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1. Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA)

   Wang, Jian; Dong, Xiquan et (January 2021, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society)

   null (Ed.)

   With their extensive coverage, marine low clouds greatly impact global climate. Presently, marine low clouds are poorly represented in global climate models, and the response of marine low clouds to changes in atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols remains the major source of uncertainty in climate simulations. The Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) is a region of persistent but diverse subtropical marine boundary layer clouds, whose albedo and precipitation are highly susceptible to perturbations in aerosol properties. In addition, the ENA is periodically impacted by continental aerosols, making it an excellent location to study the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) budget in a remote marine region periodically perturbed by anthropogenic emissions, and to investigate the impacts of long-range transport of aerosols on remote marine clouds. The Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) campaign was motivated by the need of comprehensive in-situ measurements for improving the understanding of marine boundary layer CCN budget, cloud and drizzle microphysics, and the impact of aerosol on marine low cloud and precipitation. The airborne deployments took place from June 21 to July 20, 2017 and January 15 to February 18, 2018 in the Azores. The flights were designed to maximize the synergy between in-situ airborne measurements and ongoing long-term observations at a ground site. Here we present measurements, observation strategy, meteorological conditions during the campaign, and preliminary findings. Finally, we discuss future analyses and modeling studies that improve the understanding and representation of marine boundary layer aerosols, clouds, precipitation, and the interactions among them. 

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2. Observations of clouds, aerosols, precipitation, and surface radiation over the Southern Ocean: An overview of CAPRICORN, MARCUS, MICRE and SOCRATES

   https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0132.1  

   McFarquhar, Greg M.; Bretherton, Chris; Marchand, Roger; Protat, Alain; DeMott, Paul J.; Alexander, Simon P.; Roberts, Greg C.; Twohy, Cynthia H.; Toohey, Darin; Siems, Steve; et al (November 2020, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Weather and climate models are challenged by uncertainties and biases in simulating Southern Ocean (SO) radiative fluxes that trace to a poor understanding of cloud, aerosol, precipitation and radiative processes, and their interactions. Projects between 2016 and 2018 used in-situ probes, radar, lidar and other instruments to make comprehensive measurements of thermodynamics, surface radiation, cloud, precipitation, aerosol, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating particles over the SO cold waters, and in ubiquitous liquid and mixed-phase cloudsnucleating particles over the SO cold waters, and in ubiquitous liquid and mixed-phase clouds common to this pristine environment. Data including soundings were collected from the NSF/NCAR G-V aircraft flying north-south gradients south of Tasmania, at Macquarie Island, and on the RV Investigator and RSV Aurora Australis. Synergistically these data characterize boundary layer and free troposphere environmental properties, and represent the most comprehensive data of this type available south of the oceanic polar front, in the cold sector of SO cyclones, and across seasons. Results show a largely pristine environments with numerous small and few large aerosols above cloud, suggesting new particle formation and limited long-range transport from continents, high variability in CCN and cloud droplet concentrations, and ubiquitous supercooled water in thin, multi-layered clouds, often with small-scale generating cells near cloud top. These observations demonstrate how cloud properties depend on aerosols while highlighting the importance of confirmed low clouds were responsible for radiation biases. The combination of models and observations is examining how aerosols and meteorology couple to control SO water and energy budgets. 

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3. Impacts of long-range transport of aerosols on marine-boundary-layer clouds in the eastern North Atlantic

   https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14741-2020  

   Wang, Yuan; Zheng, Xiaojian; Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike; Wu, Peng; Logan, Timothy; Yung, Yuk L. (January 2020, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract. Vertical profiles of aerosols are inadequately observed and poorlyrepresented in climate models, contributing to the current large uncertaintyassociated with aerosol–cloud interactions. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerosol and CloudExperiments in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) aircraft field campaignnear the Azores islands provided ample observations of verticaldistributions of aerosol and cloud properties. Here we utilize the in situaircraft measurements from the ACE-ENA and ground-based remote-sensing dataalong with an aerosol-aware Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model tocharacterize the aerosols due to long-range transport over a remote regionand to assess their possible influence on marine-boundary-layer (MBL)clouds. The vertical profiles of aerosol and cloud properties measured viaaircraft during the ACE-ENA campaign provide detailed information revealingthe physical contact between transported aerosols and MBL clouds. TheEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (ECMWF-CAMS) aerosol reanalysis data can reproduce the key features of aerosolvertical profiles in the remote region. The cloud-resolving WRF sensitivityexperiments with distinctive aerosol profiles suggest that the transportedaerosols and MBL cloud interactions (ACIs) require not only aerosol plumes to get close to the marine-boundary-layer top but also large cloud topheight variations. Based on those criteria, the observations show that theoccurrence of ACIs involving the transport of aerosol over the eastern NorthAtlantic (ENA) is about 62 % in summer. For the case with noticeable long-range-transport aerosol effects on MBL clouds, the susceptibilities of dropleteffective radius and liquid water content are −0.11 and +0.14,respectively. When varying by a similar magnitude, aerosols originatingfrom the boundary layer exert larger microphysical influence on MBL cloudsthan those entrained from the free troposphere. 

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4. Aerosol interactions with deep convective clouds

   https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819766-0.00001-8  

   Fan, Jiwen; Li, Zhanqing (January 2022, Elsevier)

   Deep convective clouds (DCCs) are associated with the vertical ascent of air from the lower to the upper atmosphere. They appear in various forms such as thunderstorms, supercells, and squall lines. These convective systems play important roles in the hydrological cycle, Earth’s radiative budget, and the general circulation of the atmosphere. Changes in aerosol (both cloud condensation nuclei and ice-nucleating particles) affect cloud microphysics and dynamics, and thereby influence convective intensity, precipitation, and the radiative effects of deep clouds and their cirrus anvils. However, the very complex dynamics and cloud microphysics of DCCs means that many of these processes are not yet accurately quantified in observations and models. This chapter outlines the main ways in which changes in aerosol affect the microphysical, dynamical, and radiative properties of DCCs. Aerosol interactions with DCCs depend on aerosol properties, storm dynamics, and meteorological conditions. When aerosol particles are light-absorbing, such as soot from industry or biomass burning, the aerosol radiative effects can alter the meteorological conditions under which DCCs form. These radiative effects modify temperature profiles and planetary boundary layer heights, thus changing atmospheric stability and circulation, and affecting the onset and development of DCCs. These large-scale effects, such as the effect of anthropogenic aerosol on the East and South Asian monsoons, can be simulated in coarse-resolution models. These processes are described in Chapter 13. This chapter is concerned with aerosol interactions with DCC systems ranging from individual clouds to mesoscale convective systems. Increases in cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) can enhance cloud droplet number concentrations and decrease droplet sizes, thereby narrowing the droplet size spectrum. For DCCs, a narrowed droplet size spectrum suppresses warm rain formation (rain derived from non-ice-phase processes), allowing the transport of more, smaller droplets to altitudes below 0°C. This may result in (i) freezing of more supercooled water, thereby enhancing latent heating from icerelated microphysical processes and invigorating storms (ice-phase invigoration); (ii) modification of ice-related microphysical processes, which changes cold pools, precipitation rates, and hailstone frequency and size; (iii) expansion of the mixed-phase zone and decreases in the cloud glaciation temperature; and (iv) slowing down of cloud dissipation, resulting in larger cloud cover and cloud depth in the stratiform and anvil regions due to numerous smaller ice particles. The increased cloud cover and cloud depth constitute an influence of aerosol on the cloud radiative effect. Reduced diurnal temperature variation has been observed and simulated as a result of enhanced daytime cooling and nighttime warming by expanded anvil cloud area in polluted environments. However, the global radiative effect of aerosol interactions with DCCs remains to be quantified. 

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5. ARMTRAJ: a set of multipurpose trajectory datasets augmenting the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility measurements

   https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-29-2025  

   Silber, Israel; Comstock, Jennifer M; Kieburtz, Michael R; Russell, Lynn M (January 2025, Earth System Science Data)

   Abstract. Ground-based instruments offer unique capabilities such as detailed atmospheric, thermodynamic, cloud, and aerosol profiling at a high temporal sampling rate. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility provides comprehensive datasets from key locations around the globe, facilitating long-term characterization and process-level understanding of clouds, aerosol, and aerosol–cloud interactions. However, as with other ground-based datasets, the fixed (Eulerian) nature of these measurements often introduces a knowledge gap in relating those observations with air-mass hysteresis. Here, we describe ARMTRAJ (https://doi.org/10.5439/2309851, Silber, 2024a; https://doi.org/10.5439/2309849, Silber, 2024b; https://doi.org/10.5439/2309850, Silber, 2024c; https://doi.org/10.5439/2309848, Silber, 2024d), a set of multipurpose trajectory datasets that helps close this gap in ARM deployments. Each dataset targets a different aspect of atmospheric research, including the analysis of surface, planetary boundary layer, distinct liquid-bearing cloud layers, and (primary) cloud decks. Trajectories are calculated using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model informed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA5 reanalysis dataset at its highest spatial resolution (0.25°) and are initialized using ARM datasets. The trajectory datasets include information about air-mass coordinates and state variables extracted from ERA5 before and after the ARM site overpass. Ensemble runs generated for each model initialization enhance trajectory consistency, while ensemble variability serves as a valuable uncertainty metric for those reported air-mass coordinates and state variables. Following the description of dataset processing and structure, we demonstrate applications of ARMTRAJ to a case study and a few bulk analyses of observations collected during ARM's Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) field deployment. ARMTRAJ will soon become a near real-time product accompanying new ARM deployments and an augmenting product to ongoing and previous deployments, promoting reaching science goals of research relying on ARM observations. 

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