| 1. Assess the significance of sulfates and other continental aerosols
for global radiative forcing |
|
1.1 |
Can evidence be found for a direct effect of aerosols on the
wavelength-resolved fluxes of radiation in clear air, and how is it
related to their physics, chemistry and optical properties?
|
| 1.2 |
Is the radiative cooling effect of anthropogenic particles confined
regionally to urban and surrounding land areas?
|
| 1.3 |
If not, can this radiative cooling effect influence the ocean heat
budget and the planetary (clear and cloudy) albedo thousands of
kilometers away from the source of the pollution?
|
| 1.4 |
What is the importance of interhemispheric differences on upper
tropospheric aerosols, cirrus clouds and their radiative properties?
|
| 2. Assess the magnitude of the solar absorption in the surface and in
the troposphere including the ITCZ cloud systems |
|
2.1 |
Do models systematically underestimate clear sky solar absorption? |
| 2.2 |
If so, how does the magnitude of the discrepancy depend on water
vapor concentration, aerosol characteristics and concentration of
pollutants? |
| 2.3 |
Do ITCZ convective/cirrus systems enhance atmospheric solar absorption? |
| 2.4 |
If so, what is the physics and chemistry behind this excess
absorption? |
| 2.5 |
What is the role of anthropogenic (sulfate, black carbon, organics)
and natural aerosols (dust) in the clear sky and cloudy sky solar
absorption? |
| 2.6 |
How does this excess heating alter the meridional heating gradient
in the ocean and the atmosphere?
|
| 3. Characterize the pre-existing aerosols and gases in the NE monsoon
flowing off of the Indian subcontinent and into the ITCZ, and assess
the role of the ITCZ in the transport of trace species and pollutants |
|
3.1 |
What is the chemical composition of the airflow in the lower
troposphere leaving the Indian subcontinent in the NE monsoon during
the early part of the year?
|
| 3.2 |
How does this chemical composition change as a function of time as
the flow approaches and enters the ITCZ, and how is it related to cloud
formation?
|
| 3.3 |
What are the vertical profiles of gaseous species and aerosol
particles in the ITCZ?
|
| 3.4 |
What is the chemical composition, both particulate and gaseous, of
the outflow from the ITCZ in the upper tropical troposphere and lower
stratosphere?
|
| 3.5 |
To what extent are anthropogenic emissions altering the chemical
composition of the "free" troposphere?
|
| 3.6 |
Does air entering the stratosphere in the ITCZ come predominantly
from the northern or southern hemisphere?
|