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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2158
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2158
30 Aug 2024
 | 30 Aug 2024

Constraining Aerosol-Cloud Adjustments by Uniting Surface Observations with a Perturbed Parameter Ensemble

August Mikkelsen, Daniel T. McCoy, Trude Eidhammer, Andrew Gettelman, Ci Song, Hamish Gordon, and Isabel L. McCoy

Abstract. Aerosol-cloud interactions (aci) are the largest source of uncertainty in inferring the magnitude of future warming consistent with the observational record. The effective radiative forcing due to aci (ERFaci) is dominated by liquid clouds and is composed of two terms: the change in cloud albedo due to redistributing liquid over a larger number of cloud droplets (Nd) and the change in cloud macrophysical properties due to changes in cloud microphysics. These terms are respectively referred to as the radiative forcing due to aci (RFaci) and aerosol-cloud adjustments. While the magnitude of RFaci is uncertain, its sign is confidently negative and results in a cooling in the historical record. In contrast, the adjustment of cloud liquid water path (LWP) to enhanced Nd and associated radiative forcing is uncertain in sign. Increased LWP in response to increased Nd is consistent with precipitation suppression while decreased LWP in response to increased Nd is consistent with enhanced evaporation from cloud top. Observational constraints of these processes are poor in part because of causal ambiguity in the relationship between Nd and LWP. To better understand this relationship, precipitation (P), Nd, and LWP surface observations from the Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) atmospheric observatory are combined with the output from a perturbed parameter ensemble (PPE) hosted in the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 (CAM6). This allows causal interpretation of observed covariability. Observations of precipitation and cloud from ENA constrain the range of possible LWP aerosol-cloud adjustments relative to the prior from the PPE by 15 %, resulting in a global value that is confidently positive (a historical cooling) ranging from 2.1 to 6.9 g/m2. It is found that observed covariability between Nd and LWP is dominated by coalescence scavenging and that this observed covariability is not strongly related to aerosol-cloud adjustments.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

25 Apr 2025
Constraining aerosol–cloud adjustments by uniting surface observations with a perturbed parameter ensemble
August Mikkelsen, Daniel T. McCoy, Trude Eidhammer, Andrew Gettelman, Ci Song, Hamish Gordon, and Isabel L. McCoy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4547–4570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4547-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4547-2025, 2025
Short summary
August Mikkelsen, Daniel T. McCoy, Trude Eidhammer, Andrew Gettelman, Ci Song, Hamish Gordon, and Isabel L. McCoy

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2158', Anonymous Referee #1, 20 Sep 2024
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', August Mikkelsen, 06 Jan 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2158', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Oct 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', August Mikkelsen, 06 Jan 2025

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2158', Anonymous Referee #1, 20 Sep 2024
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', August Mikkelsen, 06 Jan 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2158', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Oct 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', August Mikkelsen, 06 Jan 2025

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by August Mikkelsen on behalf of the Authors (17 Jan 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (29 Jan 2025) by Matthew Lebsock
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (31 Jan 2025)
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (04 Feb 2025)
ED: Publish as is (13 Feb 2025) by Matthew Lebsock
AR by August Mikkelsen on behalf of the Authors (23 Feb 2025)

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

25 Apr 2025
Constraining aerosol–cloud adjustments by uniting surface observations with a perturbed parameter ensemble
August Mikkelsen, Daniel T. McCoy, Trude Eidhammer, Andrew Gettelman, Ci Song, Hamish Gordon, and Isabel L. McCoy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4547–4570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4547-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4547-2025, 2025
Short summary
August Mikkelsen, Daniel T. McCoy, Trude Eidhammer, Andrew Gettelman, Ci Song, Hamish Gordon, and Isabel L. McCoy
August Mikkelsen, Daniel T. McCoy, Trude Eidhammer, Andrew Gettelman, Ci Song, Hamish Gordon, and Isabel L. McCoy

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Short summary
The largest uncertainty in inferring the magnitude of future warming comes from ambiguity in the strength of cooling in the historical record from aerosols. Aerosols are small liquid and solid particles that are important for cloud formation. The interactions between aerosols and clouds are complex and difficult to observe. In this study, we use surface observations of cloud and precipitation properties to constrain a climate model and interpret causality in complex aerosol-cloud interactions.
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