Journal article
Marine cloud brightening of cumulus clouds: from the sprayer to the cloud
Atmospheric chemistry and physics, Vol.26(13), pp.9443-9451
06/07/2026
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Abstract
Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is a suggested solar radiation management approach to mitigate global warming by increasing the reflectance of clouds through the emission of additional aerosols. While stratocumulus are considered the preferred target for MCB, the present study investigates trade-wind cumulus clouds, which may be the dominant cloud type for certain regional MCB deployments. In this study, high-resolution large-eddy simulations with detailed Lagrangian cloud microphysics are used to assess the role of different aerosol sprayer heights on the efficacy of MCB. The study indicates that near-surface sprayers are the optimal placement, as they facilitate the most efficient dispersion of aerosol within the boundary layer, which increases the fraction of clouds affected by the sprayed aerosols, as well as the transport of the sprayed aerosols into the developing clouds, resulting in a higher number of cloud droplets developing from the sprayed aerosols.
Details
- Title
- Marine cloud brightening of cumulus clouds: from the sprayer to the cloud
- Creators
- Johannes Kainz - Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenDaniel P Harrison - Southern Cross UniversityFabian Hoffmann - Freie Universität Berlin
- Publication Details
- Atmospheric chemistry and physics, Vol.26(13), pp.9443-9451
- Publisher
- Copernicus Publications; GOTTINGEN
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- This research has been supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant nos. HO 6588/1-1 and HO 6588/3-1) and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (grant no. Reef Restauration and Adaptation Program). The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program is funded by the partnership between the Australian Governments Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The article processing charges for this open-access publication were covered by the Freie Universität Berlin.
- Identifiers
- 991013386649402368
- Copyright
- © Author(s) 2026.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article