TRMM observed first direct evidence of smoke from forest fires inhibiting rainfall

Rosenfeld, Daniel

doi:10.1029/1999gl006066

Cited by 755 publications

(570 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

517

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This aerosol was concentrated in a layer just above the inversion (1.3 km) and demonstrated to be entraining into the MBL from aloft. This type of combustion aerosol is very similar to those recently shown to have dramatic influence on suppressing rainfall [Rosenfeld, 1999[Rosenfeld, ,2000. This pronounced layer lies immediately above the altitudes common to California stratus (Plate lb) and could be expected to play a similar role in drizzle suppression and cloud lifetime enhancement over extended regions of Pacific.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…The largest disagreements are a model underestimate of the dust on the stairstep ascent and for the period centered around hour 24. In the first case we note that although significant dust concentrations with sizes clearly larger than 3 •tm were observed (Figure 3 [Rosenfeld, 1999[Rosenfeld, ,2000. The frequent occurrence of cross-Pacific aerosol transport events in the spring and this evidence for subsidence and entrainment through the inversion suggest that this condition is not uncommon.…”

Section: Plume Microphysics and Opticsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…More recently, satellite observations of rainfall suppression in clouds caused by combustion aerosol raise concerns over significant impacts on the hydrologic cycle [Rosenfeld, 1999[Rosenfeld, , 2000. Related effects due to the highly absorbing soot component appear to include the "burning off" of cloud tops in shallow cumulus that can result in enhanced regional heating in polluted air masses [Ackerman et al, combination of vertical profiles and short horizontal •egs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Dust and pollution transport on global scales: Aerosol measurements and model predictions

Clarke¹,

Collins²,

Rasch³

et al. 2001

J. Geophys. Res.

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Vertical profiles of aerosol and gas phase species were measured on flights near Hawaii on April 9 and 10, 1999, during NASA' s Pacific Exploratory Mission (PEM) Tropics B program. These measurements characterized aerosol microphysics, inferred chemistry, optical properties, and gases in several extensive dust and pollution plumes, also detected by satellites, which hart 1 o,ooo-gan trajectories back to sources in Asia. Size-resolved measurements indicative of aerosol sulfate, black carbon, dust, light scattering, and absorption allowed determination of their concentrations and contributions to column aerosol optical depth. A new Chemical Transport Model (CTM) that includes aerosol, meteorological fields, dynamics, gas and particle source emissions, a chemistry component (MATCH), and assimilated satellite data was used to predict aerosol and gas concentrations and the aerosol optical effects along our flight path. Flight measurements confirmed the "river-like" plume structures predicted by the CTM and showed close agreement with the predicted contributions of dust and sulfate to aerosol concentrations and optical properties for this global-scale transport path. Consistency between satellite, model and in situ assessment of aerosol optical depth was found, with noted exceptions, within •25%. Both observations and model results confirmed that this aerosol was being entrained into the marine boundary layer between Hawaii and California where it can be expected to modify the type and concentration of cloud condensation nuclei in ways that may alter properties of low-level clouds. These observations document the significance and complexity of long-range aerosol transport and highlight the potential of emerging CTM models to extend observational data and address related issues on global scales.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Plume Microphysics and Opticsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dust and pollution transport on global scales: Aerosol measurements and model predictions

Clarke¹,

Collins²,

Rasch³

et al. 2001

J. Geophys. Res.

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mega-reserves are also likely to provide a better buffer during ecological crunches, such as periodic El Niñ o droughts, which can have large effects on plant phenology, fruit production and animal survival [17]. More generally, large reserves should be less susceptible to desiccation caused by deforestation, which reduces plant evapotranspiration [18], and by the moisture-trapping effects of smoke plumes from biomass burning [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When bigger is better: the need for Amazonian mega-reserves

Laurance

2005

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…This drives a delay in rain formation and can affect the amount of surface rain (Rosenfeld, 1999(Rosenfeld, , 2000Cheng et al, 2007;Khain, 2009;Levin and Cotton, 2009;Koren et al, 2012;Hazra et al, 2013a, b;Dagan et al, 2015b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-dependent, non-monotonic response of warm convective cloud fields to changes in aerosol loading

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Large eddy simulations (LESs) with bin microphysics are used here to study cloud fields' sensitivity to changes in aerosol loading and the time evolution of this response. Similarly to the known response of a single cloud, we show that the mean field properties change in a nonmonotonic trend, with an optimum aerosol concentration for which the field reaches its maximal water mass or rain yield. This trend is a result of competition between processes that encourage cloud development versus those that suppress it. However, another layer of complexity is added when considering clouds' impact on the field's thermodynamic properties and how this is dependent on aerosol loading. Under polluted conditions, rain is suppressed and the non-precipitating clouds act to increase atmospheric instability. This results in warming of the lower part of the cloudy layer (in which there is net condensation) and cooling of the upper part (net evaporation). Evaporation at the upper part of the cloudy layer in the polluted simulations raises humidity at these levels and thus amplifies the development of the next generation of clouds (preconditioning effect). On the other hand, under clean conditions, the precipitating clouds drive net warming of the cloudy layer and net cooling of the sub-cloud layer due to rain evaporation. These two effects act to stabilize the atmospheric boundary layer with time (consumption of the instability). The evolution of the field's thermodynamic properties affects the cloud properties in return, as shown by the migration of the optimal aerosol concentration toward higher values.

show abstract

TRMM observed first direct evidence of smoke from forest fires inhibiting rainfall

Cited by 755 publications

References 12 publications

Dust and pollution transport on global scales: Aerosol measurements and model predictions

Dust and pollution transport on global scales: Aerosol measurements and model predictions

When bigger is better: the need for Amazonian mega-reserves

Time-dependent, non-monotonic response of warm convective cloud fields to changes in aerosol loading

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About