Aerosol-Cloud Interaction from Asian Pollution on Local, Region, and Global Scales

Aerosols interact directly and indirectly with the Earth's radiation budget and climate. For the direct effect, aerosols scatter and absorb solar radiation. Light scattering by aerosols changes the radiative fluxes at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA), at the surface, and within the atmospheric column, while aerosol absorption modifies the atmospheric temperature structure, decreases the solar radiation at the surface, and lowers surface sensible and latent fluxes, suppressing convection and reducing cloud fraction. Also, aerosols indirectly impact climate by altering cloud development, lifetime, precipitation, and albedo. Current understanding of the aerosol indirect effect remains highly uncertain, constituting the greatest uncertainty in climate predictions. Anthropogenic aerosols may influence the cloud processes and precipitation by serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN. In this presentation, the effects of aerosols from the Asian Pollution on various cloud systems, ranging from isolated cumulus clouds, mesoscale squall lines, to Pacific storm track, will be discussed to demonstrate the response of clouds and precipitation to an increase in aerosol concentrations.