Publication Abstracts

Westervelt et al. 2018

Westervelt, D.M., A.J. Conley, A.M. Fiore, J.-F. Lamarque, D.T. Shindell, M. Previdi, N.R. Mascioli, G. Faluvegi, G. Correa, and L.W. Horowitz, 2018: Connecting regional aerosol emissions reductions to local and remote precipitation responses. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 12461-12475.

The unintended climatic implications of aerosol and precursor emission reductions implemented to protect public health are poorly understood. We investigate the precipitation response to regional changes in aerosol emissions using three coupled chemistry-climate models: NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Coupled Model 3 (GFDL-CM3), NCAR Community Earth System Model (CESM1), and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE2 (GISS-E2). Our approach contrasts a long present-day control simulation from each model (up to 400 years with perpetual year 2000 or 2005 emissions) with 14 individual aerosol emissions perturbation simulations (160-240 years each). We perturb emissions of sulfur dioxide and/or carbonaceous aerosol within six world regions and assess the significance of precipitation responses relative to internal variability determined by the control simulation and across the models. Global and regional precipitation mostly increases when we reduce regional aerosol emissions in the models, with the strongest responses occurring for sulfur dioxide emissions reductions from Europe and the United States. Precipitation responses to aerosol emissions reductions are largest in the tropics and project onto the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Regressing precipitation onto an Indo-Pacific zonal sea level pressure gradient index (a proxy for ENSO) indicates that the ENSO component of the precipitation response to regional aerosol removal can be as large as 20% of the total simulated response. Precipitation increases in the Sahel in response to aerosol reductions in remote regions because an anomalous interhemispheric temperature gradient alters the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This mechanism holds across multiple aerosol reduction simulations and models.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{we00200u,
  author={Westervelt, D. M. and Conley, A. J. and Fiore, A. M. and Lamarque, J.-F. and Shindell, D. T. and Previdi, M. and Mascioli, N. R. and Faluvegi, G. and Correa, G. and Horowitz, L. W.},
  title={Connecting regional aerosol emissions reductions to local and remote precipitation responses},
  year={2018},
  journal={Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics},
  volume={18},
  pages={12461--12475},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - we00200u
AU  - Westervelt, D. M.
AU  - Conley, A. J.
AU  - Fiore, A. M.
AU  - Lamarque, J.-F.
AU  - Shindell, D. T.
AU  - Previdi, M.
AU  - Mascioli, N. R.
AU  - Faluvegi, G.
AU  - Correa, G.
AU  - Horowitz, L. W.
PY  - 2018
TI  - Connecting regional aerosol emissions reductions to local and remote precipitation responses
JA  - Atmos. Chem. Phys.
JO  - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
VL  - 18
SP  - 12461
EP  - 12475
ER  -

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