Biography:

Prof. Hannele Korhonen is a Research Professor at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

She was appointed as a Research Professor in Climate Modelling in 2014, and acts as the Director of the Climate Research Program at FMI since 2018.

She has nearly two decades of experience in research on atmospheric aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions from process to global scales.

Her other current research interests include artificial cloud modification, and advanced statistical methods to enhance performance with complicated atmospheric models.

Professor Korhonen gained her PhD from the University of Helsinki in 2004 and has since worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Universities of Leeds (UK) and Kuopio (Finland). 
 

Project Brief:

"Optimization of Aerosol Seeding In rain enhancement Strategies (OASIS)”

OASIS applies a multidisciplinary approach to provide a comprehensive quantification of the role of atmospheric aerosols in precipitation enhancement.

It aims to both advance the fundamental scientific understanding and to provide practical guidance for future field explorations.

The project goals have been addressed through a 1-year field campaign on aerosols and their cloud-precipitation interactions in the UAE, combined with simulations using a cloud-resolving model with highly advanced aerosol microphysics as well as quantum chemical calculations, along with innovative statistical approaches.

This research project is being carried out by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the University of Helsinki and Tampere University of Technology.
 

Key Outcomes:

• Detailed modeling results on the effects of various aerosols on coalescence processes.
   
• Identified the importance of mixed-phase microphysics and riming in mediating the effect from hygroscopic seeding to precipitation.
   
• Identified the most favorable cloud seeding conditions using statistical AI methods, specifically convolutional neural networks.
   
• Concluded that informed cloud seeding will require simultaneous forecasting of vertical profiles of clouds, aerosol, winds, and humidity.
   
• Found that mixed-phase microphysics (e.g., the riming process) plays a key role in efficient hygroscopic seeding of UAE convective clouds.

For more information on the project please visit : https://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/oasis-project

Final Report - PDF document.