On the Importance of Sea Surface Temperature for Aerosol‐Induced Brightening of Marine Clouds and Implications for Cloud Feedback in a Future Warmer Climate

Marine low clouds are one of the greatest sources uncertainty for climate projection. We present an observed climatology cloud albedo susceptibility to droplet number concentration perturbations (S0) with changing sea surface temperature (SST) and estimated inversion strength single-layer warm over North Atlantic Ocean, using eight years satellite reanalysis data. The key findings that SST has a dominant control on S0 in presence co-varying synoptic conditions aerosol perturbations. Regions conducive aerosol-induced darkening (brightening) occur high (low) local SST. Higher significantly hastens cloud-top evaporation increasing loading, by accelerating entrainment facilitating drying. In global-warming-like scenario where loading is reduced, less expected, mainly as result reduced Our results imply positive low-cloud liquid water path feedback warmer decreasing loading.