Publications

Heiblum, RH; Koren, I; Altaratz, O (2012). New evidence of cloud invigoration from TRMM measurements of rain center of gravity. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 39, L08803.

Abstract
Much of the recent focus regarding aerosol effects on convective clouds and rain patterns has been on the possible invigoration of convective clouds by aerosols. Here we approach the issue using new methods, as rain vertical profiles' center of gravity (RCOG) and spread (RS) from TRMM are combined with aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from MODIS to examine this effect in various marine regions worldwide. Careful attention is also given to the meteorological, spatial and temporal variance in each region, as we try to extract and isolate the regional aerosol effect out of the dominant dynamic forcing. We show that for the majority of cases, high AOD values are correlated with higher RCOG and larger RS, indicating significant invigoration of the rain vertical distribution by aerosols. Citation: Heiblum, R. H., I. Koren, and O. Altaratz (2012), New evidence of cloud invigoration from TRMM measurements of rain center of gravity, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L08803, doi: 10.1029/2012GL051158.

DOI:
0094-8276

ISSN:
10.1029/2012GL051158