Collaborative Research: Using Controlled Aerosol Perturbations to Improve Understanding of Cloud Responses for Climate

大气中的粒子在云的形成中起着关键作用，它们充当水滴的核。 云在吸收和反射热量方面发挥着重要作用，因此它们可能会缓解或加剧全球变暖。 气溶胶-云辐射相互作用被广泛认为是气候模型预测未来气候变化的最大单一不确定性来源，这是由于人为排放增加造成的（IPCC，2007）。 气候模型预测中这种不确定性的根本原因是我们对云过程的基本理解存在差距。 关于这些重要问题的观测和模型都取得了重大进展。 然而，这些过程的定量表示是不平凡的，限制了我们在全球气候模式（GCM）中表示它们的能力，导致未来气候预测的最大不确定性。 鉴于这些问题对于推进GCM的及时性，解决云动力学对气溶胶扰动的响应中尚未回答的问题是至关重要的。 这项研究是一个有针对性的飞机运动与嵌入式建模研究，以通知实验计划，并促进结果的解释。 这项研究将使用跨学科遥控飞机研究中心（CIRPAS）2011年7月在加州蒙特雷海岸外的双水獭飞机，其仪器的全部有效载荷用于测量粒子和云的数量、质量和成分分布。 该研究由三个新的和重要的额外的，以气候为重点的研究组成：1。飞行中和专用船舶上或通过专用船舶控制释放和大气分布三种不同尺寸范围的颗粒;2.大涡模拟和气溶胶-云包裹体模拟研究的观测约束，以测试我们的能力，定量预测的动力学响应，在自然大气中的粒子浓度的增加;3。海洋层积云的卫星分析以限制自然、扰动和区域云系的辐射特性。更广泛的影响。 这项研究的更广泛的科学影响将是提高对基本气溶胶-云过程的理解，这些过程可以纳入全球气候模型，以更好地为决策者提供信息。 研究的更广泛的教育影响将通过以下方式实现：（1）通过制定和试点针对服务不足的受众的非正式科学教育方案，促进教学、培训和学习;（2）扩大代表性不足的群体-在这种情况下是退休人员和老年人-参与研究和推广活动;（3）通过与现有教育组织建立伙伴关系，加强教学基础设施（Osher终身学习研究所）;（4）通过介绍、同行评审的出版物和网络广泛传播成果;（5）在提高对气候科学和相关伦理问题的理解方面的社会效益。

Particles in the atmosphere play a key role in cloud formation, acting as nuclei for water droplets. Clouds play an important role in absorbing and reflecting heat, hence they can potentially mitigate or exacerbate global warming. Aerosol-cloud radiative interactions are widely held to be the largest single source of uncertainty in climate model projections of future climate change due to increasing anthropogenic emissions (IPCC, 2007). The underlying causes of this uncertainty among modeled predictions of climate are the gaps in our fundamental understanding of cloud processes. There has been significant progress with both observations and models on these important questions. However, the quantitative representation of these processes is nontrivial and limits our ability to represent them in global climate models (GCMs), resulting in the largest uncertainties in predictions of future climate. Given the timeliness of these questions for advancing GCMs, it is essential to address the unanswered questions in cloud dynamical response to aerosol perturbations.Intellectual merit. This research is a targeted aircraft campaign with embedded modeling studies to inform the experiment planning and to facilitate the interpretation of the results. The study will use the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft in July 2011 off the coast of Monterey, California, with a full payload of instruments to measure particle and cloud number, mass and composition distributions. The research is composed of three novel and important additional, climate-focused studies:1. Controlled release and atmospheric distribution of three different size ranges of particles in flight and on or by a dedicated ship;2. Large Eddy Simulations and Aerosol-Cloud Parcel modeling studies constrained by the observations to test our ability to quantitatively predict the dynamical response to increases in particle concentrations in the natural atmosphere;3. Satellite analyses of marine stratocumulus to constrain the radiative properties of the natural, perturbed, and regional cloud systems. Broader impacts. The broader scientific impacts of the research will be the improved understanding of fundamental aerosol-cloud processes that can be incorporated in global climate models to better inform decision makers. The broader educational impacts of the research will be realized through: (1) Promotion of teaching, training and learning through development and piloting of an informal science education program targeting an underserved audience; (2) Broadened participation of underrepresented groups - in this case, retired and elderly people - in research as well as in outreach; (3) Enhancement of infrastructure for teaching through partnerships with an established educational organization (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute); (4) Broad dissemination of results through presentations, peer-reviewed publications and via the web; and (5) Societal benefits in terms of improved understanding of climate science and the related ethical issues.