One of the most significant and uncertain aspects of climate change projections is the impact of aerosols on the climate system. Aerosols influence the climate indirectly by interacting with nearby clouds leading to small changes in cloud cover, thickness, and altitude, which significantly affect Earth's radiative balance. Advancements have been made in recent years on understanding the complex processes and atmospheric interactions involved when aerosols interact with surrounding clouds, but further progress has been hindered by limited observations. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine organized a workshop to discuss the usefulness of the classified observing systems in advancing understanding of cloud and aerosol interactions. Because these systems were not developed with weather and climate modeling as a primary mission objective, many participants said it is necessary for scientists to find creative ways to utilize the data. The data from these systems have the potential to be useful in advancing understanding of cloud and aerosol interactions. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

The studies in this dissertation aim at advancing our scientific understandings about physical processes involved in the aerosol-cloud-precipitation interaction and quantitatively assessing the impacts of aerosols on the cloud systems with diverse scales over the globe on the basis of the observational data analysis and various modeling studies. As recognized in the Fifth Assessment Report by the Inter-government Panel on Climate Change, the magnitude of radiative forcing by atmospheric aerosols is highly uncertain, representing the largest uncertainty in projections of future climate by anthropogenic activities. By using a newly implemented cloud microphysical scheme in the cloud-resolving model, the thesis assesses aerosol-cloud interaction for distinct weather systems, ranging from individual cumulus to mesoscale convective systems. This thesis also introduces a novel hierarchical modeling approach that solves a long outstanding mismatch between simulations by regional weather models and global climate models in the climate modeling community. More importantly, the thesis provides key scientific solutions to several challenging questions in climate science, including the global impacts of the Asian pollution. As scientists wrestle with the complexities of climate change in response to varied anthropogenic forcing, perhaps no problem is more challenging than the understanding of the impacts of atmospheric aerosols from air pollution on clouds and the global circulation.

The change in planetary albedo due to aerosol-cloud interactions (aci) during the industrial era is the leading source of uncertainty in inferring Earth's climate sensitivity to increased greenhouse gases from the historical record. Examining pristine environments such as the Southern Ocean (SO) helps us to understand the pre-industrial (PI) state and constrain radiative forcing associated with aci (RFaci). Cloud droplet number concentration (Nd) is a key aci indicator variable. Using global climate models (GCMs), this study finds that the hemispheric contrast in Nd of liquid clouds between the pristine SO and the polluted Northern Hemisphere observed in the present-day (PD) can be used as a proxy for the increase in Nd from the PI. The hemispheric difference constraint and MODIS satellite observations suggest that PI Nd may have been higher than previously thought and provide an estimate of RFaci between -1.2 and -0.6 Wm-2. Southern Ocean liquid clouds can reach Nd levels comparable to the polluted outflows of East Asia and the United States despite persistent precipitation depletion associated with mid-latitude storm systems. This high Nd in one of the most pristine regions on Earth motivates further investigation of the mechanisms driving Nd in the real world and better inclusion of the mechanisms in models. In this study, aerosol and cloud microphysical data from the 2018 Southern Ocean Cloud Radiation Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES) aircraft campaign are used to identify a novel and potentially important mechanism missing or poorly represented in models: production of new particles through synoptic uplift. The small, Aitken mode particles produced in this process dominate the free tropospheric atmosphere in the summertime SO. We find it is likely that entrainment of free tropospheric Aitken aerosols is a leading contributor to sub-cloud cloud condensation nuclei and thus may be a key control on Nd. The free tropospheric Aitken reservoir may maintain the persistently high Nd observed across the SO against precipitation depletion. Finally, our observational comparisons with nudged Community Atmosphere Model (CAM6) hindcasts highlight large aerosol number and composition discrepancies that may significantly and negatively impact the ability of current climate models to capture aci in pristine, PI environments.

We live on a dynamic Earth shaped by both natural processes and the impacts of humans on their environment. It is in our collective interest to observe and understand our planet, and to predict future behavior to the extent possible, in order to effectively manage resources, successfully respond to threats from natural and human-induced environmental change, and capitalize on the opportunities â€" social, economic, security, and more â€" that such knowledge can bring. By continuously monitoring and exploring Earth, developing a deep understanding of its evolving behavior, and characterizing the processes that shape and reshape the environment in which we live, we not only advance knowledge and basic discovery about our planet, but we further develop the foundation upon which benefits to society are built. Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space (National Academies Press, 2018) provides detailed guidance on how relevant federal agencies can ensure that the United States receives the maximum benefit from its investments in Earth observations from space, while operating within realistic cost constraints. This short booklet, designed to be accessible to the general public, provides a summary of the key ideas and recommendations from the full decadal survey report.

Mixed-Phase Clouds: Observations and Modeling presents advanced research topics on mixed-phase clouds. As the societal impacts of extreme weather and its forecasting grow, there is a continuous need to refine atmospheric observations, techniques and numerical models. Understanding the role of clouds in the atmosphere is increasingly vital for current applications, such as prediction and prevention of aircraft icing, weather modification, and the assessment of the effects of cloud phase partition in climate models. This book provides the essential information needed to address these problems with a focus on current observations, simulations and applications. Provides in-depth knowledge and simulation of mixed-phase clouds over many regions of Earth, explaining their role in weather and climate Features current research examples and case studies, including those on advanced research methods from authors with experience in both academia and the industry Discusses the latest advances in this subject area, providing the reader with access to best practices for remote sensing and numerical modeling

One of the biggest uncertainties associated with climate models and climate forcing is the treatment of aerosols and their effects on clouds. The effect of aerosols on clouds can be divided into two components: The first indirect effect is the forcing associated with increases in droplet concentrations; the second indirect effect is the forcing associated with changes in liquid water path, cloud morphology, and cloud lifetime. Both are highly uncertain. This project applied a cloud-resolving model to understand the response of clouds under a variety of conditions to changes in aerosols. These responses are categorized according to the large-scale meteorological conditions that lead to the response. Meteorological conditions were sampled from various fields, which, together with a global aerosol model determination of the change in aerosols from present day to pre-industrial conditions, was used to determine a first order estimate of the response of global cloud fields to changes in aerosols. The response of the clouds in the NCAR CAM3 GCM coupled to our global aerosol model were tested by examining whether the response is similar to that of the cloud resolving model and methods for improving the representation of clouds and cloud/aerosol interactions were examined.

The growing problem of changing environmental conditions caused by climate destabilization is well recognized as one of the defining issues of our time. The root problem is greenhouse gas emissions, and the fundamental solution is curbing those emissions. Climate geoengineering has often been considered to be a "last-ditch" response to climate change, to be used only if climate change damage should produce extreme hardship. Although the likelihood of eventually needing to resort to these efforts grows with every year of inaction on emissions control, there is a lack of information on these ways of potentially intervening in the climate system. As one of a two-book report, this volume of Climate Intervention discusses albedo modification - changing the fraction of incoming solar radiation that reaches the surface. This approach would deliberately modify the energy budget of Earth to produce a cooling designed to compensate for some of the effects of warming associated with greenhouse gas increases. The prospect of large-scale albedo modification raises political and governance issues at national and global levels, as well as ethical concerns. Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth discusses some of the social, political, and legal issues surrounding these proposed techniques. It is far easier to modify Earth's albedo than to determine whether it should be done or what the consequences might be of such an action. One serious concern is that such an action could be unilaterally undertaken by a small nation or smaller entity for its own benefit without international sanction and regardless of international consequences. Transparency in discussing this subject is critical. In the spirit of that transparency, Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth was based on peer-reviewed literature and the judgments of the authoring committee; no new research was done as part of this study and all data and information used are from entirely open sources. By helping to bring light to this topic area, this book will help leaders to be far more knowledgeable about the consequences of albedo modification approaches before they face a decision whether or not to use them.