Strong control of the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition time by aerosol: analysis of the joint roles of several cloud-controlling factors using Gaussian process emulation

Sansom, Rachel W. N.; Johnson, Jill S.; Regayre, Leighton A.; Lee, Lindsay A.; Carslaw, Ken S.

doi:10.5194/acp-26-1713-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 3

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1713-2026

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

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1713-2026

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

Articles | Volume 26, issue 3

Research article

|

03 Feb 2026

Research article |

| 03 Feb 2026

Strong control of the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition time by aerosol: analysis of the joint roles of several cloud-controlling factors using Gaussian process emulation

Rachel W. N. Sansom, Jill S. Johnson, Leighton A. Regayre, Lindsay A. Lee, and Ken S. Carslaw

Data sets

Stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition: a perturbed parameter ensemble of a large-eddy simulation model Rachel W. N. Sansom https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18177089

Model code and software

rwnsansom/sct_monc: Edits to analysis after peer review process Rachel W. N. Sansom https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18177076

rwnsansom/monc: Stratocumulus to cumulus simulation transition adaptations Leif Denby et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17436433

Short summary

The cloud transition from stratocumulus to cumulus features a distinct decrease in cloud cover. We used a high-resolution model to simulate many instances of the transition with different environmental conditions. In low aerosol conditions, the transition occurred faster due to drizzle depleting the cloud of moisture and aerosol, whereas in high aerosol conditions, other factors were more important. Understanding different regimes is important for accurately simulating clouds in global models.