Downward transport of tropical upper-tropospheric aerosols: multi-year insights from idealized simulations

Hernández Pardo, Lianet; Curtius, Joachim; Jöckel, Patrick; Menken, J. Moritz; Pöhlker, Christopher; Pöhlker, Mira; Possner, Anna

doi:10.5194/acp-26-12275-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 17

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12275-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

The tropopause region in a changing atmosphere (TPChange)...

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12275-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 17

Research article

|

31 Aug 2026

Research article |

| 31 Aug 2026

Downward transport of tropical upper-tropospheric aerosols: multi-year insights from idealized simulations

Lianet Hernández Pardo, Joachim Curtius, Patrick Jöckel, J. Moritz Menken, Christopher Pöhlker, Mira Pöhlker, and Anna Possner

Data sets

ATom: In Situ Tropical Aerosol Properties and Comparable Global Model Outputs (Version 1) Christina J. Williamson et al. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1684

Model code and software

The Modular Earth Submodel System (Versions 2.55.2_762-TPC-TS-setup-C06_e84cbe8f) The MESSy Consortium https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17052244

Short summary

Many tiny particles are formed high in the tropical atmosphere, but their impact lower down is unclear. We studied how these particles move downward using long-term computer simulations. We found that particles can reach middle levels of the atmosphere within a week, carried by winds. These results help us understand how pollution and clouds might change as particles spread around the world.