Numerical Simulation of the Influence of Dust Aerosols on Convective Cloud Precipitation in Xinjiang

To study the influence of the dust aerosol layer on cloud and precipitation, this paper simulated a convective process in Aksu, Xinjiang, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) high-resolution weather model coupled with a spectral bin microphysics (SBM) scheme. The effects of the aerosol layer on cloud dynamics, microphysics, and precipitation processes at different heights are discussed. The results show that when the dust aerosol is in the lower layer, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) have a more obvious effect on the cloud microphysical process. As the CCN increases, the cloud droplet concentration increases, the effective radius of the cloud droplet decreases, and precipitation delays. When the dust aerosol is high, ice nuclei (IN) have a more obvious influence on the cloud microphysical process. With an increase in the IN concentration, the number of ice crystals increases, the growth process of snow, graupel, and hail is enhanced, the number of ice particles involved in the melting process increases, and the rain rate increases. This paper only discusses the possible response of the dust aerosol layer to the convective weather process that occurred in Xinjiang at different heights. Further simulation studies that are constrained by observation data are necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of the influence of dust aerosols on different types of clouds and precipitation processes.