Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 9 5 2009 10.5194/acpd-9-21317-2009 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/21317/2009/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/21317/2009/acpd-9-21317-2009.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/21317/2009/acpd-9-21317-2009.pdf 21317 21369 2009-10-09 Comparison of a global-climate model to a cloud-system resolving model for the long-term response of thin stratocumulus clouds to preindustrial and present-day aerosol conditions S. S. Lee seoungl@umich.edu J. E. Penner Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA The response of a case of thin, warm marine-boundary-layer (MBL) clouds to preindustrial (PI) and present-day (PD) conditions is simulated by a cloud-system resolving model (CSRM). Here, both the aerosol conditions and environmental conditions match those of a general circulation model (GCM). The environmental conditions are characterized by the initial condition and the large-scale forcings of humidity and temperature, as well as the surface fluxes. The response of the CSRM is compared to that simulated by GCM. <br><br> The percentage increase of liquid-water path (LWP) due to a change from the PI to PD conditions is ~3 times larger in the CSRM than that in the GCM due to the formation of cumulus clouds. The formation of cumulus clouds is controlled by a larger increase in the surface latent-heat (LH) flux in the PD environment than in the PI environment rather than by the change in aerosols. However, the aerosol increase from the PI to PD level determines the LWP response in the stratocumulus clouds, while the impacts of changes in environmental conditions are negligible for stratocumulus clouds. 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