Cloud droplet formation characteristics at eleven locations throughout Greece during summer 2020 and 2021
- 1Center for Studies of Air Quality and Climate Change, Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Patras, Greece
- 2Laboratory of Atmospheric Processes and Their Impacts, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- 3Laser Remote Sensing Unit, Physics Department, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou, Greece
- 4Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
- 5Institute of Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece
- 6Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
- 7Environmental Radioactivity and Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric and Climate Impact Laboratory, NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece
- 8Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- 9School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece
- 10Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece
- *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract
Aerosol particles affect the climate system by directly absorbing and scattering solar radiation or by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and modulating cloud radiative properties. Cloud particle activation is at the heart of these aerosol-cloud interactions, but it is important to quantify the degree to which aerosol (size distribution and composition) or dynamical aspects (vertical velocity) contribute to cloud droplet number concentration, as they determine in the end the cloud sensitivity to aerosol variations.
In this study, we use a comprehensive dataset of number-size distributions and meteorological data observed at 11 sites throughout the E. Mediterranean (Greece) during the summers of 2020 and 2021 and use them as input into a state-of-the-art cloud activation parameterization to determine the potential activated cloud droplet number and maximum supersaturation. Remote sensing retrievals of droplet number complement the analysis and are used to evaluate the droplet number calculations carried out with the parameterization. We then examine the droplet formation characteristics of each region (urban, rural, remote, and mountain), determine when clouds are velocity- and aerosol-limited, link them to airmass origin, and discuss the implications for cloud formation in the region.
Panayiotis Kalkavouras (5), Aikaterini Bougiatioti (5), Stergios Vratolis (7), Maria Gini (7), Athanasios Kouras (8), Sofia-Eirini Chatoutsidou (9)
How to cite: Kawana, K., Foskinis, R., Holopainen, E., Papayannis, A., Aktypis, A., Kaltsonoudis, C., Patoulias, D., Matrali, A., Vasilakopoulou, C., Kostenidou, E., Florou, K., Kalivitis, N., Eleftheriadis, K., Samara, C., Lazaridis, M., Mihalopoulos, N., Pandis, S., and Nenes, A. and the Observation Team: Cloud droplet formation characteristics at eleven locations throughout Greece during summer 2020 and 2021, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-17504, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-17504, 2024.
