Surface-based observation of aerosol indirect effect in the Mid-Atlantic region

A method for assessing the aerosol indirect effect based on back trajectory analysis and cloud and aerosol properties derived from a combination of observations from the Multifilter Rotating Shadow Band Radiometer and microwave radiometer at a newly established atmospheric measurement field station in the Baltimore-Washington corridor is reported in this article. Six months of aerosol and cloud optical depth data are segregated according to air mass history based on back trajectory analysis. Under stagnant and polluted conditions where air flow across the region is predominantly from west-southwest, aerosol optical depth is on average three to four times greater than in air masses that advect rapidly from north and east. When sorted by mean cloud liquid water path, cloud-droplet effective radius in polluted air masses is on average 0.9 μm smaller than that observed under more pristine conditions. Analysis is presented to confirm the statistical significance of this result.