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Non-Monotonic Aerosol Effect on Precipitation in Convective Clouds over Tropical Oceans

Authors :
Huan Liu
Jianping Guo
Ilan Koren
Orit Altaratz
Guy Dagan
Yuan Wang
Jonathan H. Jiang
Panmao Zhai
Yuk L. Yung
Source :
Scientific Reports, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2019)
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Nature Portfolio, 2019.

Abstract

Abstract Aerosol effects on convective clouds and associated precipitation constitute an important open-ended question in climate research. Previous studies have linked an increase in aerosol concentration to a delay in the onset of rain, invigorated clouds and stronger rain rates. Here, using observational data, we show that the aerosol effect on convective clouds shifts from invigoration to suppression with increasing aerosol optical depth. We explain this shift in trend (using a cloud model) as the result of a competition between two types of microphysical processes: cloud-core-based invigorating processes vs. peripheral suppressive processes. We show that the aerosol optical depth value that marks the shift between invigoration and suppression depends on the environmental thermodynamic conditions. These findings can aid in better parameterizing aerosol effects in climate models for the prediction of climate trends.

Subjects

Subjects :
Medicine
Science

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20452322
Volume :
9
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Scientific Reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.87c1a03419c4f51a2805cc64a32fe23
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44284-2