Invigoration or Enervation of Convective Clouds by Aerosols?

Igel, Adele L.; Heever, Susan C.

doi:10.1029/2021gl093804

Invigoration or Enervation of Convective Clouds by Aerosols?

Journal Article · Tue Aug 17 04:00:00 EDT 2021 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl093804· OSTI ID:1853732

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Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Land, Air and Water Resources; Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States). Dept. of Atmospheric Science

Are convective clouds strengthened by the addition of aerosol particles? We present new theoretical calculations which starkly contrast previous results. Prior foundational work suggested that aerosols strongly invigorate convective cloud updrafts via changes to cold-phase processes. We show that the peak magnitude of invigoration by this mechanism is substantially reduced for cold-based storms. For warm-based storms, the updrafts are weakened, not strengthened, by aerosol-induced changes to cold-phase processes. Our calculations show that if invigoration occurs, it is driven primarily by changes to warm-phase processes and may be largest well before the storm reaches maturity. The calculations are based on a new formulation of the moist adiabatic lapse rate that accounts for freezing, supersaturation, and condensate loading. The results significantly reshape our understanding of the impact of aerosols on convective updrafts.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0021160

OSTI ID:: 1853732

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1813620

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 16 Vol. 48; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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