AEROSOL-CLOUD INTERACTIONS

Prof. Hugh Coe and Prof. Gordon McFiggans

Aerosol particles can act as sites for cloud droplet formation. This is a natural process and
vital to the water cycle of the planet, driving the hydrological cycle. However, as the number
of aerosol particles in the atmosphere increases so the potential number of sites for cloud
droplet formation increases. This can alter the cloud properties and make the cloud reflect
more incoming solar radiation, decreasing droplet size and hence reducing drizzle and
increasing the longevity of the cloud. All of these processes act in the opposite sense to the
warming resulting from increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but because clouds are
spatially very heterogeneous the effect is not uniform. Worse, the correct physical processes
are not as well known as they need to be and the simplifications currently included in climate
models are inadequate. As a result of this the unacceptably large uncertainties associated with
mans change to the radiative budget are dominated by aerosol-cloud effects.
In Manchester, the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences is at the forefront of aerosol-cloud
research. The programme of work includes field measurements of aerosols and clouds from
ground and airborne platforms; laboratory studies of aerosols of known composition and
process them in a known way and modeling studies of the detailed activation processes. The
aim is to probe the real atmosphere using a range of instruments that can determine the size,
composition and hygroscopic properties of aerosols and compare these with measurements
of both the cloud forming potential of the same particles and the measurements of real cloud
properties. Models of the fundamental processes are applied to the data to test their ability to
reproduce atmospheric processes. To further develop and improve the model, similar tests on
well-characterised particle systems are carried out in our large chamber facilities in
Manchester. The model can then be subsequently improved and improved comparisons with
field data will be possible. As the knowledge of model performance improves, the detailed
model can be used to improve simplified parameterizations of cloud formation behaviour that
can be included in more complex models of aerosol and cloud behaviour, the ultimate aim
being to provide the community with well characterized and improved model schemes for
climate models.
This PhD offers an opportunity to be involved in this development cycle. It is not anticipated
that you will necessarily become expert in all areas of this development but the aim is to gain
a detailed knowledge of each element of this work and contribute to its development. It is
anticipated that as the project develops the student will choose to focus one or more parts of
the activities described and develop their own research project in partnership with a team of
researchers in this large study.
For further details contact:
hugh.coe@manchester.ac.uk; g.mcfiggans@manchester.ac.uk
Relevant Publication:
McFiggans, G., P. Artaxo, U. Baltensperger, H. Coe, M. C. Facchini, G. Feingold, S. Fuzzi, M. Gysel, A. Laaksonen, U.
Lohmann, T. F. Mentel, D. M. Murphy, C. D. O'Dowd, J. R. Snider, E. Weingartner, The effect of physical and
chemical aerosol properties on warm cloud droplet activation. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6: 2593-2649 JUL 5 2006