Comparing remotely sensed and modelled aerosol properties for a region of low aerosol optical depth

Studies of the second indirect aerosol effect (pollution inhibiting stratiform rainfall) for city size scale during a rain event are rare. However, as urban footprints expand understanding of urbanization effects on meteorology is crucial to mitigate possible adverse impacts such as modification to local cloud cover and precipitation. Here we compare aerosol optical properties from five weather model combinations of chemistry transport schemes with satellite images of aerosol optical properties in clear sky conditions. The WRF-Chem MOSAIC/CBM-Z combination of gas phase chemistry and aerosol transport schemes are shown to correlate well with a MODIS image for the case study presented. The result is important because the study area of Brisbane, Australia is known to have a low aerosol load - creating limitations when correlating model and satellite images of aerosol size distribution. Accordingly, results pave the way for future studies to quantify aerosol impacts on cloud and precipitation in sub-tropical settings.