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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-366
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-366
09 Feb 2024
 | 09 Feb 2024

Present-day correlations insufficient to constrain cloud albedo change by anthropogenic aerosols in E3SM v2

Naser Mahfouz, Johannes Mülmenstädt, and Susannah Burrows

Abstract. Cloud albedo susceptibility to droplet number perturbation remains a source of uncertainty in understanding aerosol– cloud interactions, and thus climate states both past and present. Through E3SM v2 experiments, we probe the effects of competing parameterized processes on cloud albedo susceptibility of low-lying marine stratocumulus in the Northeast Pacific. In present-day conditions, we find that increasing precipitation suppression by aerosols increases cloud albedo susceptibility, whereas increasing cloud sedimentation decreases it. By constructing a hypothetical model configuration exhibiting negative susceptibility under all conditions, we conclude that cloud albedo change due to aerosol perturbation cannot be constrained by present-day co-variabilities in E3SM v2. As such, our null result herein challenges the assumption that present-day climate observations are sufficient to constrain past states, at least in the context of cloud albedo changes to aerosol perturbation.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

25 Jun 2024
Present-day correlations are insufficient to predict cloud albedo change by anthropogenic aerosols in E3SM v2
Naser Mahfouz, Johannes Mülmenstädt, and Susannah Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7253–7260, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7253-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7253-2024, 2024
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

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Climate models are our primary tool to probe past, present, and future climate states unlike the...
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