About

The role of aerosol-cloud interactions in Arctic climate responses needs to be a priority for the climate science community; these processes are one of the most important sources of model uncertainty in historic and predicted Arctic energy budgets. Uncertainties in Arctic aerosol-cloud interactions significantly affect our ability to predict the progression of Arctic warming and estimate the sensitivity of the Arctic climate to further greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, we need a targeted effort as a community to improve our understanding of these processes and improve the skill of our models.

The QuIESCENT Arctic programme identifies the key challenges associated with quantifying the indirect effect in the Arctic, providing a cross-disciplinary bridge between aerosol and clouds, physicists and chemists, and observations and models. We provide an international focal point for national campaigns to share new knowledge, discuss new findings, and build new collaborations on Arctic aerosol-cloud interactions.

Our goal is to assess and discuss key questions such as:

• What are the sources of Arctic cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleating particles, how are they affecting clouds and climate, and can we make possible predictions for future change?

• What is the role of anthropogenic (transported and local) pollution versus natural aerosol sources in influencing the microphysics of Arctic low level clouds?

• What is the role of aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions in determining boundary layer mixing and processing/fate of local pollution in Arctic boundary layers?

• What is the role of the boundary layer structure and associated dynamics in the formation and development of Arctic clouds (e.g., phase partitioning, cloud microphysics) and their interactions with aerosol particles?