Marine Shallow Cloud Adjustments to the Presence of Shortwave-Absorbing Aerosols: Advancing Understanding Through a Combined Analysis of Lasic Datasets and Process Modeling (Final Report)
This is a final report for this award, whose purpose was to support the analysis of data emanating from the LASIC (Layered Atlantic Smoke Interaction with Clouds) campaign. (Layered Atlantic Smoke Interactions with Clouds) is a strategy to improve our understanding of aged carbonaceous aerosol, its seasonal evolution, and the mechanisms by which clouds adjust to the presence of the aerosol. The observational strategy centers on deploying the AMF1 cloud, aerosol, and atmospheric profiling instrumentation to Ascension Island, located within the trade-wind shallow cumulus regime (14.50W, 80S) 3000 km offshore of continental Africa. The location is within the latitude zone of the maximum outflow of aerosol, with the deepening boundary layer known to entrain free-tropospheric smoke. The primary activities for LASIC are: 1) to improve current knowledge on aged biomass burning aerosol and its radiative properties as a function of the seasonal cycle; 2) to use surface-based remote sensing to sensitively interrogate the atmosphere for the relative vertical location of aerosol and clouds; 3) to improve our understanding of the cloud adjustments to the presence of shortwave-absorbing aerosol within the vertical column, both through aerosol-radiation and through aerosol-cloud interactions; 4) to aid low cloud parameterization efforts for climate models. This award serves to further these activities and includes a sub-award to Dr. Pablo Saide at UCLA for activities 3) and 4).
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Miami, FL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth and Environmental Systems Science Division
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0018272
- OSTI ID:
- 1842664
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-UMiami-18272
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Intercomparison of airborne and surface-based measurements during the CLARIFY, ORACLES and LASIC field experiments