Date of Award

1-1-2018

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (ii, xvi, 117 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Wei-Chyung Wang

Committee Members

Robert G Fovell, Qilong Min, Liming Zhou

Keywords

aerosol-climate interaction, cloud adjustment effect, eastern China, Atmospheric aerosols, Aerosols, Clouds, Cloud physics, Cloud forecasting, Weather forecasting, Climatic changes

Subject Categories

Atmospheric Sciences

Abstract

Aerosol climate effects consist of the initial forcing of atmospheric radiation perturbation through both the direct radiative effect and the modulation of radiatively-important cloud microphysics, and the subsequent changes in meteorology that also affect cloud macro- and micro-physics. The aerosol-induced cloud adjustment therefore involves many couplings and interactions, and its quantitative evaluation requires the use of model simulations. This study uses WRF model simulated changes in clouds and meteorology due to anthropogenic aerosol increases (versus 1970s) for 2002−2008 summers over the eastern China to address two relevant issues: direct radiative vs. cloud adjustment effects, and their roles in affecting surface climate. The first issue is addressed by comparing offline calculated radiation perturbations by aerosol-radiation (AR) and aerosol-cloud-radiation (ACR) interactions, and the second by analyzing the surface energy balance, temperature and precipitation.

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