Spectral Radiation-Transport Model For Aerosol Species Research Articles

Enhanced Simulation of an Asian Dust Storm by Assimilating GCOM-C Observations

Dust aerosols have great effects on global and regional climate systems. The Global Change Observation Mission-Climate (GCOM-C), also known as SHIKISAI, which was launched on 23 December 2017 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is a next-generation Earth observation satellite that is used for climate studies. The Second-Generation Global Imager (SGLI) aboard GCOM-C enables the retrieval of more precious global aerosols. Here, the first assimilation study of the aerosol optical thicknesses (AOTs) at 500 nm observed by this new satellite is performed to investigate a severe dust storm in spring over East Asia during 28–31 March 2018. The aerosol observation assimilation system is an integration of the four-dimensional local ensemble transform Kalman filter (4D-LETKF) and the Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) coupled with the Non-Hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM). Through verification with the independent observations from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and the Asian Dust and Aerosol Lidar Observation Network (AD-Net), the results demonstrate that the assimilation of the GCOM-C aerosol observations can significantly enhance Asian dust storm simulations. The dust characteristics over the regions without GCOM-C observations are better revealed from assimilating the adjacent observations within the localization length, suggesting the importance of the technical advances in observation and assimilation, which are helpful in clarifying the temporal–spatial structure of Asian dust and which could also improve the forecasting of dust storms, climate prediction models, and aerosol reanalysis.

Modelling study on the source contribution to aerosol over the Tibetan Plateau

AbstractUnderstanding the source of atmospheric aerosol is an essential step in determining the aerosol radiative effect over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This study aims to clarify the contributions of anthropogenic and natural emission to the aerosols (carbonaceous and sulphate) characteristics inside the TP. An aerosol model named Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) recently coupled to the climate model named Chinese Academy of Sciences Flexible Global Ocean Atmosphere Land System (CAS‐FGOALS‐f3‐L) is used to simulate meteorological conditions and aerosols from 1985 to 2013, given emissions from the sixth phase of the Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Comparisons between the simulations and ERA5 reanalysis data present that the model can capture the key spatial and temporal features of meteorological elements (2‐m temperature, relative humidity, and wind field at 500 hPa) over the Asia. Subsequently, we conduct six sensitivity studies to quantify the contributions of sources to aerosol surface concentration, burden and aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the TP. Our results illustrate that the outside and local anthropogenic sources contribute about 75.2% (78.9% in summer and 66.6% in winter) and 13.5% (7.4% in summer and 24.0% in winter) to the annual mean aerosols surface concentrations over the TP. The outside anthropogenic sources contribute to AODs in TP up to 87.3% (93.9% in autumn and 80.6% in winter). The ascending air over the TP is conducive to the transportation of the outsource pollutions to the TP. The outside natural sources (refer to biomass burning sources) contribute about 10% to aerosols over TP, and the inside natural sources play minor roles. The black carbon, organic carbon and sulphate (BOCS) induce average radiative forcing of −0.7 W m−2 at the near surface over the TP.

Simulating and Evaluating Global Aerosol Distributions With the Online Aerosol‐Coupled CAS‐FGOALS Model

AbstractWe implement an existing aerosol module named Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Flexible Global Ocean–Atmosphere–Land System (CAS‐FGOALS) model and simulate the global aerosol properties over 2002–2014. The simulated surface mass concentrations of individual aerosols generally reproduce the observed ones. The simulated spatial‐temporal distributions of the aerosol optical depths (AODs) are evaluated with multisource satellite retrievals, and the simulated AOD, Ångström Exponent (AE), and single scattering albedo (SSA) are further evaluated with the ground‐based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements. The spatial distribution of the modeled AOD is found to be generally comparable to the satellite retrievals. The interannual and seasonal variations of the modeled AOD over various aerosol regimes are also overall consistent with the AERONET observations. With respect to the AE, our model can reproduce the interannual variations fairly well over the dust dominant regions, and generally capture the seasonal variations over the industrial domain regions. Over the industrial domain regions, however, the systematic underestimation of the simulated AE is found, which is in part due to the biases of wind fields and overestimation of the relative humidity (RH) by the host model. With respect to the SSA, our model can also generally reproduce the observed seasonal variations, while the modeled values are typically lower than the observations, especially over North Africa.

Comparison and evaluation of the simulated annual aerosol characteristics over China with two global aerosol models

In this study, simulations of the annual mean aerosol budget, aerosol optical properties, and surface mass concentration in 2006 in China are performed with two aerosol interactive global atmosphere models, namely, the Nonhydrostatic ICosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) coupled with the Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) and the Beijing Climate Center Atmospheric General Circulation Model (BCC_AGCM) coupled with the Canadian Aerosol Module (CAM) online. The observed and simulated aerosol optical depths (AODs) exhibit similar horizontal distributions with large values over eastern and central China, and sulfate aerosols contribute the main differences between the AODs simulated by NICAM and BCC_AGCM. The simulated sulfate and dust surface concentrations are more consistent with observations compared with the simulated carbonaceous surface concentrations, and both models can reproduce the decreasing tendency of the sulfate surface concentration from urban sites to rural sites. However, the dust emission and deposition levels in China simulated by BCC_AGCM are three times as high as those simulated by NICAM, and the major sink processes of the anthropogenic sulfate, black carbon (BC), and organic carbon (OC) aerosols over China are very different between the two models. The emission and deposition results, which are closely related to the model-assumed aerosol particle size distribution, indicate that the current aerosol size distribution used in the two models should be further improved. The differences in dust emission parameterizations also lead significant discrepancies in aerosol cycles and the dust emission scheme is an important factor determining the magnitudes of global and regional dust emission fluxes.

Aerosol Effective Radiative Forcing in the Online Aerosol Coupled CAS-FGOALS-f3-L Climate Model

The effective radiative forcing (ERF) of anthropogenic aerosol can be more representative of the eventual climate response than other radiative forcing. We incorporate aerosol–cloud interaction into the Chinese Academy of Sciences Flexible Global Ocean–Atmosphere–Land System (CAS-FGOALS-f3-L) by coupling an existing aerosol module named the Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) and quantified the ERF and its primary components (i.e., effective radiative forcing of aerosol-radiation interactions (ERFari) and aerosol-cloud interactions (ERFaci)) based on the protocol of current Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6). The spatial distribution of the shortwave ERFari and ERFaci in CAS-FGOALS-f3-L are comparable with that of most available CMIP6 models. The global mean 2014–1850 shortwave ERFari in CAS-FGOALS-f3-L (−0.27 W m−2) is close to the multi-model means in 4 available models (−0.29 W m−2), whereas the assessing shortwave ERFaci (−1.04 W m−2) and shortwave ERF (−1.36 W m−2) are slightly stronger than the multi-model means, illustrating that the CAS-FGOALS-f3-L can reproduce the aerosol radiation effect reasonably well. However, significant diversity exists in the ERF, especially in the dominated component ERFaci, implying that the uncertainty is still large.

Tibetan Plateau driven impact of Taklimakan dust on northern rainfall

In our previous study (Li et al., 2019a), using observational data, we found some evidences of Taklimakan dust effects on the convective clouds over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and then causing heavy rainfall in the downstream region. Here, a simulation study is performed to quantify the effects of Taklimakan dust on the cloud properties over the TP and downstream rainfall using the Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) coupled to the Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM). The results indicate that the dusts in Taklimakan desert can be lifted to the northern slope of the TP. The dust aerosols transported to the TP can diminish the cloud effective radius (CER), but they can increase the cloud optical depth (COD), liquid water path (LWP) and ice water path (IWP) over the TP. The maximum impact of the dusts on the CER lags behind the peak of aerosol optical depth (AOD). Meanwhile, the dusts show a more profound impact on the ice-cloud optical depth (ICOD) than liquid-cloud optical depth (LCOD), which implies a more significant impact on the ice particles than liquid drops in convective clouds over the TP. Overall, due to the indirect effects of Taklimakan dust aerosols, the clouds are developed further over the TP. The eastward movement of the clouds polluted by Taklimakan dust can delay the occurrence of heavy rainfall for 12 h but intensify the rainfall over the northern area. This modeling study verified and quantified the indirect effect of Taklimakan dusts on the cloud properties over the TP and further impacts on the rainfall over the northern area. • Effects of Taklimakan dust on the cloud and rainfall surrounding the TP are simulated. • Taklimakan dust can decrease the CER but increase the COD, LWP and IWP over the TP. • Eastward movement of the dust-polluted clouds over the TP can intensify the rainfall over the northern area.

Investigating the assimilation of CALIPSO global aerosol vertical observations using a four-dimensional ensemble Kalman filter

Abstract. Aerosol vertical information is critical to quantify the influences of aerosol on the climate and environment; however, large uncertainties still persist in model simulations. In this study, the vertical aerosol extinction coefficients from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) onboard the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) are assimilated to optimize the hourly aerosol fields of the Non-hydrostatic ICosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) online coupled with the Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) using a four-dimensional local ensemble transform Kalman filter (4-D LETKF). A parallel assimilation experiment using bias-corrected aerosol optical thicknesses (AOTs) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is conducted to investigate the effects of assimilating the observations (and whether to include vertical information) on the model performances. Additionally, an experiment simultaneously assimilating both CALIOP and MODIS observations is conducted. The assimilation experiments are successfully performed for 1 month, making it possible to evaluate the results in a statistical sense. The hourly analyses are validated via both the CALIOP-observed aerosol vertical extinction coefficients and the AOT observations from MODIS and the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). Our results reveal that both the CALIOP and MODIS assimilations can improve the model simulations. The CALIOP assimilation is superior to the MODIS assimilation in modifying the incorrect aerosol vertical distributions and reproducing the real magnitudes and variations, and the joint CALIOP and MODIS assimilation can further improve the simulated aerosol vertical distribution. However, the MODIS assimilation can better reproduce the AOT distributions than the CALIOP assimilation, and the inclusion of the CALIOP observations has an insignificant impact on the AOT analysis. This is probably due to the nadir-viewing CALIOP having much sparser coverage than MODIS. The assimilation efficiencies of CALIOP decrease with increasing distances of the overpass time, indicating that more aerosol vertical observation platforms are required to fill the sensor-specific observation gaps and hence improve the aerosol vertical data assimilation.

Microphysical Characteristics of Precipitation during Pre-monsoon, Monsoon, and Post-monsoon Periods over the South China Sea

Raindrop size distribution (RSD) characteristics over the South China Sea (SCS) are examined with onboard Parsivel disdrometer measurements collected during marine surveys from 2012 to 2016. The observed rainfall is divided into pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon periods based on the different large-scale circumstances. In addition to disdrometer data, sounding observation, FY-2E satellite, SPRINTARS (Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species), and NCEP reanalysis datasets are used to illustrate the dynamical and microphysical characteristics associated with the rainfall in different periods. Significant variations have been observed in respect of raindrops among the three periods. Intercomparison reveals that small drops (D < 1 mm) are prevalent during pre-monsoon precipitation, whereas medium drops (1–3 mm) are predominant in monsoon precipitation. Overall, the post-monsoon precipitation is characterized by the least concentration of raindrops among the three periods. But, several large raindrops could also occur due to severe convective precipitation events in this period. Classification of the precipitation into stratiform and convective regimes shows that the lg(Nw) value of convective rainfall is the largest (smallest) in the pre-monsoon (post-monsoon) period, whereas the Dm value is the smallest (largest) in the pre-monsoon (post-monsoon) period. An inversion relationship between the coefficient A and the exponential b of the Z—R relationships for precipitation during the three periods is found. Empirical relations between Dm and the radar reflectivity factors at Ku and Ka bands are also derived to improve the rainfall retrieval algorithms over the SCS. Furthermore, the possible causative mechanisms for the significant RSD variability in different periods are also discussed with respect to warm and cold rain processes, raindrop evaporation, convective activities, and other meteorological factors.

Impacts of meteorological nudging on the global dust cycle simulated by NICAM coupled with an aerosol model

In this study, we present simulations of the global dust cycle for present day conditions using a new dust-atmosphere model based on the Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) coupled with the Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS). We focus on evaluations of the dust simulation with respect to emissions, depositions, surface concentrations, aerosol optical depths (AODs), and the dust-aerosol direct radiative effects (DREs). The sensitivities of the dust simulation to the meteorological fields are also investigated through with and without meteorological nudging. NICAM without meteorology nudging tends to systemically overestimate the 10 m wind speeds by approximately 30%–40%, whereas the daily magnitudes and variations in the 10 m wind speeds are both significantly improved with meteorological nudging, especially over the Sahara Desert. The estimated annual global mean dust emission flux, dust AOD, and dust-aerosol shortwave DRE at the top of the atmosphere with meteorological nudging are 1463 Tg yr−1, 0.033, and −1.3 Wm-2, respectively. Due to the approximately 30%–40% overestimations of the 10 m wind speeds over the two major desert regions, the estimated annual global mean dust emission flux, AOD, and DRE without meteorological nudging are significantly greater than those with meteorological nudging. The overestimations of 10 m wind speeds and the associated dust emissions are mainly caused by the positive biases of wind speeds especially from surface to approximately 2 km and slightly affected by the temperature fields. The monthly variations in the dust depositions over the Atlantic and the surface dust concentrations over the Pacific are all better simulated with meteorological nudging. Compared to both the AERONET (Aerosol Robotics Network)- and MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)- retrieved AODs, the simulated daily AOD variations are significantly improved with meteorological nudging, especially over the dust-aerosol dominated regions. The global and annual mean dust lifetime and size distribution, which are two critical factors for estimating dust radiative effects, are quite similar between the dynamic and nudged NICAMs. We therefore can use the dynamic model to understand climate-dust interactions in a global and annual scale. Furthermore, we can improve the model performances for some applications in regional and seasonal scales by meteorological nudging which probably cannot be achieved by just tuning the dust emission.

Simulating Long Range Transport of Radioactive Aerosols Using a Global Aerosol Transport Model

ABSTRACTStudy of long range transport of radioactive gases and aerosols is necessary to estimate radiological impact to the members of public and environment during nuclear reactor accidents. In the present work, an attempt has been made to employ an atmospheric circulation model that predicts meteorological parameters at the regional and global scales, and a transport model that utilizes these meteorological parameters for the radioactive aerosol dispersion. Non-hydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) coupled with Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) is adapted to fulfil this objective, which is used for simulating effects of conventional aerosols on atmospheric pollution and climate system. As an illustrative case study, global simulation is carried out for a horizontal resolution of ~110 km to model the dispersion of radioactive aerosol (35S, 131I and 137Cs) releases from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. The results obtained from this case study are compared with the available literature data and other simulation results. The statistical analyses show that the comparisons are better for locations far away (> 150 km) from the emission location, and the results are further discussed. Continuous run of this system will help in predicting the activity concentration in forecast mode, and it may be used for decision support, particularly in the case of long range transport (> 100 km).

Comparison of aerosol optical properties above clouds between POLDER and AeroCom models over the South East Atlantic Ocean during the fire season

AbstractAerosol properties above clouds have been retrieved over the South East Atlantic Ocean during the fire season 2006 using satellite observations from POLDER (Polarization and Directionality of Earth Reflectances). From June to October, POLDER has observed a mean Above‐Cloud Aerosol Optical Thickness (ACAOT) of 0.28 and a mean Above‐Clouds Single Scattering Albedo (ACSSA) of 0.87 at 550 nm. These results have been used to evaluate the simulation of aerosols above clouds in five Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models (Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART), Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model 3 (HadGEM3), European Centre Hamburg Model 5‐Hamburg Aerosol Module 2 (ECHAM5‐HAM2), Oslo‐Chemical Transport Model 2 (OsloCTM2), and Spectral Radiation‐Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS)). Most models do not reproduce the observed large aerosol load episodes. The comparison highlights the importance of the injection height and the vertical transport parameterizations to simulate the large ACAOT observed by POLDER. Furthermore, POLDER ACSSA is best reproduced by models with a high imaginary part of black carbon refractive index, in accordance with recent recommendations.

Effects of data assimilation on the global aerosol key optical properties simulations

We present the one month results of global aerosol optical properties for April 2006, using the Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) coupled with the Non-hydrostatic ICosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM), by assimilating Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol optical depth (AOD) with Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF). The simulated AOD, Ångström Exponent (AE) and single scattering albedo (SSA) are validated by independent Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) observations over the global sites. The data assimilation has the strongest positive effect on the AOD simulation and slight positive influences on the AE and SSA simulations. For the time-averaged globally spatial distribution, the data assimilation increases the model skill score (S) of AOD, AE, and SSA from 0.55, 0.92, and 0.75 to 0.79, 0.94, and 0.80, respectively. Over the North Africa (NAF) and Middle East region where the aerosol composition is simple (mainly dust), the simulated AODs are best improved by the data assimilation, indicating the assimilation correctly modifies the wrong dust burdens caused by the uncertainties of the dust emission parameterization. Assimilation also improves the simulation of the temporal variations of the aerosol optical properties over the AERONET sites, with improved S at 60 (62%), 45 (55%) and 11 (50%) of 97, 82 and 22 sites for AOD, AE and SSA. By analyzing AOD and AE at five selected sites with best S improvement, this study further indicates that the assimilation can reproduce short duration events and ratios between fine and coarse aerosols more accurately.

Dust Induced Changes in Ice Cloud and Cloud Radiative Forcing over a High Altitude Site

ABSTRACTAerosol-cloud interaction is the subject of considerable scientific research, due to the importance of clouds in controlling climate. In the present study, three years (2011–2013) satellite observations are used to investigate the aerosol indirect effect (AIE) over Dehradun. The low values of Angstrom exponent (α) during March–July are attributed to the loading of dust-like coarse particles in the atmosphere, whereas the analysis of aerosol type and Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol species (SPRINTARS) simulated aerosol species variation supports the fact. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived AOD data are associated to the cloud product to examine the dust impact on properties of liquid cloud and ice cloud. The positive values of aerosol cloud interaction effect (ACI) for ice cloud during pre-monsoon (March–May) and monsoon (June–August) seasons reveal the significant impact of dust on ice clouds over Dehradun, which is maximum during May (~0.24 ± 0.05). The present study shows that ice cloud effective radius (ICER) decrease with AOD during dust period. The increase in ice water path (IWP) and ice cloud optical depth (ICOD) reveals the impact of dust on heterogeneous ice generation in low level clouds. However, there is no relation between dust and liquid water cloud during dust period. It is difficult to provide definite conclusions that the dust and cloud changes are driven by the same meteorological conditions. Cloud and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) derived flux data are used to examine the associated changes in TOA cloud radiative forcing. The diminution in effective size of ice crystal due to aerosol first indirect effect traps more longwave radiation and reflects more solar radiation. Both first and second indirect effects enhance cloud cooling, whereas the dust induced cloud warming is mainly the result of the semi-direct effect.

Modeling study on the transport of summer dust and anthropogenic aerosols over the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is located at the juncture of several important natural and anthropogenic aerosol sources. Satellites have observed substantial dust and anthropogenic aerosols in the atmosphere during summer over the TP. These aerosols have distinct effects on the earth's energy balance, microphysical cloud properties, and precipitation rates. To investigate the transport of summer dust and anthropogenic aerosols over the TP, we combined the Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) with a non-hydrostatic regional model (NHM). The model simulation shows heavily loaded dust aerosols over the northern slope and anthropogenic aerosols over the southern slope and the east of the TP. The dust aerosols are primarily mobilized around the Taklimakan Desert, where a portion of the aerosols are transported eastward due to the northwesterly current; simultaneously, a portion of the particles are transported southward when a second northwesterly current becomes northeasterly because of the topographic blocking of the northern slope of the TP. Because of the strong upward current, dust plumes can extend upward to approximately 7–8 km a.s.l. over the northern slope of the TP. When a dust event occurs, anthropogenic aerosols that entrained into the southwesterly current via the Indian summer monsoon are transported from India to the southern slope of the TP. Simultaneously, a large amount of anthropogenic aerosol is also transported from eastern China to the east of the TP by easterly winds. An investigation on the transport of dust and anthropogenic aerosols over the plateau may provide the basis for determining aerosol impacts on summer monsoons and climate systems.

Analysis and evaluation of the global aerosol optical properties simulated by an online aerosol-coupled non-hydrostatic icosahedral atmospheric model

Abstract Aerosol optical properties are simulated using the Spectral Radiation Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) coupled with the Non-hydrostatic ICosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM). The 3-year global mean all-sky aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 550 nm, the Ångström Exponent (AE) based on AOTs at 440 and 870 nm, and the single scattering albedo (SSA) at 550 nm are estimated at 0.123, 0.657 and 0.944, respectively. For each aerosol species, the mean AOT is within the range of the AeroCom models. Both the modeled all-sky and clear-sky results are compared with observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). The simulated spatiotemporal distributions of all-sky AOTs can generally reproduce the MODIS retrievals, and the correlation and model skill can be slightly improved using the clear-sky results over most land regions. The differences between clear-sky and all-sky AOTs are larger over polluted regions. Compared with observations from AERONET, the modeled and observed all-sky AOTs and AEs are generally in reasonable agreement, whereas the SSA variation is not well captured. Although the spatiotemporal distributions of all-sky and clear-sky results are similar, the clear-sky results are generally better correlated with the observations. The clear-sky AOT and SSA are generally lower than the all-sky results, especially in those regions where the aerosol chemical composition is contributed to mostly by sulfate aerosol. The modeled clear-sky AE is larger than the all-sky AE over those regions dominated by hydrophilic aerosol, while the opposite is found over regions dominated by hydrophobic aerosol.

Spatial heterogeneity in near surface aerosol characteristics across the Brahmaputra valley

In order to examine the spatial variability of the aerosol characteristics across the Brahmaputra valley, a land campaign was conducted during late winter (February 3–March 2) 2011. Measurements of particulate matter (PM, PM10, PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) concentrations were made onboard an interior redesigned vehicle. The length of the campaign trail stretched about 700 km, covering the longitude belt of 89.97°–95.55°E and latitude belt of 26.1°–27.6°N, comprising 13 measurement locations. The valley is divided into three sectors longitudinally: western sector (R1: 89.97°–91.75°E), middle sector (R2: 92.5°–94.01°E) and eastern sector (R3: 94.63°–95.55°E). Spatial heterogeneity in aerosol distribution has been observed with higher PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations at the western and middle sectors compared to the eastern sector. The locations in the western sector are found to be rich in BC compared to the other two sectors and there is a gradual decrease in BC concentrations from west to east of the Brahmaputra valley. Two hotspots within the western and middle sectors with high PM and BC concentrations have been identified. The associated physico-optical parameters of PM reveal abundance of PM2.5 aerosols along the entire valley. High population density in the western and middle sectors, together with the contribution of remote aerosols, leads to higher anthropogenic aerosols over those regions. Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) slightly underestimates the measured PM10 and PM2.5 at the eastern sector while the model overestimates the measurements at a number of locations in the western sector. In general, BC is underestimated by the model. The variation of BC within the campaign trail has not been adequately captured by the model leading to higher variance in the western locations as compared to the middle and eastern locations.

Impact of Cloud-Nucleating Aerosols in Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations of Warm-Rain Precipitation in the East China Sea

Abstract Cloud-nucleating aerosols emitted from mainland China have the potential to influence cloud and precipitation systems that propagate through the region of the East China Sea. Both simulations from the Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) and observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reveal plumes of pollution that are transported into the East China Sea via frontal passage or other offshore flow. Under such conditions, satellite-derived precipitation estimates from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) frequently produce discrepancies in rainfall estimates that are hypothesized to be a result of aerosol modification of cloud and raindrop size distributions. Cloud-resolving model simulations were used to explore the impact of aerosol loading on three identified frontal-passage events in which the TMI and PR precipitation estimates displayed large discrepancies. Each of these events was characterized by convective and stratiform elements in association with a frontal passage. Area-averaged time series for each event reveal similar monotonic cloud and rain microphysical responses to aerosol loading. The ratio in the vertical distribution of cloud water to rainwater increased. Cloud droplet concentration increased and the mean diameters decreased, thereby reducing droplet autoconversion and collision–coalescence growth. As a result, raindrop concentration decreased, while the drop mean diameter increased; furthermore, average rainwater path magnitude and area fraction both decreased. The average precipitation rate fields reveal a complex modification of the timing and spatial coverage of rainfall. This suggests that the warm-rain microphysical response to aerosols, in addition to the precipitation life cycle, microphysical feedbacks, and evaporative effects, play an important role in determining surface rainfall.

A study of long‐term trends in mineral dust aerosol distributions in Asia using a general circulation model

Dust events have been observed in Japan with high frequency since 2000. On the other hand, the frequency of dust storms is said to have decreased in the desert regions of China since about the middle of the 1970s. This study simulates dust storms and transportation of mineral dust aerosols in the east Asia region from 1981 to 2001 using an aerosol transport model, Spectral Radiation‐Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS), implemented in the Center for Climate System Research/National Institute for Environmental Studies atmospheric global circulation model, in order to investigate the main factors that control a dust event and its long‐term variation. The model was forced to simulate a real atmospheric condition by a nudging technique using European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis data on wind velocities, temperature, specific humidity, soil wetness, and snow depth. From a comparison between the long‐term change in the dust emission and model parameters, it is found that the wind speed near the surface level had a significant influence on the dust emission, and snow is also an important factor in the early spring dust emission. The simulated results suggested that dust emissions from northeast China have a great impact on dust mass concentration in downwind regions, such as the cities of northeastern China, Korea, and Japan. When the frequency of dust events was high in Japan, a low‐pressure system tended to develop over the northeast China region that caused strong winds. From 2000 to 2001 the simulated dust emission flux decreased in the Taklimakan desert and the northwestern part of China, while it increased in the Gobi desert and the northeastern part of China. Consequently, dust particles seem to be transported more from the latter region by prevailing westerlies in the springtime to downwind areas as actually observed. In spite of the similarity, however, there is still a large disagreement between observed and simulated dust frequencies and concentrations. A more realistic land surface and uplift mechanism of dust particles should be modeled to improve the model simulation. Desertification of the northeastern China region may be another reason for this disagreement.

Aerosol distributions and radiative forcing over the Asian Pacific region simulated by Spectral Radiation‐Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS)

A three‐dimensional aerosol transport‐radiation model coupled with a general circulation model, Spectral Radiation‐Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS), simulates atmospheric aerosol distributions and optical properties. The simulated results are compared with aerosol sampling and optical observations from ground, aircraft, and satellite acquired by intensive observation campaigns over east Asia in spring 2001. Temporal variations of the aerosol concentrations, optical thickness, and Ångström exponent are in good agreement between the simulation and observations. The midrange values of the Ångström exponent, even at the Asian dust storm events over the outflow regions, suggest that the contribution of the anthropogenic aerosol, such as carbonaceous and sulfate, to the total optical thickness is of an order comparable to that of the Asian dust. The radiative forcing by the aerosol direct and indirect effects is also calculated. The negative direct radiative forcing is simulated to be over −10 W m−2 at the tropopause in the air mass during the large‐scale dust storm, to which both anthropogenic aerosols and Asian dust contribute almost equivalently. The direct radiative forcing, however, largely depends on the cloud water content and the vertical profiles of aerosol and cloud. The simulation shows that not only sulfate and sea salt aerosols but also black carbon and soil dust aerosols, which absorb solar and thermal radiation, make strong negative radiative forcing by the direct effect at the surface, which may exceed the positive forcing by anthropogenic greenhouse gases over the east Asian region.