Abstract
Aerosols acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) play a fundamental
role in droplet formation and cloud development in the atmosphere.
Several studies have focused on the representation of aerosol-cloud
interactions to improve cloud parametrizations and deep moist convection
representation in numerical models. However, the effect of aerosol
concentration on mixed-phase clouds is complex as it can not be directly
measured and it is far from being fully understood. Then, observation of
CCN distributions, variability, and exploration of possible sources can
help go deeper into the effects of aerosols on cloud and precipitation
processes. From October 2018 to April 2019, Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex
Terrain Interactions field campaign (CACTI) took place in central
Argentina. An ARM-DOE Mobility Facility was installed in Villa Yacanto,
Cordoba to understand the processes affecting orographic deep convective
initiation in the region. CCNs in situ observations from a Mobile
Aerosol Observation System were analyzed. Amazon biomass burning is one
of the known sources of aerosols in central and northern Argentina
however during CACTI measurement period low rate emissions were observed
from this source. Then, local aerosol source regions were investigated
by backward trajectories with lagrangian dispersion model FLEXPART to
determine their possible interaction with extreme precipitation events.