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Science Rendezvous > Posters
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Can geoengineering of marine stratocumulus increase cloud reflectance and mitigate global warming?
Hailong Wang (1,2), Graham Feingold (2)
(1) CIRES, (2) NOAA ESRL CSD/CAP
Satellite imagery of marine stratocumulus regions shows the recurrence of striking mesoscale cellular structures exhibiting both closed- and open-cell cloud patterns. In visible images, open cells manifest themselves as dark cells ringed by narrow bright cloud-walls, while closed cells present themselves as bright cloudy cells with thin darker edges. Hence, the closed cells are more effective in reflecting solar radiation. The possibility of mitigation of global warming by transforming open cells to closed ones has recently been raised.
Recent observational and modeling studies have suggested that open cells appear to be initiated by precipitation in clean environments while stratocumulus clouds in polluted regions prefer the closed cellular structure. Using a high-resolution version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, we investigated the impact of aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions and dynamical feedbacks on the formation and evolution of the aforementioned open and closed cellular structures and examined microphysical and dynamical interactions between the two distinct structures. We will demonstrate how aerosol particles can affect cloud dynamics and determine cloud morphology. We will also use simulation results to explore whether an influx of aerosol particles can transform open cells to closed cells in marine stratocumulus clouds, thereby increasing sunlight reflection and cooling the Earth’s surface.
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