title: Natural and anthropogenic aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East: possible impacts.
abstract: The physical and chemical properties of airborne particles have significant implications on the microphysical cloud processes. Maritime clouds have different properties than polluted ones and the final amounts and types of precipitation are different. Mixed phase aerosols that contain soluble matter are efficient cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and enhance the liquid condensate spectrum in warm and mixed phase clouds. Insoluble particles such as mineral dust and black carbon are also important because of their ability to act as efficient ice nuclei (IN) through heterogeneous ice nucleation mechanisms. The relative contribution of aerosol concentrations, size distributions and chemical compositions on cloud structure and precipitation is discussed in the framework of RAMS/ICLAMS model. Analysis of model results and comparison with measurements reveals the complexity of the above links. Taking into account anthropogenic emissions and all available aerosol-cloud interactions the model precipitation bias was reduced by 50% for a storm simulation over eastern Mediterranean.
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Division of Physics of Environment - Meteorology, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG), University Campus, Building PHYSICS V, Athens 15784, Greece. Electronic address: kallos@mg.uoa.gr.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kallos
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Division of Physics of Environment - Meteorology, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG), University Campus, Building PHYSICS V, Athens 15784, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Solomos
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Division of Physics of Environment - Meteorology, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG), University Campus, Building PHYSICS V, Athens 15784, Greece.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kushta
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Division of Physics of Environment - Meteorology, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG), University Campus, Building PHYSICS V, Athens 15784, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mitsakou
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Division of Physics of Environment - Meteorology, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG), University Campus, Building PHYSICS V, Athens 15784, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spyrou
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Division of Physics of Environment - Meteorology, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG), University Campus, Building PHYSICS V, Athens 15784, Greece.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bartsotas
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Division of Physics of Environment - Meteorology, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG), University Campus, Building PHYSICS V, Athens 15784, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kalogeri
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry; D002980:Climate; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D008877:Middle East; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D052638:Particulate Matter
keywords: Aerosol; Atmospheric modeling; Cloud; Microphysics; Precipitation interactions; Radiation