The role of carbonaceous aerosols on short-term variations of precipitation over North Africa

Yoon, Jin -Ho; Rasch, Philip J.; Wang, Hailong; Vinoj, V.; Ganguly, Dilip

doi:10.1002/asl.672

Title: The role of carbonaceous aerosols on short-term variations of precipitation over North Africa

Journal Article · Thu Jun 16 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Atmospheric Science Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.672· OSTI ID:1324911

^[1]; Rasch, Philip J. ^[2]; Wang, Hailong ^[2]; Vinoj, V. ^[3]; Ganguly, Dilip ^[4]

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju (South Korea)
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Odisha (India)
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi (India)

Northern Africa has been subject to extensive droughts in the late 20th century, which are frequently linked to changes in the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. However, climate models forced by observed Sea Surface Temperatures have been unable to reproduce the magnitude of rainfall reduction over the last several decades. In this study, we propose that aerosol indirect effects (AIE) may be an important feedback mechanism to contribute this recent reduction. The climate model used here has a fully predictive aerosol life cycle. Results are presented for a set of sensitivity experiments designed to distinguish the role of aerosol direct/semi-direct and indirect effects on regional precipitation. Changes in cloud lifetime due to the presence of carbonaceous aerosols are proposed as a key mechanism to explain the reduced rainfall over the tropical and North Africa.

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Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1324911

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-88624; KP1703020

Journal Information:: Atmospheric Science Letters, Vol. 17, Issue 7; ISSN 1530-261X

Publisher:: Royal Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 6 works

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
role
carbonaceous
aerosols
short-term
variations
precipitation
North Africa
Sahel rainfall
aerosol indirect effect
cloud lifetime effect

Title: The role of carbonaceous aerosols on short-term variations of precipitation over North Africa

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References (67)

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