Effects of South Asian outflow on aerosol hygroscopicity and cloud droplet activation over the northern Indian Ocean

As a part of the Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, gases and Radiation Budget (ICARB-2018), shipborne measurements of aerosol properties were carried out to study the influence of South Asian outflow on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) characteristics over the South East Arabian Sea (SEAS) and equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) during winter, 2018. The poor association between CCN concentration and mass concentrations of the major aerosol species (organic matter, sulfate, and elemental carbon) is observed over SEAS, where airmass is mostly continental. In comparison, the CCN is well-correlated with aerosol mass concentrations over remote EIO. The dependence of CCN activation (at lower supersaturations) on the ultrafine particle fraction differs between SEAS and EIO depending on the mass concentration of organic aerosols. The coexistence of small and hydrophobic aerosols (organics) decreased the CCN activation ratio during ultrafine particle events. The estimated hygroscopicity using the chemical composition of aerosols is comparable to that estimated from CCN measurements over the Indian Ocean, except for the SEAS, where organic aerosols dominate. The effect of outflow aerosols on cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) is simulated using a parcel model, which showed a good association (R ∼0.96) with CCN measurements over the EIO; however, the estimated CDNC did not follow the CCN variation over the SEAS region. This study highlights the importance of aerosol chemical composition, especially organics, in CCN activation and cloud droplet formation in the South Asian outflow over the Indian Ocean.