Investigation of the first and second aerosol indirect effects using data from the May 2003 Intensive Operational Period at the Southern Great Plains

Abstract

The Active Tracer High‐Resolution Atmospheric Model is used to examine the aerosol indirect effect (AIE) for a spring continental stratus cloud on the basis of data collected during the 17 May 2003 Aerosol Intensive Operation Period (AIOP) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Southern Great Plains site. Model results for our base case, which uses observed aerosol concentrations, agree reasonably well with the available observations, giving confidence that the basic model is reasonable. Sensitivity tests are performed to explore the response of the clouds to changes in the aerosol number concentration and surface fluxes. During the major part of the simulation, from 0630 through 1400 local standard time (LST), an increase in the aerosol number concentration (Na) results in a decrease of the mean cloud droplet size and an increase of the cloud liquid water path (LWP) until aerosol number concentration levels reach 1200 cm−3. Further increases in aerosol concentration do not increase the liquid water path because the depletion of cloud water by precipitation is negligible above this number concentration. After 1400 LST, the liquid water path decreases when aerosols increase as long as Na < 600 cm−3 and remains unchanged for higher aerosol concentrations. The decrease of LWP is associated with the evaporative cooling below cloud base which leads to more condensation of water vapor, a result that is consistent with afternoon satellite observations of the response of continental clouds to increases in droplet concentrations. A sensitivity test with a stronger surface latent flux increases both the cloud geometrical thickness and cloud water content. On the other hand, a sensitivity test with a stronger surface sensible heat flux leads to a higher cloud base and a shallower and drier cloud. The response of the cloud geometrical thickness to changes in surface sensible heat flux dominates that of the cloud water content. The cloud fraction is also reduced at the end of the simulation time period. Because the surface heat fluxes will likely change when aerosol and droplet number concentrations change, these sensitivity tests show that a fully coupled simulation with a land surface model will be needed to fully assess the response of the cloud to changing aerosol concentrations. Nevertheless, since the thermodynamic boundary layer profiles do not change significantly when aerosol concentrations are changed, our results for changing aerosol concentrations are qualitatively correct.