The 50 most-cited articles in Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 2017

Abstract New particle formation has been estimated to produce around half of cloud‐forming particles in the present‐day atmosphere, via gas‐to‐particle conversion. Here we assess the importance of new particle formation (NPF) for both the present‐day and the preindustrial atmospheres. We use a global aerosol model with parametrizations of NPF from previously published CLOUD chamber experiments involving sulfuric acid, ammonia, organic molecules, and ions. We find that NPF produces around 67% of cloud condensation nuclei at 0.2% supersaturation (CCN0.2%) at the level of low clouds in the preindustrial atmosphere (estimated uncertainty range 45–84%) and 54% in the present day (estimated uncertainty range 38–66%). Concerning causes, we find that the importance of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in NPF and CCN formation is greater than previously thought. Removing BVOCs and hence all secondary organic aerosol from our model reduces low‐cloud‐level CCN concentrations at 0.2% supersaturation by 26% in the present‐day atmosphere and 41% in the preindustrial. Around three…

Abstract The objective of this study is to evaluate two satellite rainfall products Global Precipitation Measurement Integrated MultisatellitE Retrievals and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission 3B42V7 (GPM IMERG and TRMM 3B42V7) in southern Tibetan Plateau region, with special focus on the dependence of products' performance on topography and rainfall intensity. Over 500 in situ rain gauges constitute an unprecedentedly dense rain gauge network over this region and provide an exceptional resource for ground validation of satellite rainfall estimates. Our evaluation centers on the rainy season from May to October in 2014. Results indicate that (1) GPM product outperforms TRMM at all spatial scales and elevation ranges in detecting daily rainfall accumulation; (2) rainfall accumulation over the entire rainy season is negatively correlated with mean elevation for rain gauges and the two satellite rainfall products, while the performance of TRMM also significantly correlates with topographic variations; (3) in terms of the ability of rainfall detection, false alarming ratio of TRMM…

Abstract Via air temperature increases and relative humidity changes, climate change will modify vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which is an important determinant of water vapor and CO 2 exchange between the land surface and atmosphere. VPD is the difference between the water vapor the air can hold at saturation ( e s ) and the actual amount of water vapor ( e a ). Here we assess changes in VPD, e s , and e a in the United States (U.S.) for the recent past (1979–2013) and the future (2065–2099) using gridded, observed climate data and output from general circulation models. Historically, VPD has increased for all seasons, driven by increases in e s and declines in e a . The spring, summer, and fall seasons exhibited the largest areal extent of significant increases in VPD, which was largely concentrated in the western and southern portions of the U.S. The changes in VPD stemmed from recent air temperature increases and relative humidity decreases. Projections indicate similar, amplified patterns into the future. For the summer, the general circulation model ensemble median showed a…

Abstract Pointwise GPS measurements of tropospheric zenith total delay can be interpolated to provide high‐resolution water vapor maps which may be used for correcting synthetic aperture radar images, for numeral weather prediction, and for correcting Network Real‐time Kinematic GPS observations. Several previous studies have addressed the importance of the elevation dependency of water vapor, but it is often a challenge to separate elevation‐dependent tropospheric delays from turbulent components. In this paper, we present an iterative tropospheric decomposition interpolation model that decouples the elevation and turbulent tropospheric delay components. For a 150 km × 150 km California study region, we estimate real‐time mode zenith total delays at 41 GPS stations over 1 year by using the precise point positioning technique and demonstrate that the decoupled interpolation model generates improved high‐resolution tropospheric delay maps compared with previous tropospheric turbulence‐ and elevation‐dependent models. Cross validation of the GPS zenith total delays yields an RMS error…

Abstract The radiative impact of clouds strongly depends on their partitioning between liquid and ice phases. Until recently, however, it has been challenging to unambiguously discriminate cloud phase in a number of important global regimes. CloudSat and CALIPSO supply vertically resolved measurements necessary to identify clouds composed of both liquid and ice that are not easily detected using conventional passive sensors. The capability of these active sensors to discriminate cloud phase has been incorporated into the fifth generation of CloudSat's 2B‐FLXHR‐LIDAR algorithm. Comparisons with Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System fluxes at the top of atmosphere reveal that an improved representation of cloud phase leads to better agreement compared to earlier versions of the algorithm. The RMS differences in annual mean outgoing longwave (LW) radiation gridded at 2.5° resolution are 4.9 W m−2, while RMS differences in outgoing shortwave (SW) are slightly larger at 8.9 W m−2 due to the larger diurnal range of solar insolation. This study documents the relative contributions…

Abstract Irrigation is an essential practice for sustaining global food production and many regional economies. Emerging scientific evidence indicates that irrigation substantially affects mean climate conditions in different regions of the world. Yet how this practice influences climate extremes is currently unknown. Here we use ensemble simulations with the Community Earth System Model to assess the impacts of irrigation on climate extremes. An evaluation of the model performance reveals that irrigation has a small yet overall beneficial effect on the representation of present‐day near‐surface climate. While the influence of irrigation on annual mean temperatures is limited, we find a large impact on temperature extremes, with a particularly strong cooling during the hottest day of the year (−0.78 K averaged over irrigated land). The strong influence on extremes stems from the timing of irrigation and its influence on land‐atmosphere coupling strength. Together these effects result in asymmetric temperature responses, with a more pronounced cooling during hot and/or dry periods.…

Abstract Determining effective strategies for mitigating surface ozone (O3) pollution requires knowledge of the relative ambient concentrations of its precursors, NOx, and VOCs. The space‐based tropospheric column ratio of formaldehyde to NO2 (FNR) has been used as an indicator to identify NOx‐limited versus NOx‐saturated O3 formation regimes. Quantitative use of this indicator ratio is subject to three major uncertainties: (1) the split between NOx‐limited and NOx‐saturated conditions may shift in space and time, (2) the ratio of the vertically integrated column may not represent the near‐surface environment, and (3) satellite products contain errors. We use the GEOS‐Chem global chemical transport model to evaluate the quantitative utility of FNR observed from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument over three northern midlatitude source regions. We find that FNR in the model surface layer is a robust predictor of the simulated near‐surface O3 production regime. Extending this surface‐based predictor to a column‐based FNR requires accounting for differences in the HCHO and NO2 vertical…

Abstract Wildfires emit significant amounts of pollutants that degrade air quality. Plumes from three wildfires in the western U.S. were measured from aircraft during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) and the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP), both in summer 2013. This study reports an extensive set of emission factors (EFs) for over 80 gases and 5 components of submicron particulate matter (PM1) from these temperate wildfires. These include rarely, or never before, measured oxygenated volatile organic compounds and multifunctional organic nitrates. The observed EFs are compared with previous measurements of temperate wildfires, boreal forest fires, and temperate prescribed fires. The wildfires emitted high amounts of PM1(with organic aerosol (OA) dominating the mass) with an average EF that is more than 2 times the EFs for prescribed fires. The measured EFs were used to estimate the annual wildfire emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, total nonmethane organic compounds, and PM1from 11…

Abstract We describe the first simulations of stratospheric sulfate aerosol geoengineering using multiple injection locations to meet multiple simultaneous surface temperature objectives. Simulations were performed using CESM1(WACCM), a coupled atmosphere‐ocean general circulation model with fully interactive stratospheric chemistry, dynamics (including an internally generated quasi‐biennial oscillation), and a sophisticated treatment of sulfate aerosol formation, microphysical growth, and deposition. The objectives are defined as maintaining three temperature features at their 2020 levels against a background of the RCP8.5 scenario over the period 2020–2099. These objectives are met using a feedback mechanism in which the rate of sulfur dioxide injection at each of the four locations is adjusted independently every year of simulation. Even in the presence of uncertainties, nonlinearities, and variability, the objectives are met, predominantly by SO 2 injection at 30°N and 30°S. By the last year of simulation, the feedback algorithm calls for a total injection rate of 51 Tg SO 2 per…

Abstract The arid and semiarid northwest China has experienced a significant wetting trend in summer during 1961–2010, but the reasons remain ambiguous. In this study, moisture budget analysis is employed to quantify the contributions of different factors to the wetting trend. The results show that more than 50% of the increasing precipitation is balanced by the increased evaporation. The convergence of moisture flux (the sum of horizontal moisture advection and wind convergence terms) has a significant positive contribution to the wetting trend. The increased net surface radiation, which is contributed by the increased downward longwave radiation, supplies more energy to favor the evaporation process of vaporization. The moisture flux convergence is further separated into thermodynamic component in association with changes in specific humidity and dynamic component due to changes in atmospheric circulation. The thermodynamic contribution to the wetting trend is induced by the increased specific humidity which is associated with enhanced evaporation. The dynamic contribution is…

Abstract We present new insights into the evolution and interactions of stratospheric aerosol using an updated version of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). Improved horizontal resolution, dynamics, and chemistry now produce an internally generated quasi‐biennial oscillation and significant improvements to stratospheric temperatures and ozone compared to observations. We present a validation of WACCM column ozone and climate calculations against observations. The prognostic treatment of stratospheric sulfate aerosols accurately represents the evolution of stratospheric aerosol optical depth and perturbations to solar and longwave radiation following the June 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. We confirm the inclusion of interactive OH chemistry as an important factor in the formation and initial distribution of aerosol following large inputs of sulfur dioxide (SO2) to the stratosphere. We calculate that depletion of OH levels within the dense SO2 cloud in the first weeks following the Pinatubo eruption significantly prolonged the average initial e‐folding decay time…

Abstract Projections of precipitation and its extremes over the European continent are analyzed in an extensive multimodel ensemble of 12 and 50 km resolution EURO‐CORDEX Regional Climate Models (RCMs) forced by RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 (Representative Concentration Pathway) aerosol and greenhouse gas emission scenarios. A systematic intercomparison with ENSEMBLES RCMs is carried out, such that in total information is provided for an unprecedentedly large data set of 100 RCM simulations. An evaluation finds very reasonable skill for the EURO‐CORDEX models in simulating temporal and geographical variations of (mean and heavy) precipitation at both horizontal resolutions. Heavy and extreme precipitation events are projected to intensify across most of Europe throughout the whole year. All considered models agree on a distinct intensification of extremes by often more than +20% in winter and fall and over central and northern Europe. A reduction of rainy days and mean precipitation in summer is simulated by a large majority of models in the Mediterranean area, but intermodel spread…

Abstract Based on the daily maximum temperatures (Tmax) from 587 surface observation stations in China during 1959–2013, heat waves are detected using both absolute and relative definitions. The spatiotemporal variations of heat wave occurrence/duration/amplitude are compared between the two definitions. Considering the significant differences in regional climatology, relative threshold is more meaningful to detect the local extremes. By utilizing the empirical orthogonal function, the integral index heat wave total intensity is decomposed into three dominant modes: interdecadal (ID), interannual‐tripole (IA‐TR), and interannual‐dipole (IA‐DP) modes. The ID mode shows uniform anomalies over the whole China, with the maximum in north, and its corresponding time series depict notable interdecadal variations with a turning point around mid‐1990s. The IA‐DP mode exhibits opposite‐signed anomalies over north and south China. The IA‐TR mode shows an anomalous tripole pattern with negative anomalies over central China and positive anomalies over north and south China in its positive phase.…

Abstract Satellite‐based measurements of the column CH 2 O/NO 2 ratio have previously been used to estimate near‐surface ozone (O 3 ) sensitivity (i.e., NO x or VOC limited), and the forthcoming launch of air quality‐focused geostationary satellites provides a catalyst for reevaluating the ability of satellite‐measured CH 2 O/NO 2 to be used in this manner. In this study, we use a 0‐D photochemical box model to evaluate O 3 sensitivity and find that the relative rate of radical termination from radical‐radical interactions to radical‐NO x interactions (referred to as LRO x /LNO x ) provides a good indicator of maximum O 3 production along NO x ridgelines. Using airborne measurements from NASA's Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relative to Air Quality (DISCOVER‐AQ) deployments in Colorado, Maryland, and Houston, we show that in situ measurements of CH 2 O/NO 2 can be used to indicate O 3 sensitivity, but there is an important “transition/ambiguous” range whereby CH 2 O/NO 2 fails to categorize O 3 sensitivity, and the range…

Abstract Light‐absorbing impurities (LAIs) in snow of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) and their climatic impacts are of interest not only because this region borders areas affected by the South Asian atmospheric brown clouds but also because the seasonal snow and glacier melt from this region form important headwaters of large rivers. In this study, we collected surface snow and snowpit samples from four glaciers in the southeastern TP in June 2015 to investigate the comprehensive observational data set of LAIs. Results showed that the LAI concentrations were much higher in the aged snow and granular ice than in the fresh snow and snowpits due to postdepositional processes. Impurity concentrations fluctuated across snowpits, with maximum LAI concentrations frequently occurring toward the bottom of snowpits. Based on the SNow ICe Aerosol Radiative model, the albedo simulation indicated that black carbon and dust account for approximately 20% of the albedo reduction relative to clean snow. The radiative forcing caused by black carbon and dust deposition on the glaciers were…

Abstract Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) filter samples were collected in July and October 2014 and January and April 2015 in urban Shanghai and analyzed using ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap mass spectrometry. The measured chromatogram‐mass spectra were processed by a nontarget screening approach to identify significant signals. In total, 810–1,510 chemical formulas of organic compounds in the negative polarity (negative electrospray ionization (ESI−)) and 860–1,790 in the positive polarity (ESI+), respectively, were determined. The chemical characteristics of organic aerosols (OAs) in Shanghai varied among different months and between daytime and nighttime. In the January samples, organics were generally richer in terms of both number and abundance, whereas those in the July samples were far lower. More CHO− (compounds containing only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and detected in ESI−) and CHOS− (sulfur‐containing organics) were found in the daytime samples, suggesting a photochemical source, whereas CHONS− (nitrogen‐ and sulfur‐containing organics)…

Abstract We investigate the climate response to increased concentrations of black carbon (BC), as part of the Precipitation Driver Response Model Intercomparison Project (PDRMIP). A tenfold increase in BC is simulated by nine global coupled‐climate models, producing a model median effective radiative forcing of 0.82 (ranging from 0.41 to 2.91) W m −2 , and a warming of 0.67 (0.16 to 1.66) K globally and 1.24 (0.26 to 4.31) K in the Arctic. A strong positive instantaneous radiative forcing (median of 2.10 W m −2 based on five of the models) is countered by negative rapid adjustments (−0.64 W m −2 for the same five models), which dampen the total surface temperature signal. Unlike other drivers of climate change, the response of temperature and cloud profiles to the BC forcing is dominated by rapid adjustments. Low‐level cloud amounts increase for all models, while higher‐level clouds are diminished. The rapid temperature response is particularly strong above 400 hPa, where increased atmospheric stabilization and reduced cloud cover contrast the response pattern of the other drivers.…

Abstract The relationship between satellite land surface temperature (LST) and ground‐based observations of 2 m air temperature ( T 2m ) is characterized in space and time using >17 years of data. The analysis uses a new monthly LST climate data record (CDR) based on the Along‐Track Scanning Radiometer series, which has been produced within the European Space Agency GlobTemperature project (http://www.globtemperature.info/). Global LST‐ T 2m differences are analyzed with respect to location, land cover, vegetation fraction, and elevation, all of which are found to be important influencing factors. LST night (~10 P.M. local solar time, clear‐sky only) is found to be closely coupled with minimum T 2m ( T min , all‐sky) and the two temperatures generally consistent to within ±5°C (global median LST night ‐ T min = 1.8°C, interquartile range = 3.8°C). The LST day (~10 A.M. local solar time, clear‐sky only)‐maximum T 2m ( T max , all‐sky) variability is higher (global median LST day ‐ T max = −0.1°C, interquartile range = 8.1°C) because LST is strongly influenced by insolation and…

Abstract Accurate estimates of fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO 2 ) emissions are a critical component of local, regional, and global climate agreements. Current global inventories of FFCO 2 emissions do not directly quantify emissions at local scales; instead, spatial proxies like population density, nighttime lights, and power plant databases are used to downscale emissions from national totals. We have developed a high‐resolution (hourly, 1 km 2 ) bottom‐up Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions System (ACES) for FFCO 2 , based on local activity data for the year 2011 across the northeastern U.S. We compare ACES with three widely used global inventories, finding significant differences at regional (20%) and city scales (50–250%). At a spatial resolution of 0.1°, inventories differ by over 100% for half of the grid cells in the domain, with the largest differences in urban areas and oil and gas production regions. Given recent U.S. federal policy pull backs regarding greenhouse gas emissions reductions, inventories like ACES are crucial for U.S. actions, as the impetus for climate…

Abstract Two soil moisture and temperature monitoring networks were established in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) during recent years. One is located in a semihumid area (Naqu) of central TP and consists of 56 soil moisture and temperature measurement (SMTM) stations, the other is located in a semiarid area (Pali) of southern TP and consists of 21 SMTM stations. In this study, the station data are used to evaluate soil moisture retrievals from three microwave satellites, i.e., the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) of NASA, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) of European Space Agency, and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It is found that the SMAP retrievals tend to underestimate soil moisture in the two TP networks, mainly due to the negative biases in the effective soil temperature that is derived from a climate model. However, the SMAP product well captures the amplitude and temporal variation of the soil moisture. The SMOS product performs well in Naqu network with acceptable error metrics but fails to capture the…

Abstract An intercomparison study of a midlatitude mesoscale squall line is performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at 1 km horizontal grid spacing with eight different cloud microphysics schemes to investigate processes that contribute to the large variability in simulated cloud and precipitation properties. All simulations tend to produce a wider area of high radar reflectivity (Ze > 45 dBZ) than observed but a much narrower stratiform area. The magnitude of the virtual potential temperature drop associated with the gust front passage is similar in simulations and observations, while the pressure rise and peak wind speed are smaller than observed, possibly suggesting that simulated cold pools are shallower than observed. Most of the microphysics schemes overestimate vertical velocity and Ze in convective updrafts as compared with observational retrievals. Simulated precipitation rates and updraft velocities have significant variability across the eight schemes, even in this strongly dynamically driven system. Differences in simulated updraft velocity…

Abstract Snowfall is a critical part of the hydrological system in high‐altitude regions and strongly impacted by climate change. This study uses a threshold temperature method to estimate spatial and temporal variations of snowfall at 71 stations across the Tibetan Plateau from 1960 to 2014. Regional air temperature and precipitation have increased by 0.039°C/yr, and 1.43 mm/yr, respectively. While warming rates have been fairly uniform across the plateau, spatial variations in snowfall trends are large, with decreases in the eastern and northeastern areas but increases at higher elevations in the center and west. Region‐wide snowfall increased during 1961–1990 and 1971–2000 but decreased in 1981–2010 and 1991–2014. Wintertime snowfall has increased, but summer snowfall has decreased. These divergent trends can be explained because maximum snowfall is recorded at temperatures between 1 and 2°C. Above/below this threshold snowfall usually decreases/increases with increased warming. Although maximum snowfall temperature is a key factor to understand future snowfall changes,…

Abstract Accurate simulation of energy, water, and carbon fluxes exchanging between the land surface and the atmosphere is beneficial for improving terrestrial ecohydrological and climate predictions. We systematically assessed the Noah land surface model (LSM) with mutiparameterization options (Noah‐MP) in simulating these fluxes and associated variations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) and snow cover fraction (SCF) against various reference products over 18 United States Geological Survey two‐digital hydrological unit code regions of the continental United States (CONUS). In general, Noah‐MP captures better the observed seasonal and interregional variability of net radiation, SCF, and runoff than other variables. With a dynamic vegetation model, it overestimates gross primary productivity by 40% and evapotranspiration (ET) by 22% over the whole CONUS domain; however, with a prescribed climatology of leaf area index, it greatly improves ET simulation with relative bias dropping to 4%. It accurately simulates regional TWS dynamics in most regions except those with large lakes or…

Abstract By injecting different amounts of SO 2 at multiple different latitudes, the spatial pattern of aerosol optical depth (AOD) can be partially controlled. This leads to the ability to influence the climate response to geoengineering with stratospheric aerosols, providing the potential for design. We use simulations from the fully coupled whole‐atmosphere chemistry climate model CESM1(WACCM) to demonstrate that by appropriately combining injection at just four different locations, 30°S, 15°S, 15°N, and 30°N, then three spatial degrees of freedom of AOD can be achieved: an approximately spatially uniform AOD distribution, the relative difference in AOD between Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and the relative AOD in high versus low latitudes. For forcing levels that yield 1–2°C cooling, the AOD and surface temperature response are sufficiently linear in this model so that the response to different combinations of injection at different latitudes can be estimated from single‐latitude injection simulations; nonlinearities associated with both aerosol growth and changes to…

Abstract Convection‐resolving models allow to explicitly resolve deep convection at horizontal grid spacings of O(1 km). On current supercomputers, refining the grid spacing to the kilometer scale is computationally still extremely demanding, and therefore, climate simulations at this resolution have so far largely been limited to subcontinental computational domains. However, new supercomputers that mix conventional multicore CPUs and accelerators possess properties beneficial for climate codes. Exploiting these capabilities allows expansion of the size of the computational domains to continental scales. Here we present such a convection‐resolving climate simulation, using a version of the COSMO model, capable of exploiting GPU accelerators. The simulation has a grid spacing of 2.2 km, 1536 × 1536 × 60 grid points, covers the period 1999–2008, and is driven by the ERA‐Interim reanalysis. An assessment of the 10‐year‐long simulation is conducted using a wide range of data sets, including several rain gauge networks, energy balance stations, and a remotely sensed lightning data set.…

Abstract Accurate estimation of precipitation from satellites at high spatiotemporal scales over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) remains a challenge. In this study, we proposed a general framework for blending multiple satellite precipitation data using the dynamic Bayesian model averaging (BMA) algorithm. The blended experiment was performed at a daily 0.25° grid scale for 2007–2012 among Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42RT and 3B42V7, Climate Prediction Center MORPHing technique (CMORPH), and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks‐Climate Data Record (PERSIANN‐CDR). First, the BMA weights were optimized using the expectation‐maximization (EM) method for each member on each day at 200 calibrated sites and then interpolated to the entire plateau using the ordinary kriging (OK) approach. Thus, the merging data were produced by weighted sums of the individuals over the plateau. The dynamic BMA approach showed better performance with a smaller root‐mean‐square error (RMSE) of 6.77…

Abstract On 4 July 2014, during the Deep Propagating Gravity Wave Experiment (DEEPWAVE), strong low‐level horizontal winds of up to 35 m s−1 over the Southern Alps, New Zealand, caused the excitation of gravity waves having the largest vertical energy fluxes of the whole campaign (38 W m−2). At the same time, large‐amplitude mesospheric gravity waves were detected by the Temperature Lidar for Middle Atmospheric Research (TELMA) located at Lauder (45.0°S, 169.7°E), New Zealand. The coincidence of these two events leads to the question of whether the mesospheric gravity waves were generated by the strong tropospheric forcing. To answer this, an extensive data set is analyzed, comprising TELMA, in situ aircraft measurements, radiosondes, wind lidar measurements aboard the DLR Falcon as well as Rayleigh lidar and advanced mesospheric temperature mapper measurements aboard the National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream V. These measurements are further complemented by limited area simulations using a numerical weather prediction model. This unique…

Abstract Injection of SO 2 into the stratosphere has been proposed as a method to, in part, counteract anthropogenic climate change. So far, most studies investigated injections at the equator or in a region in the tropics. Here we use Community Earth System Model version 1 Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (CESM1(WACCM)) to explore the impact of continuous single grid point SO 2 injections at seven different latitudes and two altitudes in the stratosphere on aerosol distribution and climate. For each of the 14 locations, 3 different constant SO 2 emission rates were tested to identify linearity in aerosol burden, aerosol optical depth, and climate effects. We found that injections at 15°N and 15°S and at 25 km altitude have equal or greater effect on radiation and surface temperature than injections at the equator. Nonequatorial injections transport SO 2 and sulfate aerosols more efficiently into middle and high latitudes and result in particles of smaller effective radius and larger aerosol burden in middle and high latitudes. Injections at 15°S produce the largest increase…

Abstract The dynamics of permafrost (including the permafrost thermal state and active layer thicknesses (ALT)) across the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) have not been well understood on a large scale. Here we simulate the ALT and permafrost thermal state using the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Lab version 2 (GIPL2) model across the QTP. Based on the single‐point simulations, the model is upscaled to the entire QTP. The upscaled model is validated with five investigated regions (IRs), including Wenquan (WQIR), Gaize (GZIR), Aerjin (AEJIR), Xikunlun (XKLIR), and Qinghai‐Tibetan Highway (G109IR). The results show that the modified GIPL2 model improves the accuracy of the permafrost thermal state simulations. Due to our simulated results on the QTP, the average ALT is of 2.30 m (2.21–2.40 m). The ALT decreases with an increase in the altitude and decreases from the southeast to the northwest. The ALT is thin in the central QTP, but it is thick in the high‐elevation mountain areas and some areas surrounding glaciers and lakes. The largest ALT is found in the border areas between…

Abstract Electrochemical concentration cell ozonesonde measurements are an important source of highly resolved vertical profiles of ozone (O 3 ) with long‐term data records for deriving O 3 trends, model development, satellite validation, and air quality studies. Ozonesonde stations employ a range of operational and data processing procedures, metadata reporting, and instrument changes that have resulted in inhomogeneities within individual station data records. A major milestone is the first reprocessing of seven Southern Hemisphere ADditional OZonesondes (SHADOZ) station ozonesonde records to account for errors and biases in operating/processing procedures. Ascension Island, Hanoi, Irene, Kuala Lumpur, La Réunion, Natal, and Watukosek station records all show an overall increase in O 3 after reprocessing. Watukosek shows the largest increase of 9.0 ± 2.1 Dobson Units (DU) in total column O 3 ; Irene and Hanoi show a 5.5 ± 2.5 DU increase, while remaining sites show statistically insignificant enhancements. Negligible to modest O 3 enhancements are observed after reprocessing in…

Abstract This study compared the diurnal and seasonal cycles of atmospheric and surface urban heat islands (UHIs) based on hourly air temperatures (Ta) collected at 65 out of 262 stations in Beijing and land surface temperature (Ts) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer in the years 2013–2014. We found that the nighttime atmospheric and surface UHIs referenced to rural cropland stations exhibited significant seasonal cycles, with the highest in winter. However, the seasonal variations in the nighttime UHIs referenced to mountainous forest stations were negligible, because mountainous forests have a higher nighttime Ts in winter and a lower nighttime Ta in summer than rural croplands. Daytime surface UHIs showed strong seasonal cycles, with the highest in summer. The daytime atmospheric UHIs exhibited a similar but less seasonal cycle under clear‐sky conditions, which was not apparent under cloudy‐sky conditions. Atmospheric UHIs in urban parks were higher in daytime. Nighttime atmospheric UHIs are influenced by energy stored in urban materials during daytime and…

Abstract The radiative effects of biomass‐burning aerosols on regional and global scales can be substantial. Accurate modeling of the radiative effects of smoke aerosols requires wavelength‐dependent measurements and parameterizations of their optical properties in the UV and visible spectral ranges along with improved description of their chemical composition. To address this issue, we used a recently developed approach to retrieve the time‐ and spectral‐dependent optical properties of ambient biomass‐burning aerosols from 300 to 650 nm wavelengths during a regional nighttime bonfire festival in Israel. During the biomass burning event, the overall absorption at 400 nm increased by about 2 orders of magnitude, changing the single scattering albedo from a background level of 0.95 to 0.7. Based on the new retrieval method, we provide parameterizations of the wavelength‐dependent effective complex refractive index from 350 to 650 nm for freshly emitted and slightly aged biomass‐burning aerosols. In addition, PM 2.5 filter samples were collected for detailed offline chemical analysis…

The Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite, launched in late 2011, carries the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and several other instruments. VIIRS has similar characteristics to prior satellite sensors used for aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval, allowing the continuation of space-based aerosol data records. The Deep Blue algorithm has previously been applied to retrieve AOD from Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) measurements over land. The SeaWiFS Deep Blue data set also included a SeaWiFS Ocean Aerosol Retrieval (SOAR) algorithm to cover water surfaces. As part of NASA's VIIRS data processing, Deep Blue is being applied to VIIRS data over land, and SOAR has been adapted from SeaWiFS to VIIRS for use over water surfaces. This study describes SOAR as applied in version 1 of NASA's S-NPP VIIRS Deep Blue data product suite. Several advances have been made since the SeaWiFS application, as well as changes to make use of the broader spectral range of VIIRS. A preliminary…

Abstract The use of different bias‐correction methods and global retrospective meteorological forcing data sets as the reference climatology in the bias correction of general circulation model (GCM) daily data is a known source of uncertainty in projected climate extremes and their impacts. Despite their importance, limited attention has been given to these uncertainty sources. We compare 27 projected temperature and precipitation indices over 22 regions of the world (including the global land area) in the near (2021–2060) and distant future (2061–2100), calculated using four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), five GCMs, two bias‐correction methods, and three reference forcing data sets. To widen the variety of forcing data sets, we developed a new forcing data set, S14FD, and incorporated it into this study. The results show that S14FD is more accurate than other forcing data sets in representing the observed temperature and precipitation extremes in recent decades (1961–2000 and 1979–2008). The use of different bias‐correction methods and forcing data sets contributes…

Abstract Multiangle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) is a new Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) algorithm that combines time series approach and image processing to derive surface reflectance and atmosphere products, such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) and columnar water vapor (CWV). The quality assessment of MAIAC AOD at 1 km resolution is still lacking across South America. In the present study, critical assessment of MAIAC AOD 550 was performed using ground‐truth data from 19 Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites over South America. Additionally, we validated the MAIAC CWV retrievals using the same AERONET sites. In general, MAIAC AOD Terra/Aqua retrievals show high agreement with ground‐based measurements, with a correlation coefficient ( R ) close to unity ( R Terra : 0.956 and R Aqua : 0.949). MAIAC accuracy depends on the surface properties and comparisons revealed high confidence retrievals over cropland, forest, savanna, and grassland covers, where more than 2/3 (~66%) of retrievals are within the expected error (EE = ±(0.05 + 0.05 ×…

Abstract Although global variation in actual evapotranspiration has been widely investigated, it remains unclear how its two major components, transpiration and soil evaporation, are driven by climate drivers across global land surface. This paper uses a well‐validated, process‐based model that estimates transpiration and soil evaporation, and for the first time investigates and quantifies how the main global drivers, associated to vegetation process and the water and energy cycle, drive the spatiotemporal variation of the two components. The results show that transpiration and soil evaporation dominate the variance of actual evapotranspiration in wet and dry regions, respectively. Dry southern hemisphere from 13°S to 27°S is highlighted since it contributes to 21% global soil evaporation variance, with only 11% global land area. In wet regions, particularly in the humid tropics, there are strong correlations between transpiration, actual evapotranspiration, and potential evapotranspiration, with precipitation playing a relatively minor role, and available radiative energy is the…

Abstract With the highest population density in China, eastern China has an unshakable position in Chinese socioeconomic development. To understand the precipitation changes and the related mechanisms is of great significance for regional management of water resources and agricultural irrigation. In this study, the impacts of western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) on precipitation changes in eastern China and the underlying processes are investigated. The results indicate that the strength and location of WNPSH are in close relations with the changes of summer precipitation in eastern China, and their influences vary across both space and time. In particular, WNPSH exerts remarkable impacts on precipitation in June and July in Jiang‐Huai region and precipitation in June in South China such as the Pearl River basin. The interannual variations of WNPSH exhibit significant correlations with water vapor flux in East Asia, and the variations of the location and direction of the west flank of the WNPSH are well corroborated with the influences of the East Asian summer monsoon…

Abstract Arctic observations show large decreases in the concentrations of sulfate and black carbon (BC) aerosols since the early 1980s. These near‐term climate‐forcing pollutants perturb the radiative balance of the atmosphere and may have played an important role in recent Arctic warming. We use the GEOS‐Chem global chemical transport model to construct a 3‐D representation of Arctic aerosols that is generally consistent with observations and their trends from 1980 to 2010. Observations at Arctic surface sites show significant decreases in sulfate and BC mass concentrations of 2–3% per year. We find that anthropogenic aerosols yield a negative forcing over the Arctic, with an average 2005–2010 Arctic shortwave radiative forcing (RF) of −0.19 ± 0.05 W m −2 at the top of atmosphere (TOA). Anthropogenic sulfate in our study yields more strongly negative forcings over the Arctic troposphere in spring (−1.17 ± 0.10 W m −2 ) than previously reported. From 1980 to 2010, TOA negative RF by Arctic aerosol declined, from −0.67 ± 0.06 W m −2 to −0.19 ± 0.05 W m −2 , yielding a net TOA RF of…

Abstract Understanding how climate extremes are sensitive to a changing climate requires characterization of the physical mechanisms behind such events. For this purpose, the application of self‐organizing maps (SOMs) has become popular in the climate science literature. One potential drawback, though not unique to SOMs, is that the background synoptic conditions represented by SOMs may be too generalized to adequately describe the atypical conditions that can co‐occur during the extreme event being considered. In this paper, using the Australian region as a case study, we illustrate how the commonly used SOM training procedure can be readily modified to produce both more accurate patterns and patterns that would otherwise occur too rarely to be represented in the SOM. Even with these improvements, we illustrate that without careful treatment, the synoptic conditions that co‐occur during some types of extreme events (i.e., heavy rainfall and midlatitudinal cyclone occurrence days) risk being poorly represented by the SOM patterns. In contrast, we find that during Australian heat…

Abstract Black carbon (BC) in snow/ice induces enhanced snow and glacier melting. As over 60% of atmospheric BC is emitted from anthropogenic sources, which directly impacts the distribution and concentration of BC in snow/ice, it is essential to assess the origin of anthropogenic BC transported to the Tibetan Plateau (TP) where there are few direct emissions attributable to local human activities. In this study, we used a regional climate‐atmospheric chemistry model and a set of BC scenarios for quantitative evaluation of the impact of anthropogenic BC from various sources and its climate effects over the TP in 2013. The results showed that the model performed well in terms of climatology, aerosol optical properties, and near‐surface concentrations, which indicates that this modeling framework is appropriate to characterize anthropogenic BC source‐receptor relationships over the TP. The simulated surface concentration associated with the anthropogenic sources showed seasonal differences. In the monsoon season, the contribution of anthropogenic BC was less than in the nonmonsoon…

Abstract This study examines major wildfires in the western United States between 2005 and 2015 to determine which species exhibit the highest percent change in mass concentration on day of peak fire influence relative to preceding nonfire days. Forty‐one fires were examined using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) data set. Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) constituents exhibited the highest percent change increase. The sharpest enhancements were for the volatile (OC1) and semivolatile (OC2) OC fractions, suggestive of secondary organic aerosol formation during plume transport. Of the noncarbonaceous constituents, Cl, P, K, NO3−, and Zn levels exhibited the highest percent change. Dust was significantly enhanced in wildfire plumes, based on significant enhancements in fine soil components (i.e., Si, Ca, Al, Fe, and Ti) and PMcoarse (i.e., PM10–PM2.5). A case study emphasized how transport of wildfire plumes significantly impacted downwind states, with higher levels of fine soil and PMcoarse at the…

Abstract The Southern Hemisphere ADditional OZonesonde (SHADOZ) network was assembled to validate a new generation of ozone‐monitoring satellites and to better characterize the vertical structure of tropical ozone in the troposphere and stratosphere. Beginning with nine stations in 1998, more than 7,000 ozone and P ‐ T ‐ U profiles are available from 14 SHADOZ sites that have operated continuously for at least a decade. We analyze ozone profiles from the recently reprocessed SHADOZ data set that is based on adjustments for inconsistencies caused by varying ozonesonde instruments and operating techniques. First, sonde‐derived total ozone column amounts are compared to the overpasses from the Earth Probe/Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, Ozone Monitoring Instrument, and Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite satellites that cover 1998–2016. Second, characteristics of the stratospheric and tropospheric columns are examined along with ozone structure in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). We find that (1) relative to our earlier evaluations of SHADOZ data, in 2003, 2007, and 2012,…

Abstract A set of general circulation model experiments are conducted to analyze how the poleward energy transport (PET) is related to the spatial pattern of CO2 radiative forcing. The effects of forcing pattern are affirmed by comparing the conventional doubling CO2 experiment, in which the forcing pattern is inhomogeneous, to a set of forcing homogenization experiments, in which the top of atmosphere (TOA), surface, or atmospheric forcing distribution is homogenized respectively. In addition, we separate and compare the effects of CO2 forcing to various feedbacks on atmospheric and oceanic PETs, by using a set of radiative kernels that we have developed for both TOA and surface radiation fluxes. The results here show that both the enhancement of atmospheric PET and weakening of oceanic PET during global warming are directly driven by the meridional gradients of the CO2 forcing. Interestingly, the overall feedback effect is to reinforce the forcing effect, mainly through the cloud feedback in the case of atmospheric PET and the albedo feedback in the case of the oceanic PET.…

Abstract Aerosol‐cloud interactions (ACI) represent a significant source of forcing uncertainty in global climate models (GCMs). Estimates of radiative forcing due to ACI in Fifth Assessment Report range from −0.5 to −2.5 W m −2 . A portion of this uncertainty is related to the first indirect, or Twomey, effect whereby aerosols act as nuclei for cloud droplets to condense upon. At constant liquid water content this increases the number of cloud droplets (Nd) and thus increases the cloud albedo. In this study we use remote‐sensing estimates of Nd within stratocumulus regions in combination with state‐of‐the‐art aerosol reanalysis from Modern‐Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA2) to diagnose how aerosols affect Nd. As in previous studies, Nd is related to sulfate mass through a power law relationship. The slope of the log‐log relationship between Nd and SO 4 in maritime stratocumulus is found to be 0.31, which is similar to the range of 0.2–0.8 from previous in situ studies and remote‐sensing studies in the pristine Southern Ocean. Using…

Abstract Amines are bases that originate from both anthropogenic and natural sources, and they are recognized as candidates to participate in atmospheric aerosol particle formation together with sulfuric acid. Monomethylamine, dimethylamine, and trimethylamine (MMA, DMA, and TMA, respectively) have been shown to enhance sulfuric acid‐driven particle formation more efficiently than ammonia, but both theory and laboratory experiments suggest that there are differences in their enhancing potentials. However, as quantitative concentrations and thermochemical properties of different amines remain relatively uncertain, and also for computational reasons, the compounds have been treated as a single surrogate amine species in large‐scale modeling studies. In this work, the differences and similarities of MMA, DMA, and TMA are studied by simulations of molecular cluster formation from sulfuric acid, water, and each of the three amines. Quantum chemistry‐based cluster evaporation rate constants are applied in a cluster population dynamics model to yield cluster concentrations and formation…

Abstract The Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays an essential role in the global hydrological cycle. Unlike the well‐recognized surface warming, changes in precipitation over the TP and the underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous. A significant increase in the amount of precipitation over the southeastern TP in May over 1979–2014 (13.46% decade −1 of the climatology) is identified in this study, based on homogenized daily rain gauge data. Both the increased precipitation frequency and intensity have contributions. The coherent increases in soil moisture content and vegetation activities further confirm the precipitation trend, indicating a wetting and greening TP in the early summer in recent decades. The moisture budget analysis shows that this wetting trend in the past four decades is dominated by the increased water vapor convergence due to circulation changes, while increases in specific humidity play a minor role. The wetting trend over the TP in May results directly from the earlier onset of the South Asian summer monsoon (ASM) since the late 1970s associated with the phase transition…

Abstract Intense deep convection associated with the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) lofts surface pollutants to the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS), where strong winds and long chemical lifetimes allow intercontinental transport, affecting atmospheric composition around the globe. The Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), launched in 2004, makes simultaneous colocated measurements of trace gases and cloud ice water content (a proxy for deep convection) in the UTLS on a daily basis. Here we exploit the dense spatial and temporal coverage, long‐term data record, extensive measurement suite, and insensitivity to aerosol and most clouds of Aura MLS to characterize the climatological (2005–2014) composition of the ASM anticyclone throughout its annual life cycle. We use version 4 MLS data to quantify spatial and temporal variations in both tropospheric (H 2 O, CO, CH 3 Cl, CH 3 CN, CH 3 OH) and stratospheric (O 3 , HNO 3 , HCl) tracers on four potential temperature surfaces (350–410 K). Inside the mature anticyclone, all species exhibit substantial changes, not only from their…

Abstract Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a greenhouse gas with one of the highest radiative efficiencies in the atmosphere as well as an important indicator of transport time scales in the stratosphere. The current widely used estimate of the atmospheric lifetime of SF6 is 3200 years. In this study we use in situ measurements in the 2000 Arctic polar vortex that sampled air with up to 50% SF6 loss to calculate an SF6 lifetime. Comparison of these measurements with output from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM) shows that WACCM transport into the vortex is accurate and that an important SF6 loss mechanism, believed to be electron attachment, is missing in the model. Based on the measurements and estimates of the size of the vortex, we calculate an SF6 lifetime of 850 years with an uncertainty range of 580–1400 years. The amount of SF6 loss is shown to be consistent with that of HFC‐227ea, which has a lifetime of 670–780 years, adding independent support to our new SF6 lifetime estimate. Based on the revised lifetime the global warming potential of SF6 will decrease…

Abstract The primary goal of this paper is to introduce two new surface reflectivity climatologies. The two databases contain the Lambertian‐equivalent reflectivity (LER) of the Earth's surface, and they are meant to support satellite retrieval of trace gases and of cloud and aerosol information. The surface LER databases are derived from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME)‐2 and Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) instruments and can be considered as improved and extended descendants of earlier surface LER climatologies based on the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), GOME‐1, and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) instruments. The GOME‐2 surface LER database consists of 21 wavelength bands that span the wavelength range from 335 to 772 nm. The SCIAMACHY surface LER database covers the wavelength range between 335 and 1670 nm in 29 wavelength bands. The two databases are made for each month of the year, and their spatial resolution is 1° × 1°. In this paper we present the methods that are used to derive the surface LER; we…

Abstract Mesoscale cellular convective (MCC) clouds occur in large‐scale patterns over the ocean and have important radiative effects on the climate system. An examination of time‐varying meteorological conditions associated with satellite‐observed open and closed MCC clouds is conducted to illustrate the influence of large‐scale meteorological conditions. Marine cold air outbreaks (MCAO) influence the development of open MCC clouds and the transition from closed to open MCC clouds. MCC neural network classifications on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for 2008 are collocated with Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data and ERA‐Interim reanalysis to determine the radiative effects of MCC clouds and their thermodynamic environments. Closed MCC clouds are found to have much higher albedo on average than open MCC clouds for the same cloud fraction. Three meteorological control metrics are tested: sea‐air temperature difference (Δ T ), estimated inversion strength (EIS), and a MCAO index ( M ). These predictive metrics illustrate the…