Simulations of Aerosol Influences on Severe Convective Storms

本研究主要研究中尺度对流系统(MCS)带来的灾害性天气。首席调查员将处理两个研究目标：(1)模拟研究沙尘和污染产生的气溶胶对严重风暴的影响，重点是龙卷风爆发；(2)实施一个三矩冰雹模式，并将其应用于研究气溶胶对冰雹大小和严重风暴动力学的影响。因此，这项研究的学术价值在于它将探索气溶胶和对流风暴严重程度之间的关系。更广泛的影响包括调查沙尘和风暴严重程度之间的因果关系，这可能导致修改严重风暴预报技术，将气溶胶可变性包括在内。这些技术可包括利用卫星产生的尘埃和污染产品即刻预报恶劣天气，以及在数值天气预报中心开发新的基础设施，以便将气溶胶物理落实到模式中，检索定量的气溶胶产品，以及尘埃和污染源和输送模式。预报方面的这一改进可能会减少风暴破坏和人员伤亡。这项研究的教育益处是，这项工作的结果将立即纳入云物理和云动力学的一年级和高级课程的课程内容以及首席调查员编写的教科书中。此外，该研究还将为两名博士后和一名博士后提供支持。

This research focuses on investigations of hazardous weather from mesoscale convective systems (MCS). The Principal Investigator will address two research objectives: (1) Modeling studies of the effects of dust and pollution-produced aerosol on severe storms with an emphasis on tornado outbreaks; (2) Implementation of a three-moment hail model and applying it to studies of impacts of aerosol on hail size and severe storm dynamics. Thus, the intellectual merit of the research is that it will explore relationships between aerosols and the severity of convective storms. The broader impacts involve investigating a causal relationship between dust and storm severity, which potentially could lead to a modification of severe storm forecasting techniques to include aerosol variability. These techniques could include nowcasting of severe weather using satellite-derived dust and pollution products as well as development of a new infrastructure in numerical weather prediction centers for implementation of aerosol physics into models, the retrieval of quantitative aerosol products, and models for dust and pollution sources and transport. This improvement in forecasting could lead to a reduction in storm damage and loss of life. The educational benefit of this research is that results of this work will be immediately incorporated in the course content of first year and advanced courses in cloud physics and cloud dynamics as well as textbooks authored by the Principal Investigator. In addition, the research will provide support for two PhD and one postdoctoral student.