Amy L. Stuart Amy L. Stuart Ph. Topic An Investigation of the Effects of Solid Phase Cloud Hydrometeors in Convective Clouds on Tropospheric Chemistry and Radiation Abstract Clouds significantly impact atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing by processing chemicals and radiation.
Clouds also scatter, absorb, and emit radiation.
Storm clouds are particularly interesting because they have complex convective patterns and contain diverse hydrometeor types, sizes, and shapes. Due to the large vertical motions and turbulence involved in these clouds, they transport and mix chemicals in the gas phase between the atmospheric boundary layer and upper troposphere. Cloud hydrometeors also scatter, absorb, and emit light, changing the distribution of radiation present in and near clouds and, hence, changing the rates of chemical photolysis reactions. Therefore, due to their complex dynamics, microphysics, chemistry, and optical effects, convective clouds impact air pollutant concentrations and distributions, provide a source of condensed phase pollution to surface ecosystems, and affect atmospheric radiative forcing. Due to the complexity of storm clouds, the details of many of their interactions with chemicals and radiation are not well understood.