Investigating the Impact of Aerosol Vertical Distribution on Convective Clouds over East Asia Using A-Train Satellite Measurements

Atmospheric aerosols can profoundly alter convective cloud microphysics and dynamics through intricate aerosol-cloud and aerosol-radiation interactions, which are notably contingent on the vertical position of aerosols relative to the cloud layer. However, the multitude of aerosol emission sources and atmospheric processes yield diverse vertical aerosol distributions, presenting challenges in quantifying the extent of their impact on convective clouds, especially from an observational standpoint. By taking advantages of extensive cloud and aerosol measurements from the A-train satellite constellation, we undertake a comprehensive analysis to characterize aerosol vertical distributions and understand the extent of their impacts on convective clouds. East Asia is selected as the study region due to its substantial variations in aerosol sources and loadings, and thereby diverse aerosol vertical distributions. By co-locating aerosol and cloud data, we discern several distinct aerosol vertical distribution subgroups based on their relative positions to convective clouds. Assessments of the relations between the column-integrated aerosol optical depth and key convective cloud features with respect to aerosol vertical distribution subgroups suggest a substantial contribution of aerosol vertical distribution to the variation of cloud properties in response to aerosol loadings changing from clean to polluted conditions. The interference on aerosol-cloud relationship from meteorology covariation is also assessed by using reanalysis meteorological data and satellite observations. Evidence from long-term observations in this study offers a crucial framework for refining model simulations, thereby lowering the uncertainties linked to aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions, with the potential to shape more accurate climate predictions.