Aerosols and Climate in China: Observations and Modeling

By modulating atmospheric heating profile, atmospheric and surface energy balances and cloud microphysics, aerosols can significantly change the earth's climate. Given the heavy loading and complex properties of aerosols in China, it is an ideal region to identify and isolate such effects. It has been hypothesized that the spatial and temporal changes of aerosols in China may have played significant roles in observed changes in precipitation, temperature and atmospheric circulation. Testing the hypotheses requires extensive and reliable measurements concerning their properties, radiative fluxes, cloud microphysics, precipitation, and other atmospheric variables, which is the primary goal of two major field experiments conducted in China, namely, the East Asian Study of Tropospheric Aerosols: an International Regional Experiment (EAST-AIRE) and the ARM Mobile Facility deployment in China (AMF-China). In my talk, I will review the status of the two observation campaigns; present some major findings; and elaborate the potential usage of the data in dealing with the aforementioned issues.