Prof.  Wei-Chyung Wang

State University of New York at Albany

Room 303, Keyan Building

10:00am, Oct. 20, 2017 

Anthropogenic aerosols (sulfates, nitrates and black carbons) can act as cloud condensation nuclei to regulate cloud droplet number and size, thereby changing cloud radiative properties and atmospheric short- and long-wave radiation. These together with aerosol direct radiative effects in turn affect circulation and likely change cloud lifetime and precipitation. For illustration, we first show the changes of cloud properties (fraction and microphysics) and the circulations using WRF simulations of 2008 versus 1970s during which period aerosol loading increased about three times over Eastern China. The spatial characteristics of offline calculations of aerosol-radiation and cloud adjustment’ radiative effects are compared and investigated with reference to changes of surface temperature and surface energy balance of latent and sensible heat, and short- and long-wave radiation. Precipitation changes and their associated changes of cloud fraction and liquid water path and also discussed.