Smoking Rain Clouds over the Amazon
Universidade Estadual do Ceará · Universidade de São Paulo · +4 more institutions
Abstract
Heavy smoke from forest fires in the Amazon was observed to reduce cloud droplet size and so delay the onset of precipitation from 1.5 kilometers above cloud base in pristine clouds to more than 5 kilometers in polluted clouds and more than 7 kilometers in pyro-clouds. Suppression of low-level rainout and aerosol washout allows transport of water and smoke to upper levels, where the clouds appear "smoking" as they detrain much of the pollution. Elevating the onset of precipitation allows invigoration of the updrafts, causing intense thunderstorms, large hail, and greater likelihood for overshooting cloud tops into the stratosphere. There, detrained pollutants and water vapor would have profound radiative…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 74.64
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 31
Authors
7- MOMeinrat O. AndreaeCorresponding
Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Universidade de São Paulo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
- DRDaniel RosenfeldCorresponding
Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Universidade de São Paulo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
- PAPaulo Artaxo
Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Universidade de São Paulo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
- AAAlexandre Araújo Costa
Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Universidade de São Paulo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
- GPG. P. Frank
Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Universidade de São Paulo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais
Topics & keywords
- Environmental science
- Atmospheric sciences
- Precipitation
- Cloud base
- Climatology
- Atmosphere (unit)
- Thunderstorm
- Cloud condensation nuclei
- Clean water and sanitation