The impact on hail production of aerosol loading and water vapor transported by the low level jet feeding into severe storms in Southern Brazil

• Grant number: 20/03326-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: August 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Luiz Teixeira Gonçalves
• Grantee: Ninu Krishnan Modon Valappil
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/06160-8 - Sampling and modeling Primary Biological Aerosol Particles (PBAPS) at South-Southern Brazil: associated to improvements of climate models, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

Airborne particles, also called particulate matter, can impact directly and indirectly on Earth's climate as well as on human and animal health. Aerosol particles range from a few microns down to very small sizes, such as a few tens of Angstroms. These particles can directly absorb or reflect solar radiation within the atmosphere affecting directly the Earth's energy balance, a major focus of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Another important effect is related to their ability to act as Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CNN) and formation of Ice Nuclei (IN), which trigger cloud drops and ice formation respectively, also indirectly influencing the Earth's energy balance, equally important to the IPCC approach. On the other hand, the Primary Biological Aerosol Particles (PBAPs) are airborne solid and insoluble particles derived from living organisms (e.g. bacteria, fungi and pollen). These biological particles have properties that enable them to act as ice nuclei (IN), becoming PBAP-IN, as well as Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and participate in the radiative forcing. In this research work, we will also explore the status of the current and incomplete global climatology of hail, hail formation, its relation to PBAP-IN to explain the observed behavior for Southern region of Brazil. Remote sensing techniques and downscaling scenarios will be considered in the analysis proposed in this project and methods able to assess the impact of future climate scenarios. Therefore, as a final product, the proposed research is expected to evaluate the knowledge about PBAP-IN and hail phenomena and improve the modern techniques of detection of hailstorms by satellites, including the assessment of any signal of climate change impact. Finally, the project will provide the community with observations of the local and specific conditions of hailstorms occurrence, related to PBAP-IN and, based on these conditions, establish the synoptic or large-scale circulation patterns under which the phenomena occur in the South and Southeast of Brazil and what behavior could be expected to the future. (AU)