Review: Cloud invigoration by aerosols—Coupling between microphysics and dynamics

Altaratz, Orit; Koren, Ilan; Remer, L. A.; Hirsch, E.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2014.01.009

Cited by 210 publications

(167 citation statements)

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“…These effects are complicated, and sensitive to the model microphysical and dynamical schemes as well as to the remote-sensing methods; therefore, they are less understood. For example, a phenomenon defined as aerosol invigoration of convective clouds (Altaratz et al, 2014;Andreae et al, 2004;Koren et al, 2005;Rosenfeld et al, 2013;Tao et al, 2012) suggests a link between the cloud's vertical and horizontal development and the CCN concentration. The mechanism is based on the fact that when the cloud's convection is significant, microphysical processes tend to be more closely coupled to dynamical ones.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs

et al. 2015

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Abstract. The literature on atmospheric particulate matter (PM), or atmospheric aerosol, has increased enormously over the last 2 decades and amounts now to some 1500-2000 papers per year in the refereed literature. This is in part due to the enormous advances in measurement technologies, which have allowed for an increasingly accurate understanding of the chemical composition and of the physical properties of atmospheric particles and of their processes in the atmosphere. The growing scientific interest in atmospheric aerosol particles is due to their high importance for environmental policy. In fact, particulate matter constitutes one of the most challenging problems both for air quality and for climate change policies. In this context, this paper reviews the most recent results within the atmospheric aerosol sciences and the policy needs, which have driven much of the increase in monitoring and mechanistic research over the last 2 decades.The synthesis reveals many new processes and developments in the science underpinning climate-aerosol interactions and effects of PM on human health and the environment. However, while airborne particulate matter is responsible for globally important influences on premature human mortality, we still do not know the relative importance of the different chemical components of PM for these effects. Likewise, the magnitude of the overall effects of PM on climate remains highly uncertain. Despite the uncertainty there are many things that could be done to mitigate local and global problems of atmospheric PM. Recent analyses have shown that reducing black carbon (BC) emissions, using known control measures, would reduce global warming and delay the time when anthropogenic effects on global temperature would exceed 2 • C. Likewise, cost-effective control measures on ammonia, an important agricultural precursor gas for secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), would reduce regional eutrophication and PM concentrations in large areas of Europe, China and the USA. Thus, there is much that could be done to reduce the effects of atmospheric PM on the climate and the health of the environment and the human population.A prioritized list of actions to mitigate the full range of effects of PM is currently undeliverable due to shortcomings in the knowledge of aerosol science; among the shortcomings, the roles of PM in global climate and the relative roles of Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 8218S. Fuzzi et al.: Particulate matter, air quality and climate different PM precursor sources and their response to climate and land use change over the remaining decades of this century are prominent. In any case, the evidence from this paper strongly advocates for an integrated approach to air quality and climate policies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs

et al. 2015

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“…Altaratz et al, 2014). Although we use two bulk microphysics schemes to show this, there is a body of literature which identifies signals of aerosol impact on cloud in bulk schemes (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty from the choice of microphysics scheme in convection-permitting models significantly exceeds aerosol effects

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Gryspeerdt²,

Stier

et al. 2017

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. This study investigates the hydrometeor development and response to cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) perturbations in convection-permitting model configurations. We present results from a real-data simulation of deep convection in the Congo basin, an idealised supercell case, and a warm-rain large-eddy simulation (LES). In each case we compare two frequently used double-moment bulk microphysics schemes and investigate the response to CDNC perturbations. We find that the variability among the two schemes, including the response to aerosol, differs widely between these cases. In all cases, differences in the simulated cloud morphology and precipitation are found to be significantly greater between the microphysics schemes than due to CDNC perturbations within each scheme. Further, we show that the response of the hydrometeors to CDNC perturbations differs strongly not only between microphysics schemes, but the inter-scheme variability also differs between cases of convection. Sensitivity tests show that the representation of autoconversion is the dominant factor that drives differences in rain production between the microphysics schemes in the idealised precipitating shallow cumulus case and in a subregion of the Congo basin simulations dominated by liquidphase processes. In this region, rain mass is also shown to be relatively insensitive to the radiative effects of an overlying layer of ice-phase cloud. The conversion of cloud ice to snow is the process responsible for differences in cold cloud bias between the schemes in the Congo. In the idealised supercell case, thermodynamic impacts on the storm system using different microphysics parameterisations can equal those due to aerosol effects. These results highlight the large uncertainty in cloud and precipitation responses to aerosol in convectionpermitting simulations and have important implications not only for process studies of aerosol-convection interaction, but also for global modelling studies of aerosol indirect effects. These results indicate the continuing need for tighter observational constraints of cloud processes and response to aerosol in a range of meteorological regimes.

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“…The invigoration mechanism, which refers to deeper and larger clouds with larger mass that develop under polluted conditions, was studied mainly in deep convective clouds (Andreae et al, 2004;Koren et al, 2005;Rosenfeld et al, 2008;Tao et al, 2012;Fan et al, 2013;Hazra et al, 2013a;Altaratz et al, 2014). Our focus here is on warm-cloud fields for which previous observational studies reported an invigoration effect or a non-monotonic response of the clouds to an increase in aerosol loading.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-dependent, non-monotonic response of warm convective cloud fields to changes in aerosol loading

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Large eddy simulations (LESs) with bin microphysics are used here to study cloud fields' sensitivity to changes in aerosol loading and the time evolution of this response. Similarly to the known response of a single cloud, we show that the mean field properties change in a nonmonotonic trend, with an optimum aerosol concentration for which the field reaches its maximal water mass or rain yield. This trend is a result of competition between processes that encourage cloud development versus those that suppress it. However, another layer of complexity is added when considering clouds' impact on the field's thermodynamic properties and how this is dependent on aerosol loading. Under polluted conditions, rain is suppressed and the non-precipitating clouds act to increase atmospheric instability. This results in warming of the lower part of the cloudy layer (in which there is net condensation) and cooling of the upper part (net evaporation). Evaporation at the upper part of the cloudy layer in the polluted simulations raises humidity at these levels and thus amplifies the development of the next generation of clouds (preconditioning effect). On the other hand, under clean conditions, the precipitating clouds drive net warming of the cloudy layer and net cooling of the sub-cloud layer due to rain evaporation. These two effects act to stabilize the atmospheric boundary layer with time (consumption of the instability). The evolution of the field's thermodynamic properties affects the cloud properties in return, as shown by the migration of the optimal aerosol concentration toward higher values.

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Review: Cloud invigoration by aerosols—Coupling between microphysics and dynamics

Cited by 210 publications

References 163 publications

Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs

Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs

Uncertainty from the choice of microphysics scheme in convection-permitting models significantly exceeds aerosol effects

Time-dependent, non-monotonic response of warm convective cloud fields to changes in aerosol loading

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