Long-Term Impact of Continental and Maritime Airflow on Aerosol Environment and Rain Microstructure Near Land–Sea Boundary

Abstract

The present study deals with the interplay of multiple atmospheric processes in changing the microphysical properties of precipitation during the pre-monsoon season (March–May) using the long-term experimental data of raindrop size distributions (DSDs) spanning over 15 years (2005–2019) obtained at an urban tropical location, Kolkata (22.57°N, 88.37°E), near the land–sea boundary. The changing pattern of air mass flows from the maritime and continental region, which contribute to the formation of precipitation processes, has been responsible for the varying characteristics of rain. Changes in raindrop sizes are related to aerosol properties, cloud features, temperature, and relative humidity that change mass-weighted mean drop diameter ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) differently in low and high rain rate regimes. <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> has shown an increasing trend over time for low rain rates (< 15 mm/h), but a decreasing trend for high rain rate regimes (≥15 mm/h). An increase (decrease) in mean temperature (relative humidity) below the atmospheric boundary layer (< 1.6 km) has enhanced the evaporation of small raindrops and altered rain microphysical features. Based on satellite observations, it has been found that the increasing aerosol optical depth (AOD) has been accompanied by an increase in cloud effective radius (CER), resulting in the anti-Twomey effect, which is due to the dominance of maritime influence over continental activities. Because of the predominant maritime activities, sea salt aerosols have a greater presence, causing an increase in CER, which consequently prevents raindrops from becoming large enough before they fall, thereby reducing <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> at high rainfall rates.