Analysis of aerosol-cloud interactions and their implications for precipitation formation using aircraft observations over the United Arab Emirates

Aerosol and cloud microphysical measurements were collected by a research aircraft during August 2019 over the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The majority of scientific flights targeted summertime convection along the eastern Al Hajar Mountains bordering Oman, while one flight sampled non-orographic clouds over the western UAE near the Saudi Arabian border. In this work, we study the evolution of growing cloud turrets from cloud base (9 degrees C) up to the capping inversion level (-12 degrees C) using coincident cloud particle imagery and particle size distributions from cloud cores under different forcing. Results demonstrate the active role of background dust and pollution as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) with the onset of their deliquescence in the subcloud region. Subcloud aerosol sizes are shown to extend from submicron to 100 mu m sizes, with higher concentrations of ultra-giant CCN (d > 10 mu m) from local sources closer to the Saudi border, compared with the eastern orographic region where smaller CCN are observed. Despite the presence of ultra-giant CCN from dust and pollution in both regions, an active collision-coalescence (C-C) process is not observed within the limited depths of warm cloud (< 1000 m). The state-of-the-art observations presented in this paper can be used to initialize modeling case studies to examine the influence of aerosols on cloud and precipitation processes in the region and to better understand the impacts of hygroscopic cloud seeding on these clouds.

Automated summary

Measurements of aerosol and cloud microphysics were collected over the UAE in August 2019. This study investigated the evolution of cloud turrets from cloud base to the capping inversion level under different forcing conditions, showing the important role of background dust and pollution as cloud condensation nuclei. The research provides insights into the influence of aerosols on cloud and precipitation processes, as well as the impacts of hygroscopic cloud seeding.