Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation Interactions Observed over the Remote North Atlantic during NAAMES

Five research flights were conducted over the remote North Atlantic Ocean during the first deployment of the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) in November 2015. During these flights, near-surface aerosol and trace gas concentrations were very low indicating a scarcity of locally produced or regionally transported particles, which could serve as nuclei in the activation of cloud droplets. As a result, low cloud droplet number concentrations were observed and, during several flights, rapid onset of precipitation was apparent in warm clouds despite modest liquid water path. We present in-situ and remote sensing data from these case flights and examine relationships between microphysics and dynamics to evaluate processes driving cloud variability over the remote oceans.