CCN Source Regions During RELAMPAGO-CACTI Field Campaign

SALIO, PAOLA; NESBITT, STEPHEN W.; CANCELADA, MAITE

San Francisco, California

Conferencia; AGU Fall Meeting 2019; 2019

American Geophysical Union

Aerosols acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) play a fundamental role in droplet formation and cloud development in the atmosphere. Several studies have focused on the representation of aerosol-cloud interactions to improve cloud parametrizations and deep moist convection representation in numerical models. However, the effect of aerosol concentration on mixed-phase clouds is complex as it can not be directly measured and it is far from being fully understood. Then, observation of CCN distributions, variability, and exploration of possible sources can help go deeper into the effects of aerosols on cloud and precipitation processes.From October 2018 to April 2019, Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions field campaign (CACTI) took place in central Argentina. An ARM-DOE Mobility Facility was installed in Villa Yacanto, Cordoba to understand the processes affecting orographic deep convective initiation in the region. CCNs in situ observations from a Mobile Aerosol Observation System were analyzed. Amazon biomass burning is one of the known sources of aerosols in central and northern Argentina however during CACTI measurement period low rate emissions were observed from this source. Then, local aerosol source regions were investigated by backward trajectories with lagrangian dispersion model FLEXPART to determine their possible interaction with extreme precipitation events.