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Aerosol effects on cloud water amounts were successfully simulated by a global cloud-system resolving model
Yousuke Sato1,2, Daisuke Goto3, Takuro Michibata4
1Department of Applied Energy, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8603, Japan. y-sato@energy.nagoya-u.jp.
Nature Communications
|March 9, 2018
Summary
Global climate models often overestimate aerosol effects on cloud liquid water. New research using explicit cloud microphysics reveals aerosol-induced changes in evaporation and condensation processes, improving climate prediction accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric Science
- Climate Modeling
- Aerosol-Cloud Interactions
Background:
- Aerosols influence climate by acting as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, a process termed aerosol-cloud interactions.
- Current global climate models (GCMs) typically use empirical parameterizations for aerosol-cloud interactions, assuming cloud liquid water (LWP) increases with aerosol loading.
- Satellite observations present conflicting data, indicating LWP can decrease as aerosol loading increases, suggesting GCMs may overestimate aerosol effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the discrepancy between GCM predictions and satellite observations regarding aerosol effects on cloud liquid water.
- To identify the microphysical processes responsible for the observed LWP responses to aerosol perturbations.
- To improve the accuracy of climate predictions by incorporating a more realistic representation of aerosol-cloud interactions.
Main Methods:
- Employed a global simulation model with explicit representations of cloud microphysics.
- Replicated satellite-observed LWP responses to aerosol loading.
- Analyzed the roles of evaporation and condensation processes in response to aerosol perturbations.
Main Results:
- The global simulation accurately reproduced satellite-observed LWP responses, including decreases with increasing aerosol loading.
- Identified that the decrease in LWP is driven by aerosol-induced changes in evaporation and condensation processes.
- These microphysical processes, not typically included in GCM parameterizations, are crucial for accurate LWP response.
Conclusions:
- Standard GCM parameterizations for aerosol-cloud interactions are insufficient and may overestimate aerosol effects on LWP.
- Explicitly representing cloud microphysics, including evaporation and condensation responses, is essential for accurate climate modeling.
- This approach reduces uncertainty in climate predictions by providing a more realistic simulation of aerosol-cloud interactions.
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