Description:

The poorly understood interactions between atmospheric aerosols and clouds are a major source of uncertainty in the Earth's radiative budget, resulting in a wide range of predicted climate sensitivities. Therefore, any attempt to forecast long-term climate change must begin with an accurate representation of aerosols and clouds.

In this session, we welcome presentations covering all aspects of laboratory experiments, field observations, and modeling research on the chemical and physical mechanisms that drive the formation of atmospheric aerosols and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, (1) molecular-level understanding of aerosol formation and growth to CCN sizes; (2) ground-based, airborne, and remote measurements of CCN; (3) regional and global modeling of CCN distribution and climate impact; (4) the contribution of acid-base and organic compounds to cloud formation; (5) the effect of aerosol morphology and phase state on cloud properties; and (6) the role of cloud processing (e.g. cloud chemistry, wet scavenging, and detrainment) in aerosol and cloud formation.