Bin Zhao, Kuo-Nan Liou, Yu Gu, Jonathan H Jiang, Qinbin Li, Rong Fu, Lei Huang, Xiaohong Liu, Xiangjun Shi, Hui Su, Cenlin He
Author Information
Bin Zhao: Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Kuo-Nan Liou: Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Yu Gu: Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Jonathan H Jiang: Jet propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA.
Qinbin Li: Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Rong Fu: Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Lei Huang: Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Xiaohong Liu: Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA.
Xiangjun Shi: Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA.
Hui Su: Jet propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA.
Cenlin He: Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
The interactions between aerosols and ice clouds represent one of the largest uncertainties in global radiative forcing from pre-industrial time to the present. In particular, the impact of aerosols on ice crystal effective radius ( ), which is a key parameter determining ice clouds' net radiative effect, is highly uncertain due to limited and conflicting observational evidence. Here we investigate the effects of aerosols on under different meteorological conditions using 9-year satellite observations. We find that the responses of to aerosol loadings are modulated by water vapor amount in conjunction with several other meteorological parameters. While there is a significant negative correlation between and aerosol loading in moist conditions, consistent with the "Twomey effect" for liquid clouds, a strong positive correlation between the two occurs in dry conditions. Simulations based on a cloud parcel model suggest that water vapor modulates the relative importance of different ice nucleation modes, leading to the opposite aerosol impacts between moist and dry conditions. When ice clouds are decomposed into those generated from deep convection and formed in situ, the water vapor modulation remains in effect for both ice cloud types, although the sensitivities of to aerosols differ noticeably between them due to distinct formation mechanisms. The water vapor modulation can largely explain the difference in the responses of to aerosol loadings in various seasons. A proper representation of the water vapor modulation is essential for an accurate estimate of aerosol-cloud radiative forcing produced by ice clouds.
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