Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University
The response of low-level cloud properties to aerosol loading remains ambiguous, particularly due to the confounding influence of meteorological factors and water vapor availability. We utilize long-term data from Ka-band Zenith Radar, Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, Modern-Era Retrosp...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Qinghao Li Jinming Ge Yize Li Qingyu Mu Nan Peng Jing Su Bo Wang Chi Zhang Bochun Liu |
| author_facet | Qinghao Li Jinming Ge Yize Li Qingyu Mu Nan Peng Jing Su Bo Wang Chi Zhang Bochun Liu |
| author_sort | Qinghao Li |
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| description | The response of low-level cloud properties to aerosol loading remains ambiguous, particularly due to the confounding influence of meteorological factors and water vapor availability. We utilize long-term data from Ka-band Zenith Radar, Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2, and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis v5 to evaluate aerosol’s effects on low-level clouds under the constrains of meteorological conditions and liquid water path (LWP) over the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University during 2014–2019. To better constrain meteorological variability, we apply Principal Component Analysis to derive the first principal component (PC1), which strongly correlates with cloud properties, thereby enabling more accurate assessment of aerosol–cloud interaction (ACI) under constrained meteorological conditions delineated by PC1. Analysis suggests that under favorable meteorological conditions for low-level cloud formation (low PC1) and moderate LWP levels (25–150 g/m<sup>2</sup>), ACI is characterized by a significantly negative ACI index, with the cloud effective radius (CER) increasing in response to rising aerosol concentrations. When constrained by both PC1 and LWP, the relationship between CER and the aerosol optical depth shows a distinct bifurcation into positive and negative correlations. Different aerosol types show contrasting effects: dust aerosols increase CER under favorable meteorological conditions, whereas sulfate, organic carbon, and black carbon aerosols consistently decrease it, even under high-LWP conditions. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-45ead349ad2c4331b3c31f99fd1dd8f42025-08-20T02:31:16ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-04-01179153310.3390/rs17091533Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou UniversityQinghao Li0Jinming Ge1Yize Li2Qingyu Mu3Nan Peng4Jing Su5Bo Wang6Chi Zhang7Bochun Liu8Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaKey Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaThe response of low-level cloud properties to aerosol loading remains ambiguous, particularly due to the confounding influence of meteorological factors and water vapor availability. We utilize long-term data from Ka-band Zenith Radar, Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2, and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis v5 to evaluate aerosol’s effects on low-level clouds under the constrains of meteorological conditions and liquid water path (LWP) over the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University during 2014–2019. To better constrain meteorological variability, we apply Principal Component Analysis to derive the first principal component (PC1), which strongly correlates with cloud properties, thereby enabling more accurate assessment of aerosol–cloud interaction (ACI) under constrained meteorological conditions delineated by PC1. Analysis suggests that under favorable meteorological conditions for low-level cloud formation (low PC1) and moderate LWP levels (25–150 g/m<sup>2</sup>), ACI is characterized by a significantly negative ACI index, with the cloud effective radius (CER) increasing in response to rising aerosol concentrations. When constrained by both PC1 and LWP, the relationship between CER and the aerosol optical depth shows a distinct bifurcation into positive and negative correlations. Different aerosol types show contrasting effects: dust aerosols increase CER under favorable meteorological conditions, whereas sulfate, organic carbon, and black carbon aerosols consistently decrease it, even under high-LWP conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1533cloud effective radiuslow-level cloudprincipal component analysisaerosol-cloud interactionaerosol type |
| spellingShingle | Qinghao Li Jinming Ge Yize Li Qingyu Mu Nan Peng Jing Su Bo Wang Chi Zhang Bochun Liu Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University Remote Sensing cloud effective radius low-level cloud principal component analysis aerosol-cloud interaction aerosol type |
| title | Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University |
| title_full | Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University |
| title_fullStr | Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University |
| title_short | Unraveling Aerosol and Low-Level Cloud Interactions Under Multi-Factor Constraints at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University |
| title_sort | unraveling aerosol and low level cloud interactions under multi factor constraints at the semi arid climate and environment observatory of lanzhou university |
| topic | cloud effective radius low-level cloud principal component analysis aerosol-cloud interaction aerosol type |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/9/1533 |
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