Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 10 1 2010 10.5194/acpd-10-763-2010 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/10/763/2010/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/10/763/2010/acpd-10-763-2010.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/10/763/2010/acpd-10-763-2010.pdf 763 783 2010-01-15 Longwave indirect effect of mineral dusts on ice clouds Q. Min min@asrc.cestm.albany.edu R. Li Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12203, USA In addition to microphysical changes in clouds, changes in nucleation processes of ice cloud due to aerosols would result in substantial changes in cloud top distribution as mildly supercooled clouds are glaciated through heterogonous nucleation processes. Measurements from multiple sensors on multiple observing platforms over the Atlantic Ocean show that the cloud effective temperature increases with mineral dust loading with a slope of +3.06 °C per unit AOD. 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