Can the Impact of Aerosols on Deep Convection be Isolated from the Effects of Meteorology in Atmospheric Observations?

Influence of atmospheric aerosols on clouds, deep convection in
particular, continues to be a controversial topic. The prime example
is the hypothesized invigoration of deep convection by pollution.
Arguably, only carefully designed numerical simulations can clearly
separate impact of aerosols from effects of other factors, such as
the atmospheric sounding, magnitude surface fluxes, or effects of
larger-scale perturbations (e.g., waves) that affect atmospheric
stability. This is virtually impossible using observations because
of the insufficient accuracy of atmospheric measurements and the
fundamental nature of the interaction between convection and its
environment. This presentation will discuss results from numerical
simulations that support the above statements. In particular, I will
argue that the answer to the question posed in the title is negative.