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Distinct Impacts of Increased Aerosols on Cloud Droplet Number Concentration of Stratus/Stratocumulus and Cumulus
Author(s) -
Jia H.,
Ma X.,
Yu F.,
Liu Y.,
Yin Y.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl085081
Subject(s) - cloud condensation nuclei , aerosol , marine stratocumulus , supersaturation , entrainment (biomusicology) , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , dilution , liquid water content , condensation , cloud computing , sea salt aerosol , meteorology , chemistry , physics , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , sea salt , rhythm , acoustics , computer science , operating system
Abstract In situ aircraft measurements obtained during the RACORO field campaign are analyzed to study the aerosol effects on different cloud regimes. The results show that with increasing cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), cloud droplet number concentration ( N d ) significantly increases in stratocumulus (Sc) while remains almost unchanged in cumulus (Cu). By using a new approach to strictly constrain the dynamics in Cu, we found that neither simultaneously changing cloud dynamics nor dilution of cloud water induced by entrainment‐mixing can explain the observed insensitivity of N d . The different degree of reduction in cloud supersaturation caused by increasing aerosols might be responsible for the observed different aerosol indirect effect between Sc and Cu.