11653–11678, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11653-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11653-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cloud droplet temperature and lifetime impact cloud microphysical processes such as the activation of ice-nucleating particles. We investigate the thermal and radial evolution of supercooled cloud droplets and their surrounding environments with an aim to better understand observed enhanced ice formation at supercooled cloud edges. This analysis shows that the magnitude of droplet cooling during evaporation is greater than estimated from past studies, especially for drier environments.
Mathieu Lachapelle, Mélissa Cholette, and Julie M. Thériault
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11285–11304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11285-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11285-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Hazardous precipitation types such as ice pellets and freezing rain are difficult to predict because they are associated with complex microphysical processes. Using Predicted Particle Properties (P3), this work shows that secondary ice production processes increase the amount of ice pellets simulated while decreasing the amount of freezing rain. Moreover, the properties of the simulated precipitation compare well with those that were measured.
Andrew DeLaFrance, Lynn A. McMurdie, Angela K. Rowe, and Andrew J. Heymsfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11191–11206, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11191-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11191-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Using a numerical model, the process whereby falling ice crystals accumulate supercooled liquid water droplets is investigated to elucidate its effects on radar-based measurements and surface precipitation. We demonstrate that this process accounted for 55% of the precipitation during a wintertime storm and is uniquely discernable from other ice crystal growth processes in Doppler velocity measurements. These results have implications for measurements from airborne and spaceborne platforms.
Gabriella Wallentin, Annika Oertel, Luisa Ickes, Peggy Achtert, Matthias Tesche, and Corinna Hoose
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2988, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2988, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Multilayer clouds are common in the Arctic but remain understudied. We use an atmospheric model to simulate multilayer cloud cases from the Arctic expedition MOSAiC 2019/2020. We find that it is complex to accurately model these cloud layers due to the lack of correct temperature and humidity profiles. The model also struggles to capture the observed cloud phase, the relative concentration of cloud droplets and cloud ice. We constrain our model to measured aerosols to mitigate this issue.
Toshi Matsui, Daniel Hernandez-Deckers, Scott E. Giangrande, Thiago S. Biscaro, Ann Fridlind, and Scott Braun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10793–10814, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10793-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10793-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Using computer simulations and real measurements, we discovered that storms over the Amazon were narrower but more intense during the dry periods, producing heavier rain and more ice particles in the clouds. Our research showed that cumulus bubbles played a key role in creating these intense storms. This study can improve the representation of the effect of continental and ocean environments on tropical regions' rainfall patterns in simulations.
Ravi Kumar Reddy Addula, Ingrid de Almeida Ribeiro, Valeria Molinero, and Baron Peters
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10833–10848, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10833-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10833-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice nucleation from supercooled droplets is important in many weather and climate modeling efforts. For experiments where droplets are steadily supercooled from the freezing point, our work combines nucleation theory and survival probability analysis to predict the nucleation spectrum, i.e., droplet freezing probabilities vs. temperature. We use the new framework to extract approximately consistent rate parameters from experiments with different cooling rates and droplet sizes.
Jianhao Zhang, Yao-Sheng Chen, Takanobu Yamaguchi, and Graham Feingold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10425–10440, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10425-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10425-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Quantifying cloud response to aerosol perturbations presents a major challenge in understanding the human impact on climate. Using a large number of process-resolving simulations of marine stratocumulus, we show that solar heating drives a negative feedback mechanism that buffers the persistent negative trend in cloud water adjustment after sunrise. This finding has implications for the dependence of the cloud cooling effect on the timing of deliberate aerosol perturbations.
Aaron Wang, Steve Krueger, Sisi Chen, Mikhail Ovchinnikov, Will Cantrell, and Raymond A. Shaw
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10245–10260, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10245-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10245-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We employ two methods to examine a laboratory experiment on clouds with both ice and liquid phases. The first assumes well-mixed properties; the second resolves the spatial distribution of turbulence and cloud particles. Results show that while the trends in mean properties generally align, when turbulence is resolved, liquid droplets are not fully depleted by ice due to incomplete mixing. This underscores the threshold of ice mass fraction in distinguishing mixed-phase clouds from ice clouds.
Patrick Peter, Sigrun Matthes, Christine Frömming, Patrick Jöckel, Luca Bugliaro, Andreas Giez, Martina Krämer, and Volker Grewe
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2142, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2142, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study examines how temperature and humidity representations influence contrail (-cirrus) formation criteria. Using various model setups, we identified biases that lead to overestimation of contrail formation areas. By comparing simulations with in-flight and satellite observations, we confirmed that humidity threshold choices greatly affect contrail predictions. These findings can help develop strategies for climate-optimized flight routes, potentially reducing aviation's climate effect.
Theresa Kiszler, Davide Ori, and Vera Schemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10039–10053, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10039-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10039-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Microphysical processes impact the phase-partitioning of clouds. In this study we evaluate these processes while focusing on low-level Arctic clouds. To achieve this we used an extensive simulation set in combination with a new diagnostic tool. This study presents our findings on the relevance of these processes and their behaviour under different thermodynamic regimes.
Shuaiqi Tang, Hailong Wang, Xiang-Yu Li, Jingyi Chen, Armin Sorooshian, Xubin Zeng, Ewan Crosbie, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Luke D. Ziemba, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10073–10092, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10073-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10073-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We examined marine boundary layer clouds and their interactions with aerosols in the E3SM single-column model (SCM) for a case study. The SCM shows good agreement when simulating the clouds with high-resolution models. It reproduces the relationship between cloud droplet and aerosol particle number concentrations as produced in global models. However, the relationship between cloud liquid water and droplet number concentration is different, warranting further investigation.
Suf Lorian and Guy Dagan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9323–9338, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9323-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9323-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We examine the combined effect of aerosols and sea surface temperature (SST) on clouds under equilibrium conditions in cloud-resolving radiative–convective equilibrium simulations. We demonstrate that the aerosol–cloud interaction's effect on top-of-atmosphere energy gain strongly depends on the underlying SST, while the shortwave part of the spectrum is significantly more sensitive to SST. Furthermore, increasing aerosols influences upper-troposphere stability and thus anvil cloud fraction.
Jianqi Zhao, Xiaoyan Ma, Johannes Quaas, and Hailing Jia
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9101–9118, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9101-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9101-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We explore aerosol–cloud interactions in liquid-phase clouds over eastern China and its adjacent ocean in winter based on the WRF-Chem–SBM model, which couples a spectral-bin microphysics scheme and an online aerosol module. Our study highlights the differences in aerosol–cloud interactions between land and ocean and between precipitation clouds and non-precipitation clouds, and it differentiates and quantifies their underlying mechanisms.
Cited articles
Albrecht, B. A.: A model study of downstream variations of the thermodynamic structure of the trade winds, Tellus A, 36, 187–202, 1984.
Albrecht, B. A.: Aerosols, cloud microphysics, and fractional cloudiness, Science, 245, 1227–1230, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.245.4923.1227, 1989.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Daily Rainfall Data, http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/index.shtml (last access: 5 May 2024), 2024a.
Australian Bureau of Meteorology: Himawari-8 Full Disk Observational Products, Australian Bureau of Meteorology [data set], https://dapds00.nci.org.au/thredds/catalogs/ra22/satellite-products/arc/obs/himawari-ahi/fldk/fldk.html (last access: 5 May 2024), 2024b.
Bao, S., Letu, H., Zhao, J., Lei, Y., Zhao, C., Li, J., Tana, G., Liu, C., Guo, E., Zhang, J., He, J., and Bao, Y.: Spatiotemporal distributions of cloud radiative forcing and response to cloud parameters over the Mongolian Plateau during 2003–2017, Int. J. Climatol., 40, 4082–4101, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6444, 2020.
Berkelmans, R., De'ath, G., Kininmonth, S., and Skirving, W. J.: A comparison of the 1998 and 2002 coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef: Spatial correlation, patterns and predictions, Coral Reefs, 23, 74–83, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0353-y, 2004.
Bonell, M. and Gilmour, D.: Variations in short-term rainfall intensity in relation to synoptic climatological aspect of the humid tropical northeast Queensland coast, Singapore J. Trop. Geogr., 1, 16–30, 1980.
Bony, S., Dufresne, J.-L., Le Treut, H., Morcrette, J.-J., and Senior, C.: On dynamic and thermodynamic components of cloud changes, Clim. Dynam., 22, 71–86, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-003-0369-6, 2004.
Boucher, O., Randall, D., Artaxo, P., Bretherton, C., Feingold, G., Forster, P., Kerminen, V.-M., Kondo, Y., Liao, H., Lohmann, U., Rasch, P., Satheesh, S. K., Sherwood, S., Stevens, B., and Zhang, X. Y.: Clouds and Aerosols, in: vol. 5, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 571–657, 2013.
Bretherton, C. S., Blossey, P. N., and Jones, C. R.: Mechanisms of marine low cloud sensitivity to idealized climate perturbations: A single-LES exploration extending the CGILS cases. J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 5, 316–337, https://doi.org/10.1002/jame.20019, 2013.
Bretherton, C. S. and Blossey, P. N.: Understanding mesoscale aggregation of shallow cumulus convection using large-eddy simulation, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 9, 2798–2821 https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS000981, 2017.
Bureau of Meteorology: Himawari 8/9 Full Disk Observations – Archive (ARC) data stream, NCI Australia [data set], https://doi.org/10.25914/61a609aa1434d, 2021.
Cesana, G., Del Genio, A. D., Ackerman, A. S., Kelley, M., Elsaesser, G., Fridlind, A. M., Cheng, Y., and Yao, M.-S.: Evaluating models' response of tropical low clouds to SST forcings using CALIPSO observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2813–2832, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2813-2019, 2019.
Chen, F. and Dudhia, J.: Coupling an advanced landsurface/hydrology model with the Penn State/NCAR MM5 modeling system. Part I: Model description and implementation, Mon. Weather Rev., 129, 569–585, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2001)129<0569:CAALSH>2.0.CO;2, 2001.
Chen, T., Rossow, W. B., and Zhang, Y. C.: Radiative effects of cloud-type variations, J. Climate, 13, 264–286, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2000)013<0264:REOCTV>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Chin, M., Ginoux, P., Kinne, S., Torres, O., Holben, B. N., Duncan, B. N., Martin, R. V., Logan, J. A., Higurashi, A., and Nakajima, T.: Tropospheric aerosol optical thick- ness from the GOCART model and comparisons with satellite and sun photometer measurements, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 461–483, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<0461:TAOTFT>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Chu, C. M. and Lin, Y. L.: Effects of orography on the generation and propagation of mesoscale convective systems in a two-dimensional conditionally unstable flow, J. Atmos. Sci., 57, 3817–3837, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2001)057<3817:EOOOTG>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Colarco, P., da Silva, A., Chin, M., and Diehl, T.: Online simulations of global aerosol distributions in the NASA GEOS-4 model and comparisons to satellite and ground-based aerosol optical depth, J. Geophys. Res., 115, D14207, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012820, 2010.
Colle, B. A., Wolfe, J. B., Steenburgh, W. J., Kingsmill, D. E., Cox, J. A. W., and Shafer, J. C.: High-resolution simulations and microphysical validation of an orographic precipitation Event over the Wasatch Mountains during IPEX IOP3, Mon. Weather Rev., 133, 2947–2971, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR3017.1, 2005.
Crook, N. A.: Sensitivity of moist convection forced by boundary layer processes to low-level thermodynamic fields, Mon. Weather Rev., 124, 1767–1785, 1996.
Cropp, R., Gabric, A., van Tran, D., Jones, G., Swan, H., and Butler, H.: Coral reef aerosol emissions in response to irradiance stress in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Ambio, 47, 671–681, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1018-y, 2018.
Dagan, G., Koren, I., Altaratz, O., and Lehahn, Y.: Shallow convective cloud field lifetime as a key factor for evaluating aerosol effects, iScience, 10, 192–202, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2018.11.032, 2018.
Deschaseaux, E., Deschaseaux, E., Jones, G., and Swan, H.: Dimethylated sulfur compounds in coral-reef ecosystems, Environ. Chem., 13, 239–251, https://doi.org/10.1071/en14258, 2016.
Eastman, R. and Wood, R.: The Competing effects of stability and humidity on subtropical stratocumulus entrainment and cloud evolution from a Lagrangian perspective, J. Atmos. Sci., 75, 2563–2578, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-18-0030.1, 2018.
Eastman, R., Warren, S. G., and Hahn, C. J.: Variations in cloud cover and cloud types over the ocean from surface observations. 1954–2008, J. Climate, 24, 5914–5934, https://doi.org/10.1175/2011JCLI3972.1, 2011.
ECMWF – European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts: ERA5 reanalysis data, ECMWF [data set], https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/search?-type=dataset (last access: 5 May 2024), 2024.
Eleftheratos, K., Zerefos, C. S., Varotsos, C., and Kapsomenakis, I.: Interannual variability of cirrus clouds in the tropics in El NinÞo Southern Oscillation (ENSO) regions based on International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) satellite data, Int. J. Remote Sens., 32, 6395–6405, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2010.510491, 2011.
Fiddes, S. L.: Modelling the atmospheric influence of coral reef-derived dimethyl sulfide, PhD thesis, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia, http://hdl.handle.net/11343/241690 (last access: 5 May 2024), 2020.
Fiddes, S. L., Woodhouse, M. T., Lane, T. P., and Schofield, R.: Coral-reef-derived dimethyl sulfide and the climatic impact of the loss of coral reefs, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5883–5903, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5883-2021, 2021.
Fiddes, S. L., Woodhouse, M. T., Utembe, S., Schofield, R., Alexander, S. P., Alroe, J., Chambers, S. D., Chen, Z., Cravigan, L., Dunne, E., Humphries, R. S., Johnson, G., Keywood, M. D., Lane, T. P., Miljevic, B., Omori, Y., Protat, A., Ristovski, Z., Selleck, P., Swan, H. B., Tanimoto, H., Ward, J. P., and Williams, A. G.: The contribution of coral-reef-derived dimethyl sulfide to aerosol burden over the Great Barrier Reef: a modelling study, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2419–2445, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2419-2022, 2022.
Filipiak, M. J., Merchant, C. J., Kettle, H., and Le Borgne, P.: An empirical model for the statistics of sea surface diurnal warming, Ocean Sci., 8, 197–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-8-197-2012, 2012.
Fischer, E. and Jones, G.: Atmospheric dimethysulphide production from corals in the Great Barrier Reef and links to solar radiation, climate and coral bleaching, Biogeochemistry, 110, 31–46, 2012.
Flesch, T. K. and Reuter, G. W.: WRF model simulation of two Alberta flooding events and the impact of topography, J. Hydrometeorol., 13, 695–708. 2012.
Gentemann, C. L., Donlon, C. J., Stuart-Menteth, A., and Wentz, F. J.: Diurnal signals in satellite sea surface temperature measurements, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1140, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL016291, 2003.
Ghan, S. J., Liu, X., Easter, R. C., Zaveri, R., Rasch, P. J., Yoon, J., and Eaton, B.: Toward a Minimal Representation of Aerosols in Climate Models: Comparative Decomposition of Aerosol Direct, Semidirect, and Indirect Radiative Forcing, J. Climate, 25, 6461–6476, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00650.1. 2012.
Gryspeerdt, E., Goren, T., Sourdeval, O., Quaas, J., Mülmenstädt, J., Dipu, S., Unglaub, C., Gettelman, A., and Christensen, M.: Constraining the aerosol influence on cloud liquid water path, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5331–5347, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5331-2019, 2019.
Han, Q., Rossow, W. B., Zeng, J., and Welch, R.: Three different behaviors of liquid water path of water clouds in aerosol–cloud interactions, J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 726–735. 2002.
Hersbach, H., de Rosnay, P., Bell, B., Schepers, D., Simmons, A., Soci, C., Abdalla, S., Alonso-Balmaseda, M., Balsamo, G., Bechtold, P. and Berrisfold, P.: Operational global reanalysis: Progress, future directions and synergies with NWP, ECMWF ERA Report Series, 27, 65, https://doi.org/10.21957/tkic6g3wm, 2018.
Hersbach, H., Bell, B., Berrisford, P., Hirahara, S., Horányi, A., Muñoz-Sabater, J., Nicolas, J., Peubey, C., Radu, R., Schepers, D. and Simmons, A.: The ERA5 global reanalysis, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 146, 1999–2049, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3803, 2020.
Herwitz, S. R.: Infiltration-excess caused by Stemflow in a cyclone-prone tropical rainforest, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 11, 401–412, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3290110406, 1986.
Hong, S.-Y., Noh, Y., and Dudhia, J.: A new vertical diffusion package with an explicit treatment of entrainment processes, Mon. Weather Rev., 134, 2318–2341, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR3199.1, 2006.
Houze, R. A.: Orographic effects on precipitating clouds, Rev. Geophys., 50, RG1001, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011RG000365, 2012.
Hughes, T. P., Kerry, J. T., Álvarez-Noriega, M., Álvarez-Romero, J. G., Anderson, K. D., Baird, A. H., Babcock, R. C., Beger, M., Bellwood, D. R., Berkelmans, R., and Bridge, T. C.: Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals, Nature, 543, 373–377, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21707, 2017.
Imre, D., Abramson, E., and Daum, P.: Quantifying Cloud Induced Shortwave Absorption: An Examination of Uncertainties and of Recent Arguments for Large Excess Absorption, J. Appl. Meteorol., 35, 1991–2010, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1996)035<1991:QCISAA>2.0.CO;2, 1996.
Jackson, R. L., Woodhouse, M. T., Gabric, A. J., Cropp, R. A., Swan, H. B., Deschaseaux, E. S. M., and Trounce H.: Modelling the influence of coral-reef-derived dimethylsulfide on the atmosphere of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Mar. Sci., 9, 910423, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.910423, 2022.
Janjicì, Z. I.: Comments on “Development and evaluation of a convection scheme for use in climate models”, J. Atmos. Sci., 57, 3686–3686, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2000)057<3686:CODAEO>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
JAXA – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency: JAXA Himawari Monitor, JAXA [data set], https://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ptree/ (last access: 5 May 2024), 2024.
Jo, H. S., Yeh, S. W., and Cai, W.: An episodic weakening in the boreal spring SST–precipitation relationship in the western tropical Pacific since the late 1990s, J. Climate, 32, 3837–3845, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0737.1, 2019.
Jones, G., Curran, M., Swan, H., and Deschaseaux, E.: Dimethylsulfide and Coral Bleaching: Links to Solar Radiation, Low Level Cloud and the Regulation of Seawater Temperatures and Climate in the Great Barrier Reef, Am. J. Clim. Change, 6, 328–359, https://doi.org/10.4236/ajcc.2017.62017, 2017.
Jones, G. B.: The reef sulphur cycle: Influence on climate and ecosystem services, in: Ethnobiology of corals and coral reefs, edited by: Narchi, N. E. and Price, L. L., Springer, Cham, 27–57, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23763-3_3, 2015.
Lawrence, M. G.: The relationship between relative humidity and the dewpoint temperature in moist air: a simple conversion and applications, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 86, 225–233, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-86-2-225, 2005.
Leahy, S. M., Kingsford, M. J., and Steinberg, C. R.: Do clouds save the Great Barrier Reef? Satellite imagery elucidates the cloud–SST relationship at the local scale, PLoS One, 8, e70400, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070400, 2013.
Li, Z., Zuidema, P., and Zhu, P.: Simulated convective invigoration processes at trade wind cumulus cold pool boundaries, J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 2823–2841, 2014.
Lohmann, U. and Feichter, J.: Global indirect aerosol effects: A review, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 715–737, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-5-715-2005, 2005.
Lu, R. and Lu, S.: Local and remote factors affecting the SST–precipitation relationship over the western North Pacific during summer, J. Climate, 27, 5132–5147, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00510.1, 2014.
Milionis, A. E. and Davies, T. D.: The effect of the prevailing weather on the statistics of atmospheric temperature inversions, Int. J. Climatol., 28, 1385–1397, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1613, 2008.
Mlawer, E. J., Taubman, S. J., Brown, P. D., Iacono, M. J., and Clough, S. A.: Radiative transfer for inhomogeneous atmospheres: RRTM, a validated correlated-k model for the longwave. J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 102, 16663, https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD00237, 1997.
Mumby, P., Chisholm, J., Edwards, A., Andrefouet, S., and Jaubert, J.: Cloudy weather may have saved Society Island reef corals during the 1998 ENSO event, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 222, 209–216, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps222209, 2001.
Murphy, M. J.: Variability in the trade wind regime and wet season of Northeastern Queensland, PhD thesis, School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Australia, 2017.
Narenpitak, P. and Bretherton, C. S.: Understanding negative subtropical shallow cumulus cloud feedbacks in a near-global aquaplanet model using limited area cloud-resolving simulations, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 11, 1600–1626. 2019.
Narenpitak, P., Bretherton, C. S., and Khairoutdinov, M. F.: Cloud and circulation feedbacks in a near-global aquaplanet cloud-resolving model, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 9, 1069–1090, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016MS000872, 2017.
Norris, J. R.: Low cloud type over the ocean from surface observations. Part II: Geographical and seasonal variations, J. Climate, 11, 383–403, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1998)011<0383:LCTOTO>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Nygård, T., Tjernström, M., and Naakka, T.: Winter thermodynamic vertical structure in the Arctic atmosphere linked to large-scale circulation, Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 1263–1282, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1263-2021, 2021.
Qu, X., Hall, A., Klein, S. A., and DeAngelis, A. M.: Positive tropical marine low-cloud cover feedback inferred from cloud-controlling factors, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 7767–7775, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065627, 2015.
Rauber, R. M., Stevens, B., Ochs, H. T., Knight, C. A., Albrecht, B. A., Blyth, A. M., Fairall, C. W., Jensen, J. B., Lasher-Trapp, S. G., Mayol-Bracero, O. L., and Vali, G.: Rain in shallow cumulus over the ocean: The RICO campaign, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 88, 1912–1928, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-88-12-1912, 2007.
Rieck, M., Nuijens, L., and Stevens, B.: Marine boundary layer cloud feedbacks in a constant relative humidity atmosphere, J. Atmos. Sci., 69, 2538–2550, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-11-0203.1, 2012.
Riehl, H.: Climate and Weather in the Tropics, Academic Press, 1979.
Roe, G. H.: Orographic precipitation, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 33, 645–671, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.33.092203.122541, 2005.
Sarmadi, F., Huang, Y., Thompson, G., Siems, S. T., and Manton, M. J.: Simulations of orographic precipitation in the Snowy Mountains of Southeastern Australia, Atmos. Res., 219, 183–199, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2019.01.002, 2019.
Schneider, L., Barthlott, C., Barrett, A. I., and Hoose, C.: The precipitation response to variable terrain forcing over low mountain ranges in different weather regimes, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 144, 970–989, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3250, 2018.
Skamarock, W. C., Klemp, J. B., Dudhia, J., Gill, D. O., Liu, Z., Berner, J., Wang, W., Powers, J. G., Duda, M. G., Barker, D. M., and Huang, X .Y.: A description of the advanced research WRF version 4, NCAR tech. note ncar/tn-556+ str, 145, NCAR, https://doi.org/10.5065/1DFH-6P97, 2019.
Smith, S. A., Vosper, S. B., and Field, P. R.: Sensitivity of orographic precipitation enhancement to horizontal resolution in the operational Met Office Weather forecasts. Meteorol. Appl., 22, 14–24, https://doi.org/10.1002/met.1352, 2015.
Spill, G., Stier, P., Field, P. R., and Dagan, G.: Contrasting responses of idealised and realistic simulations of shallow cumuli to aerosol perturbations. Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2021GL094137, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094137, 2021.
Stevens, B. and Brenguier, J.-L.: Cloud-controlling factors: low clouds Clouds in the Perturbed Climate System: Their Relationship to Energy Balance, in: Atmospheric Dynamics, and Precipitation, edited by: Heintzenberg, J. and Charlson, R. J., MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 173–196, https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262012874.003.0008, 2009.
Stuart-Smith, R. D., Brown, C. J., Ceccarelli, D. M., and Edgar, G. J.: Ecosystem restructuring along the Great Barrier Reef following mass coral bleaching, Nature, 560, 92–96, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0359-9, 2018.
Sumner, G. and Bonell, M.: Circulation and daily rainfall in the North Queensland wet seasons 1979–1982, J. Climatol., 6 , 531–549, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370060507, 1986.
Takahashi, H. G. and Dado, J. M. B.: Relationship between sea surface temperature and rainfall in the Philippines during the Asian summer monsoon, J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. Ser. II, 96, 283–290, 2018.
Takahashi, N., Hayasaka, T., Qiu, B., and Yamaguchi, R.: Observed response of marine boundary layer cloud to the interannual variations of summertime Oyashio extension SST front, Clim. Dynam., 56, 3511–3526, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-05649-4, 2021.
Tao, W. K., Chen, J.-P., Li, Z., Wang, C., and Zhang, C.: Impact of Aerosols on boundary layer clouds and precipitation, Re. Geophys., 50, 2011RG000369, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011RG000369, 2012.
Thompson, G. and Eidhammer, T.: A study of aerosol impacts on clouds and precipitation development in a large winter cyclone, J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 3636–3658, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-13-0305.1, 2014.
Thompson, G., Field, P. R., Rasmussen, R. M., and Hall, W. D.: Explicit forecasts of winter precipitation using an improved bulk microphysics scheme. Part II: Implementation of a new snow parameterization, Mon. Weather Rev., 136, 5095–5115, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008MWR2387.1, 2008.
Tian, B., Waliser, D. E., and Fetzer, E. J.: Modulation of the diurnal cycle of tropical deep convective clouds by the MJO, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L20704, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027752, 2006.
Trier, S. B.: Convective storms – convective initiation, in: Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 2, edited by: Holton, J. R., Curry, J. A., and Pyle, J. A., Academic Press, London, 560–570, https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-12-227090-8/00122-6, 2003.
Twomey, S.: The influence of pollution on the shortwave albedo of clouds, J. Atmos. Sci., 34, 1149–1152, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1977)034<1149:TIOPOT>2.0.CO;2, 1977.
University of Wyoming Department of Atmospheric Science: University of Wyoming Upper-Air Sounding Data, University of Wyoming Department of Atmospheric Science [data set], http://weather.uwyo.edu/upperair/sounding.html (last access: 5 May 2024), 2024.
Vogel, R., Nuijens, L., and Stevens, B.: The role of precipitation and spatial organization in the response of trade-wind clouds to warming, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 8, 843–862, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015MS000568, 2016.
Vogel, R., Nuijens, L., and Stevens, B.: Influence of deepening and mesoscale organization of shallow convection on stratiform cloudiness in the downstream trades, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 146, 174–185, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3664, 2020.
Wang, H., Easter, R. C., Rasch, P. J., Wang, M., Liu, X., Ghan, S. J., Qian, Y., Yoon, J.-H., Ma, P.-L., and Vinoj, V.: Sensitivity of remote aerosol distributions to representation of cloud–aerosol interactions in a global climate model, Geosci. Model Dev., 6, 765–782, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-765-2013, 2013.
Warren, S. G., Hahn, C. J., London, J., Chervin, R. M., and Jenne, R. L.: Global distribution of total cloud cover and cloud type amounts over the ocean, Colorado Univ., Boulder, CO, Colorado Univ., Boulder, CO, and National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA, https://doi.org/10.2172/5415329, 1988.
Weston, M. J., Piketh, S. J., Burnet, F., Broccardo, S., Denjean, C., Bourrianne, T., and Formenti, P.: Sensitivity analysis of an aerosol-aware microphysics scheme in Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) during case studies of fog in Namibia, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10221–10245, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10221-2022, 2022.
Wheeler, M. C. and Hendon, H. H.: An all-season real-time multivariate MJO index: Development of an index for monitoring and prediction. Mon. Weather Rev., 132, 1917-1932, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2004)132<1917:AARMMI>2.0.CO;2, 2004.
Wilkinson, J. M., Porson, A. N. F., Bornemann, F. J., Weeks, M., Field, P. R., and Lock, A. P.: Improved microphysical parametrization of drizzle and fog for operational forecasting using the Met Office Unified Model, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 139, 488–500, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.1975, 2013.
Wood, R.. and Bretherton, C. S.: On the Relationship between Stratiform Low Cloud Cover and Lower-Tropospheric Stability, J. Climate, 19, 6425–6432, 2006.
Wu, B., Zhou, T., and Li, T.: Contrast of rainfall–SST relationships in the western North Pacific between the ENSO-developing and ENSO-decaying summers, J. Climate, 22, 4398–4405, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI2648.1, 2009.
Wu, R. and Kirtman, B. P.: Regimes of seasonal air–sea interaction and implications for performance of forced simulations, Clim. Dynam., 29, 393–410, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0246-9, 2007.
Wu, W., Liu, Y., and Betts, A. K.: Observationally based evaluation of NWP reanalyses in modeling cloud properties over the southern great plains. J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 117, D12202, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016971, 2012.
Wyant, M. C., Bretherton, C. S., and Blossey, P. N.: Subtropical low cloud response to a warmer climate in a superparameterized climate model. Part I: Regime sorting and physical mechanisms, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 1, 7, https://doi.org/10.3894/JAMES.2009.1.7, 2009.
Yamaguchi, T., Feingold, G., and Kazil, J.: Aerosol‐cloud interactions in trade wind cumulus clouds and the role of vertical wind shear, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 12244–12261, 2019.
Yuan, J. and Houze Jr., R. A.: Deep convective systems observed by a-train in the tropical indo-pacific region affected by the MJO, J. Atmos. Sci., 70, 465–486, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-057.1, 2013.
Zhang, H., Beggs, H., Wang, X. H., Kiss, A. E., and Griffin, C.: Seasonal patterns of SST diurnal variation over the Tropical Warm Pool region, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121, 8077–8094, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012210, 2016.
Zhang, S., Wang, M., Ghan, S. J., Ding, A., Wang, H., Zhang, K., Neubauer, D., Lohmann, U., Ferrachat, S., Takeamura, T., Gettelman, A., Morrison, H., Lee, Y., Shindell, D. T., Partridge, D. G., Stier, P., Kipling, Z., and Fu, C.: On the characteristics of aerosol indirect effect based on dynamic regimes in global climate models, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 2765–2783, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-2765-2016, 2016.
Zhang, M., Rasmussen, K. L., Meng, Z., and Huang, Y.: Impacts of coastal terrain on warm-sector heavy-rain-producing MCSs in Southern China, Mon. Weather Rev., 150, 603–624, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-21-0190.1, 2022.
Zhao, W., Huang, Y., Siems, S., and Manton, M.: The role of clouds in coral bleaching events over the Great Barrier Reef, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2021GL093936, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093936, 2021.
Zhao, W., Huang, Y., Siems, S. T., and Manton, M. J.: A characterization of clouds over the Great Barrier Reef and the role of local forcing, Int. J. Climatol., 42, 6647–6664, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7660, 2022.
Short summary
We studied how shallow clouds and rain behave over the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) using a detailed weather model. We found that the shape of the land, especially mountains, and particles in the air play big roles in influencing these clouds. Surprisingly, the sea's temperature had a smaller effect. Our research helps us understand the GBR's climate and how various factors can influence it, where the importance of the local cloud in thermal coral bleaching has recently been identified.
We studied how shallow clouds and rain behave over the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) using a detailed...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint