Collaborative Research: Contrasting the Effects of Aerosols on Marine Boundary Layer (MBL) Cloud-precipitation Properties and Processes in Boreal and Austral Mid-latitude Regions

合作研究：比较气溶胶对北方和南方中纬度地区海洋边界层（MBL）云降水特性和过程的影响

• 批准号: 2031752
• 负责人: Timothy Logan
• 金额: $ 7.83万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-10-01 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2031752&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Contrasting; Effects; Aerosols

The project is to investigate formation of marine-boundary-layer clouds, which are clouds that are directly influenced by the ocean. Particularly, how tiny suspended particles or aerosols contribute to clouds and how clouds interact with aerosols. Aerosols are generated from atmospheric, land, and oceanic processes such as urban/industrial activity, dust storms, burning vegetation, biological activity, sea spray, wind currents, and volcanoes. Certain aerosol types can initiate marine-boundary-layer cloud development more easily than others. This adds to the complexity and uncertainty of marine-boundary-layer cloud impacts on weather variations. Marine-boundary-layer clouds have significant climatological effects on the hydrological cycle and the Earth’s radiation balance. For example, varying distributions of marine-boundary-layer clouds around the globe contribute to areas of deficits and surpluses in solar energy and rainfall. Many studies have been conducted on aerosol-cloud interactions in the Northern Hemisphere where most of the global population and landmasses are located. Not much is known over the vast area of remote land and oceanic regions in the Southern Hemisphere. This study will investigate differences and similarities of aerosol-cloud interactions between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by analyzing recent field observations and utilizing numerical model simulations. The project involves undergraduate and graduate students to participate in the research project and train them to be the next generation of scientists.This study employs long-term ground-based observations and remote sensing retrievals from a dedicated observation site in the Eastern North Atlantic Ocean and aircraft in situ measurements from two intensive field campaigns in 2018: 1) the Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA), and 2) the Southern Ocean Clouds, Radiation, Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES). The research team utilizes a synergistic measurement/modeling approach in conjunction with meteorological patterns to compare the characteristics of marine-boundary-layer aerosol, cloud, and drizzle properties over the two hemispheres through answering three scientific questions. Those are: 1) what are the relative roles of surface cloud condensation nuclei and updrafts in aerosol-cloud interactions over the marine boundary layer and warm rain processes? 2) what are the characteristics of marine-boundary-layer aerosol, cloud and drizzle properties and their interactions during two field campaigns? 3) what are the characteristics of marine-boundary-layer aerosol, cloud, and drizzle properties, their interactions over the Southern Ocean, and their similarities and differences compared with those in the Eastern North Atlantic Ocean? Comparisons of precipitation processes and aerosol-cloud interactions at the two sites with significantly different environmental conditions will shed light on the controlling factors in aerosol-cloud interactions and eventually lead to a generalized parameterization for aerosol-cloud interactions applicable for the global climate models.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在研究海洋边界层云的形成，这些云是直接受海洋影响的云。特别是，微小的悬浮颗粒或气溶胶如何有助于云以及云如何与气溶胶相互作用。气溶胶是由大气，土地和海洋过程产生的，例如城市/工业活动，沙尘暴，燃烧植被，生物活动，海洋喷雾，风流和火山。某些气溶胶类型可以比其他类型更容易启动海洋联盟层云的发展。这增加了海洋联盟层云对天气变化的影响的复杂性和不确定性。海洋边界云对氢循环和地球辐射平衡具有重大的族裔学影响。例如，全球海洋边界云的各种分布有助于太阳能和降雨的缺陷和盈余区域。关于大多数全球人口和兰德马斯所在的北半球的气雾云相互作用，已经进行了许多研究。在南半球的偏远地区和海洋地区广阔的地区，知之甚少。这项研究将通过分析最近的现场观测并利用数值模型模拟来研究北半球和南半球之间气雾云相互作用的差异和相似性。该项目涉及本科生和研究生参加研究项目并训练他们成为下一代科学家。这项研究员工长期基于地面的观察和遥感从北大西洋东部的专用观测地点和飞机的专用观测地点进行检索，并在2018年北部的两次北端经验中的两次强化现场竞争：云，辐射，气溶胶运输实验研究（苏格拉底）。研究小组利用与气象模式结合使用协同的测量/建模方法来比较在两个半球上通过回答三个科学问题的海洋联盟层气溶胶，云和毛毛雨的特性。这些是：1）在海上云相互作用中，在海洋边界层和温暖的雨水过程中，表面云凝结核和上升的相对作用是什么？ 2）在两个现场活动中，海洋边界层气溶胶，云和毛毛雨的特性及其相互作用的特征是什么？ 3）与北大西洋东部相比，海洋边界层气溶胶，云和毛毛雨特性的特征是什么？ Comparisons of Precipitation processes and aerosol-cloud interactions at the two sites with significantly different environmental conditions will shed light on the controlling factors in aerosol-cloud interactions and eventually lead to a generalized parameterization for aerosol-cloud interactions applicable for the global climate models.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed precious of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.