The Aerosol Radiative Effect on a Severe Haze Episode in the Yangtze River Delta

Due to increased aerosol emissions and unfavorable weather conditions, severe haze events have occurred fre- quently in China in the last 10 years. In addition, the interaction between the boundary layer and the aerosol radiative effect may be another important factor in haze formation. To better understand the effect of this interaction, the aero- sol radiative effect on a severe haze episode that took place in December 2013 was investigated by using two WRF- Chem model simulations with different aerosol configurations. The results showed that the maximal reduction of re- gional average surface shortwave radiation, latent heat, and sensible heat during this event were 88, 12, and 37 W m2, respectively. The planetary boundary layer height, daytime temperature, and wind speed dropped by 276 m, I^C, and 0.33 m s-l, respectively. The ventilation coefficient dropped by 8%-24% for in the central and northwestern Yangtze River Delta （YRD）. The upper level of the atmosphere was warmed and the lower level was cooled, which stabilized the stratification. In a word, the dispersion ability of the atmosphere was weakened due to the aerosol radi- ative feedback. Additional results showed that the PM2.5 concentration in the central and northwestern YRD in- creased by 6-18 p.g m3, which is less than 15% of the average PM2.5 concentration during the severely polluted peri- od in this area. The vertical profile showed that the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations increased below 950 hPa, with a maximum increase of 7 and 8 gg m-3, respectively. Concentrations reduced between 950 and 800 hPa, however, with a maximum reduction of 3.5 and 4.5 p.g rn-3, respectively. Generally, the aerosol radiative effect aggravated the level of pollution, but the effect was limited, and this haze event was mainly caused by the stagnant meteorological condi- tions. The interaction between the boundary layer and the aerosol radiative effect may have been less important than the large-scale static weather conditions for the formation of this haze episode.

Estimation of the Aerosol Radiative Effect over the Tibetan Plateau Based on the Latest CALIPSO Product

Based on the CALIPSO （Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation） Version 4.10 products released on 8 November 2016, the Level 2 （L2） aerosol product over the Tibetan Plateau （TP） is evaluated and the aerosol radiative effect is also estimated in this study. As there are still some missing aerosol data points in the day-time CALIPSO Version 4.10 L2 product, this study re-calculated the aerosol extinction coefficient to explore the aer-osol radiative effect over the TP based on the CALIPSO Level 1 （L1） and CloudSat 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR products. The energy budget estimation obtained by using the AODs （aerosol optical depths） from calculated aerosol extinction coefficient as an input to a radiative transfer model shows better agreement with the Earth＇s Radiant En- ergy System （CERES） and CloudSat 2B-FLXHR-LIDAR observations than that with the input of AODs from aero- sol extinction coefficient from CALIPSO Version 4.10 L2 product. The radiative effect and heating rate of aerosols over the TP are further simulated by using the calculated aerosol extinction coefficient. The dust aerosols may heat the atmosphere by retaining the energy in the layer. The instantaneous heating rate can be as high as 5.5 K day^-1 de-pending on the density of the dust layers. Overall, the dust aerosols significantly affect the radiative energy budget and thermodynamic structure of the air over the TP, mainly by altering the shortwave radiation budget. The signific-ant influence of dust aerosols over the TP on the radiation budget may have important implications for investigating the atmospheric circulation and future regional and global climate.

THE RADIATIVE EFFECTS OF ANTHROPOGENIC AEROSOLS OVER CHINA AND THEIR SENSITIVITY TO SOURCE EMISSION

In this paper,the RIEMS 2.0 model,source emission in 2006 and 2010 are used to simulate the distributions and radiative effects of different anthropogenic aerosols over China.The comparison between the results forced by source emissions in 2006 and 2010 also reveals the sensitivity of the radiative effects to source emission.The results are shown as follows:(1) Compared with those in 2006,the annual average surface concentration of sulfate in 2010 decreased over central and eastern China with a range of-5 to 0 μg/m^3;the decrease of annual average aerosol optical depth of sulfate over East China varied from 0.04 to 0.08;the annual average surface concentrations of BC,OC and nitrate increased over central and eastern China with maximums of 10.90,11.52 and 12.50μg/m^3,respectively;the annual aerosol optical depths of BC,OC and nitrate increased over some areas of East China with extremes of 0.006,0.007 and 0.008,respectively.(2)For the regional average results in 2010,the radiative forcings of sulfate,BC,OC,nitrate and their total net radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere over central and eastern China were-0.64,0.29,-0.41,-0.33 and-1.1 W/m^2,respectively.Compared with those in 2006,the radiative forcings of BC and OC in 2010 were both enhanced,while that of sulfate and the net radiative forcing were both weakened over East China mostly.(3)The reduction of the cooling effect of sulfate in 2010 produced a warmer surface air temperature over central and eastern China;the maximum value was 0.25 K.The cooling effect of nitrate was also slightly weakened.The warming effect of BC was enhanced over most of the areas in China,while the cooling effect of OC was enhanced over the similar area,particularly the area between Yangtze and Huanghe Rivers.The net radiative effect of the four anthropogenic aerosols generated the annual average reduction and the maximum reduction were-0.096 and-0.285 K,respectively,for the surface temperature in 2006,while in 2010 they were-0.063 and-0.256 K,respectively.In summary,the change in source emission lowered the cooling effect of anthropogenic aerosols,mainly because of the enhanced warming effect of BC and weakened cooling effect of scattering aerosols.

Assessment of aerosol effective radiative forcing and surface air temperature response over eastern China in CMIP5 models

The effective radiative forcing （ERF） and associated surface air temperature change over eastern China are estimated using multi-model results from CMIP5 （Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5）. The model results show that, relative to 1850, the multi-model and annual mean aerosol ERF for the year 2005 is -4.14 W m^-2 at the top of the atmosphere over eastern China （20°-45°N, 105°-122.5°E）. As a result of this ERF, the multi-model and annual mean surface air temperature change in eastern China during 1850-2005 is -1.05℃, leading to a climate sensitivity of 0.24℃/ （Wm^-2） in this region.

Simulating Aerosol Optical Depth and Direct Radiative Effects over the Tibetan Plateau with a High-Resolution CAS FGOALS-f3 Model

Current global climate models cannot resolve the complex topography over the Tibetan Plateau(TP)due to their coarse resolution.This study investigates the impacts of horizontal resolution on simulating aerosol and its direct radiative effect(DRE)over the TP by applying two horizontal resolutions of about 100 km and 25 km to the Chinese Academy of Sciences Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere Land System(CAS FGOALS-f3)over a 10-year period.Compared to the AErosol RObotic NETwork observations,a high-resolution model(HRM)can better reproduce the spatial distribution and seasonal cycles of aerosol optical depth(AOD)compared to a low-resolution model(LRM).The HRM bias and RMSE of AOD decreased by 0.08 and 0.12,and the correlation coefficient increased by 0.22 compared to the LRM.An LRM is not sufficient to reproduce the aerosol variations associated with fine-scale topographic forcing,such as in the eastern marginal region of the TP.The difference between hydrophilic aerosols in an HRM and LRM is caused by the divergence of the simulated relative humidity(RH).More reasonable distributions and variations of RH are conducive to simulating hydrophilic aerosols.An increase of the 10-m wind speed in winter by an HRM leads to increased dust emissions.The simulated aerosol DREs at the top of the atmosphere(TOA)and at the surface by the HRM are–0.76 W m^(–2)and–8.72 W m^(–2)over the TP,respectively.Both resolution models can capture the key feature that dust TOA DRE transitions from positive in spring to negative in the other seasons.

A Review of Aerosol Optical Properties and Radiative Effects

Atmospheric aerosols influence the earth＇s radiative balance directly through scattering and absorbing solar radiation,and indirectly through affecting cloud properties.An understanding of aerosol optical properties is fundamental to studies of aerosol effects on climate.Although many such studies have been undertaken,large uncertainties in describing aerosol optical characteristics remain,especially regarding the absorption properties of different aerosols.Aerosol radiative effects are considered as either positive or negative perturbations to the radiation balance,and they include direct,indirect（albedo effect and cloud lifetime effect）,and semi-direct effects.The total direct effect of anthropogenic aerosols is negative（cooling）,although some components may contribute a positive effect（warming）.Both the albedo effect and cloud lifetime effect cool the atmosphere by increasing cloud optical depth and cloud cover,respectively.Absorbing aerosols,such as carbonaceous aerosols and dust,exert a positive forcing at the top of atmosphere and a negative forcing at the surface,and they can directly warm the atmosphere.Internally mixed black carbon aerosols produce a stronger warming effect than externally mixed black carbon particles do.The semidirect effect of absorbing aerosols could amplify this warming effect.Based on observational（ground- and satellite-based） and simulation studies,this paper reviews current progress in research regarding the optical properties and radiative effects of aerosols and also discusses several important issues to be addressed in future studies.

Modeling radiative effects of haze on summer-time convective precipitation over North China： a case study

The impact of haze radiative effect on summertime 24-h convective precipitation over North China was investigated using WRF model （version 3.3） through model sensitivity studies between scenarios with and without aerosol radiative effects. The haze radiative effect was represented by incorporating an idealized aerosol optical profile, with AOD values around 1, derived from the aircraft measurement into the WRF shortwave scheme. We found that the shortwave heating induced by aerosol radiative effects would significantly reduce heavy rainfalls, although its effect on the post-frontal localized thunderstorm precipitation was more diverse. To capture the key factors that determine whether precipitation is enhanced or suppressed, model grids with 24-h precipitation difference between the ：two scenarios exceeding certain threshold （〉30 mm or〈 -30 mm） were separated into two sets. Analyses of key meteorological variables between the enhanced and suppressed regimes suggested that atmospheric convection was the most important factor that determined whether precipitation was enhanced or suppressed during summertime over North China. The convection was stronger over places with precipitation enhancement over 30 mm. Haze weakened the convection over places with precipitation suppression exceeding 30 mm and caused less water vapor to rise to a higher level and thus further suppressed precipitation. The suppression of precipitation was often accompanied with relatively high convective available potential energy （CAPE）, relative humidity （RH） and updraft velocities.