Understanding aerosol–cloud interactions in tropical anvil clouds with cloud-resolving simulations
| Title: |
Understanding aerosol–cloud interactions in tropical anvil clouds with cloud-resolving simulations |
| DNr: |
NAISS 2026/4-183 |
| Project Type: |
NAISS Small |
| Principal Investigator: |
Ci Song <ci.song@misu.su.se> |
| Affiliation: |
Stockholms universitet |
| Duration: |
2026-01-29 – 2027-02-01 |
| Classification: |
10508 |
| Keywords: |
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Abstract
Anvil clouds form when ice particles detrained from deep convective updrafts spread horizontally near the tropopause, covering areas far larger than their parent convective cores and thereby exerting a strong influence on the tropical cloud radiative effect. Atmospheric aerosol particles can modify anvil cloud development through their impacts on cloud microphysical and macrophysical processes, as well as the associated latent and radiative heating. As a result, aerosol effects on anvil clouds may have important implications for Earth’s radiation budget and radiative forcing. However, quantifying aerosol impacts on anvil clouds remains challenging due to limited understanding of the processes that control anvil cloud extent, persistence, and their coupling to convective dynamics.
In this project, we will use the cloud-resolving System for Atmospheric Modeling (SAM) to investigate how aerosol perturbations affect anvil cloud evolution. A series of warm-bubble–triggered isolated convection simulations will be performed to capture the full life cycle of anvil clouds. Aerosol perturbations will be represented through prescribed cloud droplet number concentrations (Nd), following the RCEMIP aerosol–cloud interaction protocol (Dagan et al., 2025). To quantify anvil evolution, we will apply a passive tracer diagnostic that approximates cloud age after detrainment, enabling examination of cloud microphysical, macrophysical, and radiative properties as a function of time since convective origin (Gasparini et al., 2025). The results will provide new insight into how aerosol pollution influences anvil cloud evolution and lifetime, with direct implications for the representation of aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions in climate models.
