About the project
Thus the proposal is highly relevant to the call with detailed studies of processes and feedback mechanisms which will improve the scientific understanding of future global climate change. It will complement the work in the scenario project NorClim in which AERO-CLO-WV participants have leading responsibilities.
In the project we will quantify, in terms of radiative forcing, climate feedback due to anthropogenic aerosols through changes in the water vapour concentration in cloud-free air. This will be done by using the CAM3 atmospheric climate model. This forcing will be compared to compatible estimates of known indirect aerosol-cloud forcings due to anthropogenic aerosols which will be made in the project.
The water vapour budget involves a complexity of microphysical and microdynamical processes, and estimating water vapour changes due to anthropogenic aerosols is thus a very complicated task. Therefore we limit our study to certain clouds. We start with a study of warm clouds, restricting it to trade wind cumuli.
Next cold clouds will be studied. Due to the high complexity of processes and the small scales of clouds we find it necessary to make a range of process studies covering processes governing the fluxes of water between the individual hydrometeors and entrainment/detrainment processes. The process studies will be made with a Single Column version of CAM (SCAM) and the WRF model. The results of the process studied will be used to validate the relevant processes in CAM and as a basis for improved parameterisations.
Financing
- NFR v/NORKLIMA
AERO-CL-WV started November 2009 and ends October 2013