Collaborative Research: Inhibition of Snowfall by Pollution Aerosols

合作研究：污染气溶胶抑制降雪

• 批准号: 0835421
• 负责人: William Cotton
• 金额: $ 48.73万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-12-15 至 2013-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0835421&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Inhibition; Snowfall; Pollution

Intellectual Merit: This research will advance understanding of the potential role of aerosol pollution in modifying wintertime orographic precipitation. A key issue to be addressed is how the influence of aerosol pollution upon clouds may be altered by various synoptic weather regimes, cloud types, and amounts of supercooled water within these clouds. Based on previous modeling results, it is anticipated that clouds with higher amounts of supercooled water (such as those typically found over the San Juan Mountains of Colorado) are more susceptible to impacts by aerosol pollution. The modulation of this potential response will be addressed both temporally via time-series measurements at the Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) and spatially through more distributed measurements over the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and through model simulations.Potential for Transformative Research: This investigation has the potential to revise traditional theories of aerosol-induced impacts on wintertime orographic precipitation. Prior work has suggested that increased pollution aerosol concentrations lead to a significant reduction in precipitation falling from orographic clouds. Further studies by the Principal Investigators conducted in the Park Range mountains of Colorado suggest that aerosol pollution may also redistribute orographic precipitation and subsequent runoff among adjacent river basins. In this view, some reduction of total precipitation may occur but aerosol-induced shifts in the location of precipitation predominate. The relative contributions of these two potential influences will be further explored in this new study. Consideration of longer time periods (i.e., a full winter season) should lead to more robust conclusions, as well as an improved regional climatology of pollution aerosol influences.Broader Impacts: This work has significant demographic and economic implications. If pollution aerosols are indeed systematically reducing mountain snowfall, increased development across the western U.S. will in turn reduce available snowpack-derived water resources needed to sustain such population growth and require strategies to minimize such impacts. Education and outreach activities at SPL during the field component of this study will include a three-day graduate level mesoscale modeling class led by the Principal Investigator, a week-long graduate/undergraduate class in mountain meteorology led by a University of Wisconsin collaborator, and. a graduate field meteorology class offered through the Desert Research Institute focusing on SPL's unique observational capabilities. The location of the laboratory at the summit of the Steamboat Ski Resort also affords considerable public access to its full range of activities, and the Principal Investigators supported under this grant will conduct open houses for the public and create a more permanent outdoor display describing work being done under this project.

智力优点：这项研究将提高对气溶胶污染在修改冬季地形降水中的潜在作用的理解。要解决的关键问题是，如何通过各种天气天气，云类型和这些云中的超冷水数量来改变气溶胶污染对云的影响。根据先前的建模结果，预计具有较高量的超冷水的云（例如通常在科罗拉多州圣胡安山脉上发现的云）更容易受到气溶胶污染影响的影响。该潜在反应的调节将通过在Storm Peak实验室（SPL）（SPL）的时间序列测量以及通过在San Juan Mountains of San Juan Mountains和Colorado的模型模拟进行的分布式测量以及在空间上进行时间序列测量。潜在的研究有可能修订气溶胶诱发的冬季降水量的传统理论。先前的工作表明，污染的气溶胶浓度增加会导致地形云中降水的显着减少。在科罗拉多州公园山脉山脉进行的主要研究人员的进一步研究表明，气溶胶污染也可能重新分布地形降水以及随后在相邻的河流盆地之间的径流。从这种角度来看，可能会减少总降水量，但气溶胶诱导的降水位置占主导地位。在这项新研究中将进一步探讨这两个潜在影响的相对贡献。考虑较长的时间（即整个冬季）应带来更强大的结论，以及改善污染气溶胶影响的区域气候学的结论。Broader的影响：这项工作具有重大的人口统计和经济影响。如果污染气溶胶确实系统地减少了山降雪，那么整个美国西部的发展将减少可用的积雪衍生的水资源，以维持这种人口增长，并需要采取策略来最大程度地减少这种影响。本研究的现场成分期间，SPL的教育和外展活动将包括由首席研究员领导的为期三天的研究生中尺度建模班，由威斯康星大学合作者领导的为期一周的山区气象学研究生/本科课程。沙漠研究所提供的研究生现场气象学课，重点介绍了SPL独特的观察能力。实验室在汽船滑雪胜地峰会上的位置还为公众提供了大量的活动，该赠款支持的主要调查员将为公众开放房屋，并创建更永久的户外展示，描述该项目下完成的工作。