Investigating Aerosols Interaction in Convective Clouds during the TRACER / ESCAPE Field Campaigns in Houston, Texas

Aerosols can act as cloud condensation nuclei, around which water vapor can condense to form cloud droplets. The number and size of these droplets, as well as the resulting cloud properties, can be influenced by the type, size, and concentration of aerosols present in the atmosphere. Aerosol interactions in convective clouds are extremely complex and could affect convective cell structure, area, height, lifetime, precipitation patterns, etc. However, despite the crucial role that aerosols play in cloud formation, the complex interaction between aerosols and convective clouds remains uncertain. Previous observational studies have shown that the effects of these interactions are highly inconsistent due to limitations in aerosol measurements, as well as the influence of other meteorological variables, topography, and other factors. Moreover, modeling studies have provided a wide range of differing effects of aerosols on convective clouds.

In this investigation, we attempt to untangle meteorological factors from aerosol parameters in a weakly synoptic-driven convective environment. The examination involves observational data from daily atmospheric soundings and aerosol concentrations from several aerosol measurement devices during the summer of 2022 in Houston, Texas, collected as part of the Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER) and Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation, and Environment (ESCAPE) field campaigns. Statistical learning methods, such as multiple linear regression and random forest, are applied to understand the relationship between aerosols combined with other meteorological variables on minimum cloud top temperature from geostationary satellite data and convective cell structure from NEXRAD data. Further examination was conducted to explore the significance of the synoptic environment and its potential influence on any identified relationships.