Energetic regulation of microphysical aerosol effects on precipitation on regional scales
Abstract
Aerosol effects on precipitation via aerosol-cloud interactions have traditionally been assessed bottom-up, modelling or observing the chain of microphysical processes from aerosols acting as cloud condensation via cloud microphysics to precipitation formation of individual clouds and cloud fields. However, this relies on a complete understanding of a very complex and uncertain process chain and has been shown to be subject to large uncertainties.
We are using the ICON global climate model in an idealised aqua-planet configuration and prescribe microphysical precipitation changes with varying spatial patterns and locations. Our results show that the assessment of precipitation changes in an energetic framework (because the associated change in latent heat release needs to be balanced by surface or top-of-atmosphere fluxes or compensated for by energy divergence/convergence), provides a powerful constraint on regional scale precipitation, even for microphysical effects of aerosols on precipitation. We previously demonstrated for the case of absorbing aerosol, that while tropical near-equator precipitation is susceptible to regional precipitation perturbations, the Coriolis effect limits higher latitude precipitation changes via the availability to diverge energy / converge water vapour. Here we will generalise this concept to microphysical precipitation changes.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.A11E..04S
- Keywords:
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- 3310 Clouds and cloud feedbacks;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3311 Clouds and aerosols;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3314 Convective processes;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES