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Zhanqing Li

Environmental Sciences Seminar

DATE/TIME:  Friday, February 11, 2022, 2:30 pm
PLACE: 
       

Zhanqing Li
University of Maryland


Impacts of Aerosol, PBL, Cloud and Their Coupling Relationships on Precipitation and Severe Weather


Meteorology and the environment within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are of utmost importance to our lives. Aerosols, tiny particles found mostly in the PBL, affect radiation, atmospheric stability, clouds, and precipitation. There are complex coupling and interactions between aerosol, PBL and clouds that may significantly influence precipitation, thunderstorms and atmospheric environments. The impacts and their interactions are among the most uncertain factors in weather forecasting and climate modeling, which depend both on their states and coupling between them. In order to improve the understanding of fundamental processes governing the interactions, we have conducted a series of studies ranging from observation of their states to understanding their interaction mechanisms and impact on precipitation, severe storms and air quality. In this talk, I will highlight a few major findings concerning 1) determination of pertinent aerosol properties, PBL height, and their interactions; 2) understanding of aerosol-radiation interactions (ARI) and aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) affected by the aerosol-PBL interactions; 3) the joint impact of ARI and ACI on boundary-layer clouds and on deep convective clouds and thunderstorms.