Articles | Volume 25, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5251-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-25-5251-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
26 May 2025
Research article |
| 26 May 2025
| 26 May 2025
Impact on the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition of the interaction of cloud microphysics and macrophysics with large-scale circulation
Je-Yun Chun
Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Peter N. Blossey
Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Sarah J. Doherty
Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystems Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Chris J. Wright, Joel A. Thornton, Lyatt Jaeglé, Yang Cao, Yannian Zhu, Jihu Liu, Randall Jones II, Robert Holzworth, Daniel Rosenfeld, Robert Wood, Peter Blossey, and Daehyun Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2937–2946, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2937-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2937-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol particles influence clouds, which exert a large forcing on solar radiation and freshwater. To better understand the mechanisms by which aerosol influences thunderstorms, we look at the two busiest shipping lanes in the world, where recent regulations have reduced sulfur emissions by nearly an order of magnitude. We find that the reduction in emissions has been accompanied by a dramatic decrease in both lightning and the number of droplets in clouds over the shipping lanes.
Blaž Gasparini, Rachel Atlas, Aiko Voigt, Martina Krämer, and Peter N. Blossey
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-203, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-203, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical cirrus clouds, especially their evolution, are poorly understood, contributing to uncertainty in climate projections. We address this by using novel tracers in a cloud-resolving model to track the life cycle of cirrus clouds, providing insights into cloud formation, ice crystal evolution, and radiative effects. We also improve the model's cloud microphysics with a simple, computationally efficient approach that can be applied to other models.
Philip J. Rasch, Haruki Hirasawa, Mingxuan Wu, Sarah J. Doherty, Robert Wood, Hailong Wang, Andy Jones, James Haywood, and Hansi Singh
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 7963–7994, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7963-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7963-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce a protocol to compare computer climate simulations to better understand a proposed strategy intended to counter warming and climate impacts from greenhouse gas increases. This slightly changes clouds in six ocean regions to reflect more sunlight and cool the Earth. Example changes in clouds and climate are shown for three climate models. Cloud changes differ between the models, but precipitation and surface temperature changes are similar when their cooling effects are made similar.
Lucas A. McMichael, Michael J. Schmidt, Robert Wood, Peter N. Blossey, and Lekha Patel
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 7867–7888, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7867-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7867-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is a climate intervention technique to potentially cool the climate. Climate models used to gauge regional climate impacts associated with MCB often assume large areas of the ocean are uniformly perturbed. However, a more realistic representation of MCB application would require information about how an injected particle plume spreads. This work aims to develop such a plume-spreading model.
Ehsan Erfani, Robert Wood, Peter Blossey, Sarah J. Doherty, and Ryan Eastman
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3232, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3232, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we explore how marine clouds interact with aerosols. We introduce a novel approach to identify a reduced number of representative cases from a wide array of observed environmental conditions prevalent in the Northeast Pacific. We created over 2200 trajectories from observations and used cloud-resolving simulations to investigate how marine low clouds evolve in two different cases. It is shown that aerosols can delay cloud breakup, but their impact depends on precipitation.
Ryan Eastman, Isabel L. McCoy, Hauke Schulz, and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6613–6634, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6613-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cloud types are determined using machine learning image classifiers applied to satellite imagery for 1 year in the North Atlantic. This survey of these cloud types shows that the climate impact of a cloud scene is, in part, a function of cloud type. Each type displays a different mix of thick and thin cloud cover, with the fraction of thin cloud cover having the strongest impact on the clouds' radiative effect. Future studies must account for differing properties and processes among cloud types.
Calvin Howes, Pablo E. Saide, Hugh Coe, Amie Dobracki, Steffen Freitag, Jim M. Haywood, Steven G. Howell, Siddhant Gupta, Janek Uin, Mary Kacarab, Chongai Kuang, L. Ruby Leung, Athanasios Nenes, Greg M. McFarquhar, James Podolske, Jens Redemann, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Kenneth L. Thornhill, Jenny P. S. Wong, Robert Wood, Huihui Wu, Yang Zhang, Jianhao Zhang, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13911–13940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13911-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13911-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
To better understand smoke properties and its interactions with clouds, we compare the WRF-CAM5 model with observations from ORACLES, CLARIFY, and LASIC field campaigns in the southeastern Atlantic in August 2017. The model transports and mixes smoke well but does not fully capture some important processes. These include smoke chemical and physical aging over 4–12 days, smoke removal by rain, sulfate particle formation, aerosol activation into cloud droplets, and boundary layer turbulence.
Mampi Sarkar, Adriana Bailey, Peter Blossey, Simon P. de Szoeke, David Noone, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Mason D. Leandro, and Patrick Y. Chuang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12671–12690, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12671-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12671-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We study rain evaporation characteristics below shallow cumulus clouds over the North Atlantic Ocean by pairing isotope observations with a microphysical model. The modeled fraction of rain mass that evaporates below the cloud strongly depends on the raindrop size and distribution width. Moreover, the higher the rain mass fraction evaporated, the greater the change in deuterium excess. In this way, rain evaporation could be studied independently using only isotope and microphysical observations.
Amie Dobracki, Paquita Zuidema, Steven G. Howell, Pablo Saide, Steffen Freitag, Allison C. Aiken, Sharon P. Burton, Arthur J. Sedlacek III, Jens Redemann, and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4775–4799, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4775-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4775-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Southern Africa produces approximately one-third of the world’s carbon from fires. The thick smoke layer can flow westward, interacting with the southeastern Atlantic cloud deck. The net radiative impact can alter regional circulation patterns, impacting rainfall over Africa. We find that the smoke is highly absorbing of sunlight, mostly because it contains more black carbon than smoke over the Northern Hemisphere.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Francesca Gallo, Janek Uin, Kevin J. Sanchez, Richard H. Moore, Jian Wang, Robert Wood, Fan Mei, Connor Flynn, Stephen Springston, Eduardo B. Azevedo, Chongai Kuang, and Allison C. Aiken
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4221–4246, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4221-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4221-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides a summary statistic of multiday aerosol plume transport event influences on aerosol physical properties and the cloud condensation nuclei budget at the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility in the eastern North Atlantic (ENA). An algorithm that integrates aerosol properties is developed and applied to identify multiday aerosol transport events. The influence of the aerosol plumes on aerosol populations at the ENA is successively assessed.
Zhenquan Wang, Jian Yuan, Robert Wood, Yifan Chen, and Tiancheng Tong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3247–3266, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3247-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study develops a novel profile-based algorithm based on the ERA5 to estimate the inversion strength in the planetary boundary layer better than the previous inversion index, which is a key low-cloud-controlling factor. This improved measure is more effective at representing the meteorological influence on low-cloud variations. It can better constrain the meteorological influence on low clouds to better isolate cloud responses to aerosols or to estimate low cloud feedbacks in climate models.
Je-Yun Chun, Robert Wood, Peter Blossey, and Sarah J. Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1345–1368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1345-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1345-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the impact of injected aerosol on subtropical low marine clouds under a variety of meteorological conditions using high-resolution model simulations. This study illustrates processes perturbed by aerosol injections and their impact on cloud properties (e.g., cloud number concentration, thickness, and cover). We show that those responses are highly sensitive to background meteorological conditions, such as precipitation, and background cloud properties.
Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, Rei Ueyama, Paquita Zuidema, Robert Wood, Ian Chang, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14209–14241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14209-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14209-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The variability in the meteorological fields during each deployment is highly modulated at a daily to synoptic timescale. This paper, along with part 1, the climatological overview paper, provides a meteorological context for interpreting the airborne measurements gathered during the three ORACLES deployments. This study supports related studies focusing on the detailed investigation of the processes controlling stratocumulus decks, aerosol lifting, transport, and their interactions.
Paul A. Barrett, Steven J. Abel, Hugh Coe, Ian Crawford, Amie Dobracki, James Haywood, Steve Howell, Anthony Jones, Justin Langridge, Greg M. McFarquhar, Graeme J. Nott, Hannah Price, Jens Redemann, Yohei Shinozuka, Kate Szpek, Jonathan W. Taylor, Robert Wood, Huihui Wu, Paquita Zuidema, Stéphane Bauguitte, Ryan Bennett, Keith Bower, Hong Chen, Sabrina Cochrane, Michael Cotterell, Nicholas Davies, David Delene, Connor Flynn, Andrew Freedman, Steffen Freitag, Siddhant Gupta, David Noone, Timothy B. Onasch, James Podolske, Michael R. Poellot, Sebastian Schmidt, Stephen Springston, Arthur J. Sedlacek III, Jamie Trembath, Alan Vance, Maria A. Zawadowicz, and Jianhao Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6329–6371, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6329-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6329-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
To better understand weather and climate, it is vital to go into the field and collect observations. Often measurements take place in isolation, but here we compared data from two aircraft and one ground-based site. This was done in order to understand how well measurements made on one platform compared to those made on another. Whilst this is easy to do in a controlled laboratory setting, it is more challenging in the real world, and so these comparisons are as valuable as they are rare.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Jessica Danker, Odran Sourdeval, Isabel L. McCoy, Robert Wood, and Anna Possner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10247–10265, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10247-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10247-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Using spaceborne lidar-radar retrievals, we show that seasonal changes in cloud phase outweigh changes in cloud-phase statistics across cloud morphologies at given cloud-top temperatures. These results show that cloud morphology does not seem to pose a primary constraint on cloud-phase statistics in the Southern Ocean. Meanwhile, larger changes in in-cloud albedo across cloud morphologies are observed in supercooled liquid rather than mixed-phase stratocumuli.
Matthew W. Christensen, Andrew Gettelman, Jan Cermak, Guy Dagan, Michael Diamond, Alyson Douglas, Graham Feingold, Franziska Glassmeier, Tom Goren, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Edward Gryspeerdt, Ralph Kahn, Zhanqing Li, Po-Lun Ma, Florent Malavelle, Isabel L. McCoy, Daniel T. McCoy, Greg McFarquhar, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Sandip Pal, Anna Possner, Adam Povey, Johannes Quaas, Daniel Rosenfeld, Anja Schmidt, Roland Schrödner, Armin Sorooshian, Philip Stier, Velle Toll, Duncan Watson-Parris, Robert Wood, Mingxi Yang, and Tianle Yuan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 641–674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-641-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-641-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Trace gases and aerosols (tiny airborne particles) are released from a variety of point sources around the globe. Examples include volcanoes, industrial chimneys, forest fires, and ship stacks. These sources provide opportunistic experiments with which to quantify the role of aerosols in modifying cloud properties. We review the current state of understanding on the influence of aerosol on climate built from the wide range of natural and anthropogenic laboratories investigated in recent decades.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Amie Dobracki, Paquita Zuidema, Steve Howell, Pablo Saide, Steffen Freitag, Allison C. Aiken, Sharon P. Burton, Arthur J. Sedlacek III, Jens Redemann, and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-1081, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-1081, 2022
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
The global maximum of shortwave-absorbing aerosol above cloud occurs above the southeast Atlantic, where the biomass-burning aerosol provides a distinct aerosol radiative warming of regional climate. The smoke aerosols are unusually highly absorbing of sunlight. This study seeks to understand the cause. We conclude the aerosol is already strongly absorbing at the fire emission source, but that chemical aging, through encouraging a net loss of organic aerosol, also contributes.
Ju-Mee Ryoo, Leonhard Pfister, Rei Ueyama, Paquita Zuidema, Robert Wood, Ian Chang, and Jens Redemann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16689–16707, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16689-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16689-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Part 1 of the meteorological overview paper highlights the anomalous meteorological characteristics during the ORACLES deployment compared to the climatological mean at monthly timescales. The upper-level wave disturbance and the associated anomalous circulation explain the weakening of AEJ-S through the reduction of the strength of the heat low over the land during August 2017. This may also help explain the anomalously low aerosol optical depth observed in the August 2017 ORACLES deployment.
Rachel Atlas, Johannes Mohrmann, Joseph Finlon, Jeremy Lu, Ian Hsiao, Robert Wood, and Minghui Diao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7079–7101, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7079-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7079-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Many clouds with temperatures between 0 °C and −40 °C contain both liquid and ice particles, and the ratio of liquid to ice particles influences how the clouds interact with radiation and moderate Earth's climate. We use a machine learning method called random forest to classify images of individual cloud particles as either liquid or ice. We apply our algorithm to images captured by aircraft within clouds overlying the Southern Ocean, and we find that it outperforms two existing algorithms.
Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14507–14533, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14507-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A simple model is described to assess the potential for increasing solar reflection by augmenting the aerosol population below marine low clouds, which increases the concentration of cloud droplets. The model is used to predict global cooling from marine cloud brightening climate intervention as a function of the quantity, size, and lifetime of salt particles injected per sprayer, the number of sprayers deployed, the cloud updraft speed, and unperturbed aerosol size distribution.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
Yang Wang, Guangjie Zheng, Michael P. Jensen, Daniel A. Knopf, Alexander Laskin, Alyssa A. Matthews, David Mechem, Fan Mei, Ryan Moffet, Arthur J. Sedlacek, John E. Shilling, Stephen Springston, Amy Sullivan, Jason Tomlinson, Daniel Veghte, Rodney Weber, Robert Wood, Maria A. Zawadowicz, and Jian Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11079–11098, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11079-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11079-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper reports the vertical profiles of trace gas and aerosol properties over the eastern North Atlantic, a region of persistent but diverse subtropical marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds. We examined the key processes that drive the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) population and how it varies with season and synoptic conditions. This study helps improve the model representation of the aerosol processes in the remote MBL, reducing the simulated aerosol indirect effects.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Johannes Mohrmann, Robert Wood, Tianle Yuan, Hua Song, Ryan Eastman, and Lazaros Oreopoulos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9629–9642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9629-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9629-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Observations of marine-boundary-layer conditions are composited by cloud type, based on a new classification dataset. It is found that two cloud types, representing regions of clustered and suppressed low-level clouds, occur in very similar large-scale conditions but are distinguished from each other by considering low-level circulation and surface wind fields, validating prior results from modeling.
Maria A. Zawadowicz, Kaitlyn Suski, Jiumeng Liu, Mikhail Pekour, Jerome Fast, Fan Mei, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Stephen Springston, Yang Wang, Rahul A. Zaveri, Robert Wood, Jian Wang, and John E. Shilling
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7983–8002, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7983-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7983-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the results of a recent field campaign in the eastern North Atlantic, where two mass spectrometers were deployed aboard a research aircraft to measure the chemistry of aerosols and trace gases. Very clean conditions were found, dominated by local sulfate-rich acidic aerosol and very aged organics. Evidence of
long-range transport of aerosols from the continents was also identified.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Sabrina P. Cochrane, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Hong Chen, Peter Pilewskie, Scott Kittelman, Jens Redemann, Samuel LeBlanc, Kristina Pistone, Meloë Kacenelenbogen, Michal Segal Rozenhaimer, Yohei Shinozuka, Connor Flynn, Amie Dobracki, Paquita Zuidema, Steven Howell, Steffen Freitag, and Sarah Doherty
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 567–593, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-567-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-567-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Based on observations from the 2016 and 2017 field campaigns of ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS), this work establishes an observationally driven link from mid-visible aerosol optical depth (AOD) and other scene parameters to broadband shortwave irradiance (and by extension the direct aerosol radiative effect, DARE). The majority of the case-to-case DARE variability within the ORACLES dataset is attributable to the dependence on AOD and scene albedo.
Jim M. Haywood, Steven J. Abel, Paul A. Barrett, Nicolas Bellouin, Alan Blyth, Keith N. Bower, Melissa Brooks, Ken Carslaw, Haochi Che, Hugh Coe, Michael I. Cotterell, Ian Crawford, Zhiqiang Cui, Nicholas Davies, Beth Dingley, Paul Field, Paola Formenti, Hamish Gordon, Martin de Graaf, Ross Herbert, Ben Johnson, Anthony C. Jones, Justin M. Langridge, Florent Malavelle, Daniel G. Partridge, Fanny Peers, Jens Redemann, Philip Stier, Kate Szpek, Jonathan W. Taylor, Duncan Watson-Parris, Robert Wood, Huihui Wu, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1049–1084, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1049-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1049-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Every year, the seasonal cycle of biomass burning from agricultural practices in Africa creates a huge plume of smoke that travels many thousands of kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean. This study provides an overview of a measurement campaign called the cloud–aerosol–radiation interaction and forcing for year 2017 (CLARIFY-2017) and documents the rationale, deployment strategy, observations, and key results from the campaign which utilized the heavily equipped FAAM atmospheric research aircraft.
Tianle Yuan, Hua Song, Robert Wood, Johannes Mohrmann, Kerry Meyer, Lazaros Oreopoulos, and Steven Platnick
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6989–6997, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6989-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6989-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We use deep transfer learning techniques to classify satellite cloud images into different morphology types. It achieves the state-of-the-art results and can automatically process a large amount of satellite data. The algorithm will help low-cloud researchers to better understand their mesoscale organizations.
Yohei Shinozuka, Pablo E. Saide, Gonzalo A. Ferrada, Sharon P. Burton, Richard Ferrare, Sarah J. Doherty, Hamish Gordon, Karla Longo, Marc Mallet, Yan Feng, Qiaoqiao Wang, Yafang Cheng, Amie Dobracki, Steffen Freitag, Steven G. Howell, Samuel LeBlanc, Connor Flynn, Michal Segal-Rosenhaimer, Kristina Pistone, James R. Podolske, Eric J. Stith, Joseph Ryan Bennett, Gregory R. Carmichael, Arlindo da Silva, Ravi Govindaraju, Ruby Leung, Yang Zhang, Leonhard Pfister, Ju-Mee Ryoo, Jens Redemann, Robert Wood, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11491–11526, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11491-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11491-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In the southeast Atlantic, well-defined smoke plumes from Africa advect over marine boundary layer cloud decks; both are most extensive around September, when most of the smoke resides in the free troposphere. A framework is put forth for evaluating the performance of a range of global and regional atmospheric composition models against observations made during the NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) airborne mission in September 2016.
Francesca Gallo, Janek Uin, Stephen Springston, Jian Wang, Guangjie Zheng, Chongai Kuang, Robert Wood, Eduardo B. Azevedo, Allison McComiskey, Fan Mei, Adam Theisen, Jenni Kyrouac, and Allison C. Aiken
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7553–7573, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7553-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7553-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Continuous high-time-resolution ambient data can include periods when aerosol properties do not represent regional aerosol processes due to high-concentration local events. We develop a novel aerosol mask at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility in the eastern North Atlantic (ENA). We use two ground sites to validate the mask, include a comparison with aircraft overflights, and provide guidance to increase data quality at ENA and other locations.
Mary Kacarab, K. Lee Thornhill, Amie Dobracki, Steven G. Howell, Joseph R. O'Brien, Steffen Freitag, Michael R. Poellot, Robert Wood, Paquita Zuidema, Jens Redemann, and Athanasios Nenes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3029–3040, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3029-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3029-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We find that extensive biomass burning aerosol plumes from southern Africa can profoundly influence clouds in the southeastern Atlantic. Concurrent variations in vertical velocity, however, are found to magnify the relationship between boundary layer aerosol and the cloud droplet number. Neglecting these covariances may strongly bias the sign and magnitude of aerosol impacts on the cloud droplet number.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Sabrina P. Cochrane, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Hong Chen, Peter Pilewskie, Scott Kittelman, Jens Redemann, Samuel LeBlanc, Kristina Pistone, Meloë Kacenelenbogen, Michal Segal Rozenhaimer, Yohei Shinozuka, Connor Flynn, Steven Platnick, Kerry Meyer, Rich Ferrare, Sharon Burton, Chris Hostetler, Steven Howell, Steffen Freitag, Amie Dobracki, and Sarah Doherty
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6505–6528, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6505-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6505-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
For two cases from the NASA ORACLES experiments, we retrieve aerosol and cloud properties and calculate a direct aerosol radiative effect (DARE). We investigate the relationship between DARE and the cloud albedo by specifying the albedo for which DARE transitions from a cooling to warming radiative effect. Our new aerosol retrieval algorithm is successful despite complexities associated with scenes that contain aerosols above clouds and decreases the uncertainty on retrieved aerosol parameters.
Kristina Pistone, Jens Redemann, Sarah Doherty, Paquita Zuidema, Sharon Burton, Brian Cairns, Sabrina Cochrane, Richard Ferrare, Connor Flynn, Steffen Freitag, Steven G. Howell, Meloë Kacenelenbogen, Samuel LeBlanc, Xu Liu, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Arthur J. Sedlacek III, Michal Segal-Rozenhaimer, Yohei Shinozuka, Snorre Stamnes, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, Gerard Van Harten, and Feng Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9181–9208, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9181-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9181-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how smoke particles interact with sunlight is important in calculating their effects on climate, since some smoke is more scattering (cooling) and some is more absorbing (heating). Knowing this proportion is important for both satellite observations and climate models. We measured smoke properties in a recent aircraft-based field campaign off the west coast of Africa and present a comparison of these properties as measured using the six different, independent techniques available.
Marc Mallet, Pierre Nabat, Paquita Zuidema, Jens Redemann, Andrew Mark Sayer, Martin Stengel, Sebastian Schmidt, Sabrina Cochrane, Sharon Burton, Richard Ferrare, Kerry Meyer, Pablo Saide, Hiren Jethva, Omar Torres, Robert Wood, David Saint Martin, Romain Roehrig, Christina Hsu, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4963–4990, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4963-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4963-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The model is able to represent LWP but not the LCF. AOD is consistent over the continent but also over ocean (ACAOD). Differences are observed in SSA due to the absence of internal mixing in ALADIN-Climate. A significant regional gradient of the forcing at TOA is observed. An intense positive forcing is simulated over Gabon. Results highlight the significant effect of enhanced moisture on BBA extinction. The surface dimming modifies the energy budget.
Guangjie Zheng, Yang Wang, Allison C. Aiken, Francesca Gallo, Michael P. Jensen, Pavlos Kollias, Chongai Kuang, Edward Luke, Stephen Springston, Janek Uin, Robert Wood, and Jian Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17615–17635, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17615-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17615-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Here, we elucidate the key processes that drive marine boundary layer (MBL) aerosol size distribution in the eastern North Atlantic (ENA) using long-term measurements. The governing equations of particle concentration are established for different modes. Particles entrained from the free troposphere represent the major source of MBL cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), contributing both directly to CCN population and indirectly by supplying Aitken-mode particles that grow to CCN in the MBL.
Anna Possner, Hailong Wang, Robert Wood, Ken Caldeira, and Thomas P. Ackerman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17475–17488, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17475-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17475-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify aerosol–cloud radiative interactions in a regime of deep open-cell stratocumuli (boundary layer depth 1.5 km), a regime which remains largely unexplored within this context and yet is more dominant than cases of shallow stratocumuli previously studied. We simulate substantial increases in albedo in a regime where ship tracks are not found and argue that such changes may escape detection and attribution through remote sensing due to the large natural variability in the system.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Daniel P. Grosvenor, Odran Sourdeval, and Robert Wood
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 4273–4289, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4273-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4273-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We provide a parameterized correction to the retrieval of cloud effective radius from satellite instruments to account for the assumption that the retrieved value is representative of that at cloud top, whereas in reality it is representative of that lower down. The error leads to errors (which we quantify) in the retrieved cloud droplet concentrations of up to 38 % for stratocumulus regions and also to liquid water path errors, both of which can be corrected using our parameterizations.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Xiaoli Zhou, Andrew S. Ackerman, Ann M. Fridlind, Robert Wood, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 12725–12742, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Shallow maritime clouds make a well-known transition from stratocumulus to trade cumulus with flow from the subtropics equatorward. Three-day large-eddy simulations that investigate the potential influence of overlying African biomass burning plumes during that transition indicate that cloud-related impacts are likely substantially cooling to negligible at the top of the atmosphere, with magnitude sensitive to background and perturbation aerosol and cloud properties.
Kuan-Ting O and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7239–7249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7239-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7239-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, based on the well-known formulae of classical nucleation theory (CNT), the temperature at which the mean number of critical embryos inside a droplet is unity is derived from the Boltzmann distribution function and explored as a new simplified approximation for homogeneous freezing temperature. It thus appears that the simplicity of this approximation makes it potentially useful for predicting homogeneous freezing temperatures of water droplets in the atmosphere.
Marco Tedesco, Sarah Doherty, Xavier Fettweis, Patrick Alexander, Jeyavinoth Jeyaratnam, and Julienne Stroeve
The Cryosphere, 10, 477–496, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-477-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-477-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Summer surface albedo over Greenland decreased at a rate of 0.02 per decade between 1996 and 2012. The decrease is due to snow grain growth, the expansion of bare ice areas, and trends in light-absorbing impurities on snow and ice surfaces. Neither aerosol models nor in situ observations indicate increasing trends in impurities in the atmosphere over Greenland. Albedo projections through to the end of the century under different warming scenarios consistently point to continued darkening.
R. Zhang, H. Wang, D. A. Hegg, Y. Qian, S. J. Doherty, C. Dang, P.-L. Ma, P. J. Rasch, and Q. Fu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 12805–12822, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12805-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12805-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We use a global climate model with an explicit source tagging technique to quantify contributions of emissions from various geographical regions and sectors to BC in North America. Model results are evaluated against measurements of near-surface and in-snow BC. We found strong spatial variations of BC and its radiative forcing that can be quantitatively attributed to the various source origins, and also identified a significant source of BC in snow that is likely missing in most climate models.
S. J. Doherty, C. M. Bitz, and M. G. Flanner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11697–11709, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11697-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11697-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Black carbon in snow lowers its albedo, increasing the absorption of sunlight, leading to positive radiative forcing, climate warming and earlier snow-melt. A series of recent studies have used prescribed rates of black carbon deposition to snow to assess the climate effects of black carbon in snow. Here we show that the use of prescribed deposition fluxes in these model studies leads to high biases in snow BC concentrations, caused by the decoupling of BC and snow deposition to the surface.
C. R. Terai, C. S. Bretherton, R. Wood, and G. Painter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8071–8088, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8071-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8071-2014, 2014
D. P. Grosvenor and R. Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7291–7321, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7291-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7291-2014, 2014
A. Muhlbauer, I. L. McCoy, and R. Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6695–6716, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6695-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6695-2014, 2014
Q. Yang, C. M. Bitz, and S. J. Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3969–3975, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3969-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3969-2014, 2014
A. H. Berner, C. S. Bretherton, R. Wood, and A. Muhlbauer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12549–12572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12549-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12549-2013, 2013
C. R. Terai and R. Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9899–9914, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9899-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9899-2013, 2013
A. Gettelman, H. Morrison, C. R. Terai, and R. Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9855–9867, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9855-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9855-2013, 2013
R. C. George, R. Wood, C. S. Bretherton, and G. Painter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 6305–6328, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6305-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-6305-2013, 2013
C. H. Twohy, J. R. Anderson, D. W. Toohey, M. Andrejczuk, A. Adams, M. Lytle, R. C. George, R. Wood, P. Saide, S. Spak, P. Zuidema, and D. Leon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2541–2562, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2541-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2541-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
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
The Critical Number and Size of Precipitation Embryos to Accelerate Warm Rain Initiation
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
How the representation of microphysical processes affects tropical condensate in a global storm-resolving model
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.
Jung-Sub Lim, Yign Noh, Hyunho Lee, and Fabian Hoffmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2636, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2636, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The onset of rain is not fully understood. In this study, we address the impact of comparably large particles (precipitation embryos), speculated to initiate rain in clouds that do not contain ice. We showed that these particles can accelerate rain initiation only if their size and number exceed a threshold. As this threshold depends on the cloud's micro- and macrostructure, the impact of large particles on rain initiation is situation-dependent.
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.
Ann Kristin Naumann, Monika Esch, and Bjorn Stevens
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2268, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2268, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores how uncertainties in the representation of microphysical processes affect the tropical condensate distribution in the global storm-resolving model ICON. The results point to the importance of the fall speed of hydrometeor particles and to a simple relationship: the faster a condensate falls, the less there is of it. Implications for the energy balance and precipitation properties are discussed.
Cited articles
Abdul-Razzak, H. and Ghan, S. J.: A parameterization of aerosol activation: 2. Multiple aerosol types, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 105, 6837–6844, https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD901161, 2000. a
Ackerman, A. S., Kirkpatrick, M. P., Stevens, D. E., and Toon, O. B.: The impact of humidity above stratiform clouds on indirect aerosol climate forcing, Nature, 432, 1014–1017, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03174, 2004. a, b
Ackerman, A. S., VanZanten, M. C., Stevens, B., Savic-Jovcic, V., Bretherton, C. S., Chlond, A., Golaz, J.-C., Jiang, H., Khairoutdinov, M., Krueger, S. K., Lewellen, D. C., Lock, A., Moeng, C.-H., Nakamura, K., Petters, M. D., Snider, J. R., Weinbrecht, S., and Zulauf, M.: Large-eddy simulations of a drizzling, stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layer, Mon. Weather Rev., 137, 1083–1110, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008MWR2582.1, 2009. a
Albrecht, B. A., Jensen, M. P., and Syrett, W. J.: Marine boundary layer structure and fractional cloudiness, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 100, 14209–14222, https://doi.org/10.1029/95JD00827, 1995. a
Anber, U. M., Wang, S., Gentine, P., and Jensen, M. P.: Probing the response of tropical deep convection to aerosol perturbations using idealized cloud-resolving simulations with parameterized large-scale dynamics, J. Atmos. Sci., 76, 2885–2897, 2019. a
Berner, A. H., Bretherton, C. S., Wood, R., and Muhlbauer, A.: Marine boundary layer cloud regimes and POC formation in a CRM coupled to a bulk aerosol scheme, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 12549–12572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-12549-2013, 2013. a, b
Bjerknes, J.: A possible response of the atmospheric Hadley circulation to equatorial anomalies of ocean temperature, Tellus, 18, 820–829, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v18i4.9712, 1966. a
Blossey, P. N. and Durran, D. R.: Selective monotonicity preservation in scalar advection, J. Comput. Phys., 227, 5160–5183, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2008.01.043, 2008. a
Blossey, P. N., Bretherton, C. S., and Mohrmann, J.: Simulating observed cloud transitions in the northeast Pacific during CSET, Mon. Weather Rev., 149, 2633–2658, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-20-0328.1, 2021. a
Boerner, T. J., Deems, S., Furlani, T. R., Knuth, S. L., and Towns, J.: ACCESS: Advancing Innovation: NSF's Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support, in: Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing 2023: Computing for the Common Good, PEARC '23, Association for Computing Machinery, 23–27 July 2023, New York, NY, USA, 173–176, https://doi.org/10.1145/3569951.3597559, 2023. a
Bony, S. and Dufresne, J.-L.: Marine boundary layer clouds at the heart of tropical cloud feedback uncertainties in climate models, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L20806, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL023851, 2005. a
Bretherton, C., Blossey, P. N., and Uchida, J.: Cloud droplet sedimentation, entrainment efficiency, and subtropical stratocumulus albedo, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L03813, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027648, 2007. a
Bretherton, C. S. and Blossey, P. N.: Low cloud reduction in a greenhouse-warmed climate: Results from Lagrangian LES of a subtropical marine cloudiness transition, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 6, 91–114, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013MS000250, 2014. a, b, c
Bretherton, C. S. and Blossey, P. N.: Understanding Mesoscale Aggregation of Shallow Cumulus Convection Using Large-Eddy Simulation, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 9, 2798–2821, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS000981, 2017. a
Bretherton, C. S. and Wyant, M. C.: Moisture Transport, Lower-Tropospheric Stability, and Decoupling of Cloud-Topped Boundary Layers, J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 148–167, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1997)054<0148:MTLTSA>2.0.CO;2, 1997. a
Bretherton, C. S., Uchida, J., and Blossey, P. N.: Slow manifolds and multiple equilibria in stratocumulus-capped boundary layers, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 2, 14, https://doi.org/10.3894/JAMES.2010.2.14, 2010. a, b
Brown, S. T., Buitrago, P., Hanna, E., Sanielevici, S., Scibek, R., and Nystrom, N. A.: Bridges-2: A Platform for Rapidly-Evolving and Data Intensive Research, in: Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing 2021: Evolution Across All Dimensions, PEARC '21, Association for Computing Machinery, 18–22 July 2021, New York, NY, USA, https://doi.org/10.1145/3437359.3465593, 2021. a
Chen, Y., Haywood, J., Wang, Y., Malavelle, F., Jordan, G., Partridge, D., Fieldsend, J., De Leeuw, J., Schmidt, A., Cho, N., Oreopoulos, L., Platnick, S., Grosvenor, D., Field, P., and Lohmann, U.: Machine learning reveals climate forcing from aerosols is dominated by increased cloud cover, Nat. Geosci., 15, 609–614, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00991-6, 2022. a
Chen, Y.-S., Zhang, J., Hoffmann, F., Yamaguchi, T., Glassmeier, F., Zhou, X., and Feingold, G.: Diurnal evolution of non-precipitating marine stratocumuli in a large-eddy simulation ensemble, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12661–12685, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12661-2024, 2024. a
Chun, J.-Y.: Impact on the Stratocumulus-to-cumulus Transition of the Interaction of Cloud Microphysics and Macrophysics with Large-scale Circulation, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15093143, 2025. a
Chun, J.-Y., Wood, R., Blossey, P., and Doherty, S. J.: Microphysical, macrophysical, and radiative responses of subtropical marine clouds to aerosol injections, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1345–1368, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1345-2023, 2023. a, b
Clarke, A. D., Owens, S. R., and Zhou, J.: An ultrafine sea-salt flux from breaking waves: Implications for cloud condensation nuclei in the remote marine atmosphere, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D06202, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006565, 2006. a
Dagan, G.: Sub-Tropical Aerosols Enhance Tropical Cloudiness-Remote Aerosol-Cloud Lifetime Effect, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 14, e2022MS003368, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022MS003368, 2022. a, b, c, d
Dagan, G., Stier, P., Spill, G., Herbert, R., Heikenfeld, M., van den Heever, S. C., and Marinescu, P. J.: Boundary conditions representation can determine simulated aerosol effects on convective cloud fields, Communications Earth & Environment, 3, 71, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00399-5, 2022. a, b, c
Daleu, C. L., Woolnough, S. J., and Plant, R.: Cloud-resolving model simulations with one-and two-way couplings via the weak temperature gradient approximation, J. Atmos. Sci., 69, 3683–3699, 2012. a
Diamond, M. S., Saide, P. E., Zuidema, P., Ackerman, A. S., Doherty, S. J., Fridlind, A. M., Gordon, H., Howes, C., Kazil, J., Yamaguchi, T., Zhang, J., Feingold, G., and Wood, R.: Cloud adjustments from large-scale smoke–circulation interactions strongly modulate the southeastern Atlantic stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12113–12151, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022, 2022. a, b
Eastman, R., Wood, R., and Bretherton, C. S.: Time scales of clouds and cloud-controlling variables in subtropical stratocumulus from a Lagrangian perspective, J. Atmos. Sci., 73, 3079–3091, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-16-0050.1, 2016. a
Erfani, E., Blossey, P., Wood, R., Mohrmann, J., Doherty, S. J., Wyant, M., and O, K.-T.: Simulating Aerosol Lifecycle Impacts on the Subtropical Stratocumulus-to-Cumulus Transition Using Large-Eddy Simulations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 127, e2022JD037258, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037258, 2022. a
Glassmeier, F., Hoffmann, F., Johnson, J. S., Yamaguchi, T., Carslaw, K. S., and Feingold, G.: Aerosol-cloud-climate cooling overestimated by ship-track data, Science, 371, 485–489, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd3980, 2021. a, b
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. a
Hernandez-Jaramillo, D. C., Medcraft, C., Braga, R. C., Butcherine, P., Doss, A., Kelaher, B., Rosenfeld, D., and Harrison, D. P.: New airborne research facility observes sensitivity of cumulus cloud microphysical properties to aerosol regime over the great barrier reef, Environ. Sci.-Atmos., 4, 861–871, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EA00009A, 2024. a
Jenkins, A. K. L., Forster, P. M., and Jackson, L. S.: The effects of timing and rate of marine cloud brightening aerosol injection on albedo changes during the diurnal cycle of marine stratocumulus clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1659–1673, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1659-2013, 2013. a, b
Khairoutdinov, M. and Kogan, Y.: A new cloud physics parameterization in a large-eddy simulation model of marine stratocumulus, Mon. Weather Rev., 128, 229–243, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2000)128<0229:ANCPPI>2.0.CO;2, 2000. a
Khairoutdinov, M. F. and Randall, D. A.: Cloud Resolving Modeling of the ARM Summer 1997 IOP: Model Formulation, Results, Uncertainties, and Sensitivities, J. Atmos. Sci., 60, 607–625, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2003)060<0607:CRMOTA>2.0.CO;2, 2003 (code available at: http://rossby.msrc.sunysb.edu/SAM.html, last access: 13 April 2025). a, b
Krueger, S. K., McLean, G. T., and Fu, Q.: Numerical Simulation of the Stratus-to-Cumulus Transition in the Subtropical Marine Boundary Layer. Part I: Boundary-Layer Structure, J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 2839–2850, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1995)052<2839:NSOTST>2.0.CO;2, 1995. a
Latham, J.: Control of global warming?, Nature, 347, 339–340, https://doi.org/10.1038/347339b0, 1990. a
Manshausen, P., Watson-Parris, D., Christensen, M. W., Jalkanen, J.-P., and Stier, P.: Rapid saturation of cloud water adjustments to shipping emissions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12545–12555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12545-2023, 2023. a
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, 16663–16682, https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD00237, 1997. a
Mohrmann, J., Wood, R., McGibbon, J., Eastman, R., and Luke, E.: Drivers of Seasonal Variability in Marine Boundary Layer Aerosol Number Concentration Investigated Using a Steady State Approach, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 123, 1097–1112, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027443, 2018. a
Morrison, H. and Grabowski, W. W.: Modeling supersaturation and subgrid-scale mixing with two-moment bulk warm microphysics, J. Atmos. Sci., 65, 792–812, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAS2374.1, 2008. a
Myers, T. A. and Norris, J. R.: Observational Evidence That Enhanced Subsidence Reduces Subtropical Marine Boundary Layer Cloudiness, J. Climate, 26, 7507–7524, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00736.1, 2013. a
Norris, J. R.: Low Cloud Type over the Ocean from Surface Observations. Part I: Relationship to Surface Meteorology and the Vertical Distribution of Temperature and Moisture, J. Climate, 11, 369–382, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1998)011<0369:LCTOTO>2.0.CO;2, 1998. a
Prabhakaran, P., Hoffmann, F., and Feingold, G.: Effects of intermittent aerosol forcing on the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1919–1937, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1919-2024, 2024. a
Rosenfeld, D., Zhu, Y., Wang, M., Zheng, Y., Goren, T., and Yu, S.: Aerosol-driven droplet concentrations dominate coverage and water of oceanic low-level clouds, Science, 363, eaav0566, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav0566, 2019. a
Sandu, I., Stevens, B., and Pincus, R.: On the transitions in marine boundary layer cloudiness, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 2377–2391, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-2377-2010, 2010. a, b, c
Schubert, W. H., Wakefield, J. S., Steiner, E. J., and Cox, S. K.: Marine Stratocumulus Convection. part II: Horizontally Inhomogeneous Solutions, J. Atmos. Sci., 36, 1308–1324, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1979)036<1308:MSCPIH>2.0.CO;2, 1979. a
Seifert, A., Heus, T., Pincus, R., and Stevens, B.: Large-eddy simulation of the transient and near-equilibrium behavior of precipitating shallow convection, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 7, 1918–1937, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015MS000489, 2015. a, b
Stevens, B. and Feingold, G.: Untangling aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation in a buffered system, Nature, 461, 607–613, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08281, 2009. a, b, c, d
Twomey, S.: Pollution and the planetary albedo, Atmos. Environ. (1967), 8, 1251–1256, https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-6981(74)90004-3, 1974. a
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. a
van der Dussen, J. J., de Roode, S. R., and Siebesma, A. P.: How large-scale subsidence affects stratocumulus transitions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 691–701, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-691-2016, 2016. a, b
Wang, H., Rasch, P. J., and Feingold, G.: Manipulating marine stratocumulus cloud amount and albedo: a process-modelling study of aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in response to injection of cloud condensation nuclei, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 4237–4249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-4237-2011, 2011. a
Wood, R.: Rate of loss of cloud droplets by coalescence in warm clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D21205, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007553, 2006. a
Wood, R.: Cancellation of Aerosol Indirect Effects in Marine Stratocumulus through Cloud Thinning, J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 2657–2669, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS3942.1, 2007. a
Wood, R.: Stratocumulus clouds, Mon. Weather Rev., 140, 2373–2423, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00121.1, 2012. a
Wood, R.: Assessing the potential efficacy of marine cloud brightening for cooling Earth using a simple heuristic model, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14507–14533, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14507-2021, 2021. a, b, c
Wood, R. and Bretherton, C.: On the Relationship between Stratiform Low Cloud Cover and Lower-Tropospheric Stability, J. Climate, 19, 6425–6432, https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli3988.1, 2006. a, b
Wood, R., Bretherton, C. S., Leon, D., Clarke, A. D., Zuidema, P., Allen, G., and Coe, H.: An aircraft case study of the spatial transition from closed to open mesoscale cellular convection over the Southeast Pacific, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 2341–2370, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-2341-2011, 2011. a
Wyant, M. C., Bretherton, C. S., Rand, H. A., and Stevens, D. E.: Numerical Simulations and a Conceptual Model of the Stratocumulus to Trade Cumulus Transition, J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 168–192, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1997)054<0168:NSAACM>2.0.CO;2, 1997. a
Xue, H., Feingold, G., and Stevens, B.: Aerosol Effects on Clouds, Precipitation, and the Organization of Shallow Cumulus Convection, J. Atmos. Sci., 65, 392–406, https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAS2428.1, 2008. a
Yamaguchi, T., Feingold, G., and Kazil, J.: Stratocumulus to Cumulus Transition by Drizzle, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 9, 2333–2349, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS001104, 2017. a, b, c
Yuan, T., Song, H., Wood, R., Oreopoulos, L., Platnick, S., Wang, C., Yu, H., Meyer, K., and Wilcox, E.: Observational evidence of strong forcing from aerosol effect on low cloud coverage, Science Advances, 9, eadh7716, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh7716, 2023. a
Zelinka, M. D., Randall, D. A., Webb, M. J., and Klein, S. A.: Clearing clouds of uncertainty, Nat. Clim. Change, 7, 674–678, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3402, 2017. a
Zhou, X., Ackerman, A. S., Fridlind, A. M., Wood, R., and Kollias, P.: Impacts of solar-absorbing aerosol layers on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 12725–12742, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017, 2017. a
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.
This study explores how aerosols affect clouds transitioning from stratocumulus to cumulus along...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint