Preconditioning, aerosols, and radiation control the temperature of glaciation in Amazonian clouds
Abstract Glaciation in clouds is a fundamental phenomenon in determining Earth’s radiation fluxes, sensible and latent heat budgets in the atmosphere, the water cycle, cloud development and lifetime. Nevertheless, the main mechanisms that govern the temperature of glaciation in clouds have not been...
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Published in | Communications earth & environment Vol. 2; no. 1; pp. 1 - 7 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group
01.12.2021
Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Abstract
Glaciation in clouds is a fundamental phenomenon in determining Earth’s radiation fluxes, sensible and latent heat budgets in the atmosphere, the water cycle, cloud development and lifetime. Nevertheless, the main mechanisms that govern the temperature of glaciation in clouds have not been fully identified. Here we present an analysis of 15 years (2000-2014) of satellite, sunphotometer, and reanalysis datasets over the Amazon. We find that the temperature of glaciation in convective clouds is controlled by preconditioning dynamics, natural and anthropic aerosols, and radiation. In a moist atmospheric column, prone to deep convection, increasing the amount of aerosols leads to a delay in the onset of glaciation, reducing the glaciation temperature. For a dry column, radiative extinction by biomass burning smoke leads to atmospheric stabilization and an increase in the glaciation temperature. Our results offer observational benchmarks that can help a more precise description of glaciation in convective cloud models. |
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ISSN: | 2662-4435 2662-4435 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s43247-021-00250-3 |