Orographic modulation of aerosol–cloud interactions in the subtropical Andes

Abstract

Mountain terrain strongly modulates cloud microphysics, complicating estimates of aerosol radiative forcing. Combining aircraft observations with large-eddy simulations, we show that orographic lifting enhances droplet activation sensitivity to aerosol loading by up to 40% relative to adjacent plains.

Keywords

• aerosols
• cloud microphysics
• orography