Collaborative Research: Inhibition of Snowfall by Pollution Aerosols

合作研究：污染气溶胶抑制降雪

• 批准号: 0835421
• 负责人: William Cotton
• 金额: $ 48.73万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-12-15 至 2013-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0835421&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Inhibition; Snowfall; Pollution

Intellectual Merit: This research will advance understanding of the potential role of aerosol pollution in modifying wintertime orographic precipitation. A key issue to be addressed is how the influence of aerosol pollution upon clouds may be altered by various synoptic weather regimes, cloud types, and amounts of supercooled water within these clouds. Based on previous modeling results, it is anticipated that clouds with higher amounts of supercooled water (such as those typically found over the San Juan Mountains of Colorado) are more susceptible to impacts by aerosol pollution. The modulation of this potential response will be addressed both temporally via time-series measurements at the Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) and spatially through more distributed measurements over the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and through model simulations.Potential for Transformative Research: This investigation has the potential to revise traditional theories of aerosol-induced impacts on wintertime orographic precipitation. Prior work has suggested that increased pollution aerosol concentrations lead to a significant reduction in precipitation falling from orographic clouds. Further studies by the Principal Investigators conducted in the Park Range mountains of Colorado suggest that aerosol pollution may also redistribute orographic precipitation and subsequent runoff among adjacent river basins. In this view, some reduction of total precipitation may occur but aerosol-induced shifts in the location of precipitation predominate. The relative contributions of these two potential influences will be further explored in this new study. Consideration of longer time periods (i.e., a full winter season) should lead to more robust conclusions, as well as an improved regional climatology of pollution aerosol influences.Broader Impacts: This work has significant demographic and economic implications. If pollution aerosols are indeed systematically reducing mountain snowfall, increased development across the western U.S. will in turn reduce available snowpack-derived water resources needed to sustain such population growth and require strategies to minimize such impacts. Education and outreach activities at SPL during the field component of this study will include a three-day graduate level mesoscale modeling class led by the Principal Investigator, a week-long graduate/undergraduate class in mountain meteorology led by a University of Wisconsin collaborator, and. a graduate field meteorology class offered through the Desert Research Institute focusing on SPL's unique observational capabilities. The location of the laboratory at the summit of the Steamboat Ski Resort also affords considerable public access to its full range of activities, and the Principal Investigators supported under this grant will conduct open houses for the public and create a more permanent outdoor display describing work being done under this project.

智力优势：这项研究将促进对气溶胶污染在改变冬季地形降水方面的潜在作用的理解。要解决的一个关键问题是气溶胶污染对云的影响可能会改变不同的天气系统，云的类型，以及这些云中的过冷水的量。根据以前的模拟结果，预计具有较高过冷水量的云（例如通常在科罗拉多的圣胡安山脉上发现的云）更容易受到气溶胶污染的影响。调制这种潜在的响应将解决时间上通过时间序列测量在风暴峰实验室（SPL）和空间上通过更多的分布式测量在科罗拉多的圣胡安山脉和通过模型simulation.Potential的变革研究：这项调查有可能修订传统的理论气溶胶引起的影响冬季地形降水。之前的工作表明，污染气溶胶浓度的增加会导致地形云降水的显着减少。主要研究人员在科罗拉多的帕克岭山脉进行的进一步研究表明，气溶胶污染也可能重新分配地形降水和随后的径流在相邻的河流流域。从这个角度来看，总降水量可能会有所减少，但气溶胶引起的降水位置变化占主导地位。这两种潜在影响的相对贡献将在这项新研究中进一步探讨。考虑较长的时间段（即，一个完整的冬季）应导致更有力的结论，以及改善区域气候的污染气溶胶的影响。更广泛的影响：这项工作具有重大的人口和经济影响。如果污染气溶胶确实系统性地减少了山区降雪，那么美国西部的发展将反过来减少维持这种人口增长所需的可用积雪水资源，并需要采取战略来尽量减少这种影响。在SPL的教育和推广活动，在本研究的领域组成部分将包括一个为期三天的研究生水平的中尺度建模类由首席研究员，为期一周的研究生/本科生类在山区气象学领导的威斯康星州大学的合作者，和。通过沙漠研究所提供的研究生实地气象学课程，重点是SPL独特的观测能力。该实验室位于汽船滑雪胜地的顶峰，也为公众提供了相当多的机会，使其能够参加各种活动，该赠款支持的主要研究人员将为公众开放房屋，并创建一个更永久的户外展示，描述该项目下正在进行的工作。