Simulations of Aerosol Influences on Severe Convective Storms

本文主要研究来自中尺度对流系统（MCS）的危险天气。首席研究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强风暴的影响，重点是龙卷风的爆发；(2)建立三时刻冰雹模型并应用于气溶胶对冰雹大小和强风暴动力学的影响研究。因此，这项研究的智力价值在于它将探索气溶胶与对流风暴的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，这可能导致严重风暴预报技术的修改，以包括气溶胶的变化。这些技术可包括利用卫星获取的沙尘和污染产品对恶劣天气进行临近预报，以及在数值天气预报中心开发新的基础设施，以便将气溶胶物理学应用到模型中，检索定量气溶胶产品，以及建立沙尘和污染源及运输的模型。预报方面的这种改进可以减少风暴造成的破坏和人员伤亡。这项研究的教育效益是，这项工作的结果将立即纳入第一年的课程内容，云物理和云动力学的高级课程，以及由首席研究员撰写的教科书。此外，该研究还将资助2名博士和1名博士后。

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.