Toward understanding the process-level impacts of aerosols on microphysical properties of shallow cumulus cloud using aircraft observations

Yang, Yang; Zhao, Chuanfeng; Dong, Xiao; Fan, Genchang; Zhou, Yuquan; Wang, Yang; Zhao, Lijun; Feng, Lin; Yan, Fei

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2019.01.027

Cited by 69 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Note that the altitude has been normalized by setting cloud bases as 0 and cloud tops as 1. Similar to the findings over various locations by previous studies (Qiu et al, 2017; Yang et al, 2019; Zhao et al, 2018; Zhao, Zhao, et al, 2019), both cloud LWC and r e increase with height within clouds due to the adiabatic or near‐adiabatic cooling. Moreover, cloud droplet N d varies little with heights within clouds.…”

Section: Evaluation Analysis Of Satellite Retrievalssupporting

confidence: 89%

Evaluation of Cloud Microphysical Properties Derived From MODIS and Himawari‐8 Using In Situ Aircraft Measurements Over the Southern Ocean

Zhao

Wang

et al. 2020

Earth and Space Science

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Cloud microphysical properties from aircraft measurements during the Southern Ocean Clouds, Radiation, Aerosol Transport Experimental Study are used to evaluate the cloud products from the geostationary satellite Himawari-8 (H-8) and the polar-orbiting satellite the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Compared to the in situ aircraft observations when aircraft flew horizontally near cloud tops, the cloud droplet effective radius (r e ) and number concentration (N d ) from H-8 (MODIS) are 33% (26%-31%) and 2% (9-13%) larger. Both the H-8 and MODIS retrievals behave similarly for liquid-only and mixed-phase low-level clouds, indicating the weak sensitivity of the satellite cloud retrieval performance to cloud phase. The r e and N d of the cloud profiles from aircraft measurements were also used to compare with the satellite product. It shows that H-8 r e and N d agree better with aircraft measurements when considering only the in situ data acquired in the upper portions (highest 20%) of the clouds. Roughly, the r e overestimation by H-8 decreases from 18% to 3% when considering the upper portions of clouds compared to all cloud layer averages, except for one case with drizzles appeared. In addition, the performance of MODIS r e and N d is highly dependent on the wavelengths the retrieval method uses. The droplet r e retrievals using wavelength of 1.6 μm have much larger biases than that using the other two channels. The potential effects of the cloud vertical variation and the photon penetration depth, the cloud heterogeneity, the cloud droplet size spectra, and the drizzle on satellite retrievals have also been discussed. is a co-corresponding author with Chuanfeng Zhao Key Points:• Himawari-8 (MODIS) cloud product overestimates r e near cloud top by 33% (26-31%) over Southern Ocean • Himawari8 r e and N d agree better with aircraft measurements when considering only the in situ data acquired in the upper portions of clouds • The performance of MODIS retrievals depends on the wavelength, with larger biases at 1.6 μm than 2.1 and 3.7 μm

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Section: Evaluation Analysis Of Satellite Retrievalssupporting

confidence: 89%

Evaluation of Cloud Microphysical Properties Derived From MODIS and Himawari‐8 Using In Situ Aircraft Measurements Over the Southern Ocean

Zhao

Wang

et al. 2020

Earth and Space Science

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“…China has become one of the largest aerosol sources in the world associated with its rapid economic development, and this has caused significant effects on local environments and regional climate (Che et al, 2005;Xia, 2010;Li et al, 2016;Yang et al, 2018Yang et al, , 2019bZhao et al, 2019;. There have been numerous studies that have focused on aerosol optical properties obtained though groundbased remote-sensing methods in China (Luo et al, 2002;Li et al, 2003;Duan and Mao, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution of aerosol microphysical and optical properties and direct radiative effect from the China Aerosol Remote Sensing Network

et al. 2019

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Abstract. Multi-year observations of aerosol microphysical and optical properties, obtained through ground-based remote sensing at 50 China Aerosol Remote Sensing Network (CARSNET) sites, were used to characterize the aerosol climatology for representative remote, rural, and urban areas over China to assess effects on climate. The annual mean effective radii for total particles (ReffT) decreased from north to south and from rural to urban sites, and high total particle volumes were found at the urban sites. The aerosol optical depth at 440 nm (AOD440 nm) increased from remote and rural sites (0.12) to urban sites (0.79), and the extinction Ångström exponent (EAE440–870 nm) increased from 0.71 at the arid and semi-arid sites to 1.15 at the urban sites, presumably due to anthropogenic emissions. Single-scattering albedo (SSA440 nm) ranged from 0.88 to 0.92, indicating slightly to strongly absorbing aerosols. Absorption AOD440 nm values were 0.01 at the remote sites versus 0.07 at the urban sites. The average direct aerosol radiative effect (DARE) at the bottom of atmosphere increased from the sites in the remote areas (−24.40 W m−2) to the urban areas (−103.28 W m−2), indicating increased cooling at the latter. The DARE for the top of the atmosphere increased from −4.79 W m−2 at the remote sites to −30.05 W m−2 at the urban sites, indicating overall cooling effects for the Earth–atmosphere system. A classification method based on SSA440 nm, fine-mode fraction (FMF), and EAE440–870 nm showed that coarse-mode particles (mainly dust) were dominant at the rural sites near the northwestern deserts, while light-absorbing, fine-mode particles were important at most urban sites. This study will be important for understanding aerosol climate effects and regional environmental pollution, and the results will provide useful information for satellite validation and the improvement of climate modelling.

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“…However, aerosol–cloud interactions are highly uncertain due to various influencing factors, such as aerosol microphysics (Dusek et al, ; Nenes et al, ), vertical velocity (Koren et al, ; Yang et al, ), lower tropospheric stability (Ma et al, ; Jia, Ma, Quass, et al, ), wind shear (Fan et al, ), and precipitable water vapor (Qiu et al, ; Yuan et al, ). Recent satellite‐based studies showed that cloud droplet number concentration N d (cloud droplets effective radius R e ) tends to decrease (increase) with elevated aerosol loading (Yuan et al, ; Wang et al, ; Ma et al, ; Jia, Ma, Quass, et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct Impacts of Increased Aerosols on Cloud Droplet Number Concentration of Stratus/Stratocumulus and Cumulus

Jia

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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In situ aircraft measurements obtained during the RACORO field campaign are analyzed to study the aerosol effects on different cloud regimes. The results show that with increasing cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), cloud droplet number concentration (Nd) significantly increases in stratocumulus (Sc) while remains almost unchanged in cumulus (Cu). By using a new approach to strictly constrain the dynamics in Cu, we found that neither simultaneously changing cloud dynamics nor dilution of cloud water induced by entrainment‐mixing can explain the observed insensitivity of Nd. The different degree of reduction in cloud supersaturation caused by increasing aerosols might be responsible for the observed different aerosol indirect effect between Sc and Cu.

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Toward understanding the process-level impacts of aerosols on microphysical properties of shallow cumulus cloud using aircraft observations

Cited by 69 publications

References 49 publications

Evaluation of Cloud Microphysical Properties Derived From MODIS and Himawari‐8 Using In Situ Aircraft Measurements Over the Southern Ocean

Evaluation of Cloud Microphysical Properties Derived From MODIS and Himawari‐8 Using In Situ Aircraft Measurements Over the Southern Ocean

Spatial distribution of aerosol microphysical and optical properties and direct radiative effect from the China Aerosol Remote Sensing Network

Distinct Impacts of Increased Aerosols on Cloud Droplet Number Concentration of Stratus/Stratocumulus and Cumulus

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