Aerosol effects on clouds, convection and precipitation in the chemistry-climate model EMAC.

Abstract:

This study addresses aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation using the EMAC atmospheric chemistry general circulation model. Aerosol-cloud interactions are explicitly considered in two prognostic cloud droplet nucleation schemes, i.e., applying an osmotic model and the κ method. The two schemes have rather different effects on cloud properties such as cloud droplet number and size distribution, cloud water content, and cloud optical properties. Much higher cloud droplet number concentrations (CDNC) are simulated with the osmotic model compared to the k method, leading to substantially different cloud radiative effects and consequently convection and precipitation, particularly over the continents. The osmotic model simulation yields an about 6.5 W/m² stronger cooling effect over land than the κ method, with three times higher CDNC. The convective activity in terms of convective available potential energy (CAPE) is decreased by 20%, which corresponds to a decrease in convective precipitation by 23% in favor of large-scale precipitation. Note that in the current model setup only large-scale clouds are directly affected by interactions with aerosols, while in convection and associated precipitation are affected indirectly.