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Invigoration or Enervation of Convective Clouds by Aerosols?
Author(s) -
Igel Adele L.,
Heever Susan C.
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2021gl093804
Subject(s) - supersaturation , convection , aerosol , atmospheric sciences , adiabatic process , storm , convective storm detection , environmental science , lapse rate , meteorology , climatology , geology , physics , thermodynamics
Are convective clouds strengthened by the addition of aerosol particles? We present new theoretical calculations which starkly contrast previous results. Prior foundational work suggested that aerosols strongly invigorate convective cloud updrafts via changes to cold‐phase processes. We show that the peak magnitude of invigoration by this mechanism is substantially reduced for cold‐based storms. For warm‐based storms, the updrafts are weakened, not strengthened, by aerosol‐induced changes to cold‐phase processes. Our calculations show that if invigoration occurs, it is driven primarily by changes to warm‐phase processes and may be largest well before the storm reaches maturity. The calculations are based on a new formulation of the moist adiabatic lapse rate that accounts for freezing, supersaturation, and condensate loading. The results significantly reshape our understanding of the impact of aerosols on convective updrafts.