The CHUVA Project Contributions to the Understanding of Anthropogenic Interactions Affecting the Atmospheric Physics over Amazonas.

Abstract:

CHUVA, meaning “rain” in Portuguese, is the acronym for the Cloud processes of tHe main precipitation systems in Brazil: A contribUtion to cloud resolVing modeling and to the GPM (GlobAl Precipitation Measurement). The CHUVA project has conducted six field campaigns; the last campaign was held in Manaus in 2014 jointly with GoAmazon and ACRIDICON. CHUVA's main scientific motivation is to contribute to the understanding of cloud processes, which represent one of the least understood components of the weather and climate system. This study will briefly describe the CHUVA project and the main scientific results obtained in the Amazon region. Specifically, we will describe the results of one year radar observation of Manaus rainfall and the relationship with black carbon. The results indicate that the aerosol influence on precipitating systems is modulated by the atmospheric instability degree. For stable atmospheres, the higher the aerosol concentration, the lower the precipitation over the region. On the other hand, for unstable cases, higher concentrations of particulate material are associated with more precipitation, elevated presence of ice and larger rain cells, which suggests an association with long lived systems. Also we will describe some preliminary results obtained during GoAmazon describing the cloud and rainfall size distribution (DSD). The DSD was adjusted to the gamma function using the momentum method and disposed in the three-dimensional space of the gamma parameters: the intercept, the shape and the width. Each point in this three-dimensional space corresponds to a specific DSD and the ensemble of points describes all regimes of precipitation in Amazon. Based in this Gamma space we will discuss the characteristics of the rainfall regime and anthropogenic features.