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AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres

 

Keywords

  • Urban aerosol
  • clouds

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution: urban and regional
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Cloud optics
  • Global Change: Atmosphere
  • Global Change: Land cover change
Abstract
Cited By (10)
 

Abstract

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, D24S90, 12 PP., 2008
doi:10.1029/2008JD010276

Aerosol relationships to warm season clouds and rainfall at monthly scales over east China: Urban land versus ocean

Menglin Jin

Department of Meteorology, San José State University, San José, California, USA

J. Marshall Shepherd

Atmospheric Sciences Program, Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

This paper provides a prototype study on combining the advanced satellite observations of rainfall, clouds, and aerosols to examine their interrelationships. Monthly satellite observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for July (2000–2005) were analyzed to assess how urban aerosols affect cloud droplet size and cumulative rainfall over the eastern China mainland and the China Sea, respectively. It seems that aerosol effects may be more evident on clouds than on convective rainfall: high correlation coefficients between aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and water cloud droplet size are observed, while only a weak aerosol-rainfall relationship is detectable during light rainfall cases (i.e., rainfall rate < 2.5 mm/d) and that is most likely for warm rain clouds only. In addition, aerosols affect clouds more significantly over ocean than over land. Over the ocean, at the monthly scale, the aerosol-cloud relationship is evident: the cloud effective radius decreases as aerosol optical thickness (AOT) increases. However, over land, cloud effective radius does not show an apparent relationship with aerosol processes, which indicates that aerosols are not the only physical process affecting clouds. Dynamic processes related to factors like urban land cover may play at least an equally critical role in cloud formation.

Received 15 April 2008; accepted 17 September 2008; published 31 December 2008.

Citation: Jin, M., and J. M. Shepherd (2008), Aerosol relationships to warm season clouds and rainfall at monthly scales over east China: Urban land versus ocean, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D24S90, doi:10.1029/2008JD010276.

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