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Modeling Soot and Dust Snow Impact
Researchers at PNNL developed a first-of-its-kind, high-resolution regional modeling framework that simulated how light is absorbed by soot and dust in seasonal snowpack. Their detailed simulation better captures the kinds of emissions and processes that influence how after landing on snow, these particles have a great capacity to attract heat.
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A Breath of Cold Air
Warm, moist air colliding with cold dry air above it has traditionally been credited with creating massive cloud formations many miles tall. Now, research by a team of scientists from PNNL and academia challenges that long-held belief. As reported in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, the scientists discovered that cold air near the surface rather than warm air is more likely to fuel cloud growth.
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Following Soot to the Arctic
Researchers at PNNL designed a new way to identify and track the sources of soot that find their way to the Arctic, using an atmospheric model and a tagging technique that is both efficient and effective. The result establishes a clear source-receptor relationship and soot pathways that will help explain the seasonal variations found for soot deposition. This finding will contribute to insights on the impact of darkened snow and ice on the Earth's energy budget.
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Simulating Across Scales
Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Central Florida developed a unified multiscale model that uses a single set of equations to simultaneously simulate fluid flow in an ecosystem containing both surface water and groundwater. Researchers applied the modeling approach to the Disney Wilderness Preserve in Kissimmee, Florida, where active field monitoring and measuring are ongoing to understand hydrological and biogeochemical processes.
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Tall Clouds from Tiny Raindrops
Myriad complex mechanisms lay behind how clouds are born, grow, and die. They are a key to understanding future weather patterns and global climate change. A team of researchers led by PNNL scientists examined how well a state-of-the-art high-resolution model simulated tropical clouds and their interaction with the warm ocean surface compared to real-world observations. They found that large tropical clouds grow larger because they incorporate less dry air, while smaller clouds dwindle away.
How do human activities and natural systems interact to affect the Earth's climate? Ultimately, that is the question challenging scientists in PNNL’s Atmospheric Sciences & Global Change Division.
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