Aerosol-cloud interactions: effect on precipitation

Aerosols are tiny suspended particle in the atmosphere with high variability in time and space, play a major role in modulating the cloud properties and thereby precipitation. To understand the aerosol induced Invigoration effect predictors like aerosol optical depth, cloud optical depth, cloud top temperature, cloud effective radii, ice water path, retrieved from the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level-3 aqua satellite data were analysed for pre monsoon April-May and post monsoon October-November months over the Indian subcontinent 8 ° N to 33° N, 65 °E to 100 °E during the period 2003–2013. Apart from the above data, mesoscale dynamical parameters such as vertical wind shear of horizontal wind, relative humidity, were also considered to understand their role in invigoration. Case studies have been carried out for the regions having heavy rainfall events & minimal rainfall events during high Aerosol optical depths occasions respectively. Analysis revealed that the heavy rainfall which occurred in this region with higher optical depths might be due to invigoration effect of aerosols wherein the dynamical as well as thermodynamical parameters were also found favourable. Minimal rainfall events were also observed most probably due to the suppression of rain formation/delay in precipitation due to high amount of aerosol concentration in these regions. Prominent 36 such cases were studied all over India during Pre & Post monsoon months.