Impacts of solar-absorbing aerosol layers on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds
Abstract
Here, the effects of an initially overlying layer of solar-absorbing aerosol on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds are examined using large-eddy simulations. For lightly drizzling cloud the transition is generally hastened, resulting mainly from increased cloud droplet number concentration (Nc) induced by entrained aerosol. The increased Nc slows sedimentation of cloud droplets and shortens their relaxation time for diffusional growth, both of which accelerate entrainment of overlying air and thereby stratocumulus breakup. However, the decrease in albedo from cloud breakup is more than offset by redistributing cloud water over a greater number of droplets, such that the diurnal-average shortwave forcing at the top of the atmosphere is negative. The negative radiative forcing is enhanced by sizable longwave contributions, which result from the greater cloud breakup and a reduced boundary layer height associated with aerosol heating. A perturbation of moisture instead of aerosol aloft leads to a greater liquid water path and a more gradual transition. Adding absorbing aerosol to that atmosphere results in substantial reductions in liquid water path (LWP) and cloud cover that lead to positive shortwave and negative longwave forcings on average canceling each other. Only for heavily drizzling clouds is the breakup delayed, asmore »
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1459765
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1413959
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-114819-2017-JA
Journal ID: ISSN 1680-7324
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0013489; SC0012704
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online) Journal Volume: 17 Journal Issue: 20; Journal ID: ISSN 1680-7324
- Publisher:
- Copernicus Publications, EGU
- Country of Publication:
- Germany
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Citation Formats
Zhou, Xiaoli, Ackerman, Andrew S., Fridlind, Ann M., Wood, Robert, and Kollias, Pavlos. Impacts of solar-absorbing aerosol layers on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds. Germany: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017.
Zhou, Xiaoli, Ackerman, Andrew S., Fridlind, Ann M., Wood, Robert, & Kollias, Pavlos. Impacts of solar-absorbing aerosol layers on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds. Germany. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017
Zhou, Xiaoli, Ackerman, Andrew S., Fridlind, Ann M., Wood, Robert, and Kollias, Pavlos. Thu .
"Impacts of solar-absorbing aerosol layers on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds". Germany. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017.
@article{osti_1459765,
title = {Impacts of solar-absorbing aerosol layers on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds},
author = {Zhou, Xiaoli and Ackerman, Andrew S. and Fridlind, Ann M. and Wood, Robert and Kollias, Pavlos},
abstractNote = {Here, the effects of an initially overlying layer of solar-absorbing aerosol on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds are examined using large-eddy simulations. For lightly drizzling cloud the transition is generally hastened, resulting mainly from increased cloud droplet number concentration (Nc) induced by entrained aerosol. The increased Nc slows sedimentation of cloud droplets and shortens their relaxation time for diffusional growth, both of which accelerate entrainment of overlying air and thereby stratocumulus breakup. However, the decrease in albedo from cloud breakup is more than offset by redistributing cloud water over a greater number of droplets, such that the diurnal-average shortwave forcing at the top of the atmosphere is negative. The negative radiative forcing is enhanced by sizable longwave contributions, which result from the greater cloud breakup and a reduced boundary layer height associated with aerosol heating. A perturbation of moisture instead of aerosol aloft leads to a greater liquid water path and a more gradual transition. Adding absorbing aerosol to that atmosphere results in substantial reductions in liquid water path (LWP) and cloud cover that lead to positive shortwave and negative longwave forcings on average canceling each other. Only for heavily drizzling clouds is the breakup delayed, as inhibition of precipitation overcomes cloud water loss from enhanced entrainment. Considering these simulations as an imperfect proxy for biomass burning plumes influencing Namibian stratocumulus, we expect regional indirect plus semi-direct forcings to be substantially negative to negligible at the top of the atmosphere, with its magnitude sensitive to background and perturbation properties.},
doi = {10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017},
journal = {Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)},
number = 20,
volume = 17,
place = {Germany},
year = {Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
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https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12725-2017
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