Journal of Cleaner Production 189 (2018) 135e144

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Aerosol pollution, including eroded soils, intensifies cloud growth,

precipitation, and soil erosion: A review
Marco Casazza a, d, *, Massimiliano Lega a, Gengyuan Liu b, c, Sergio Ulgiati b, c, d,
Theodore A. Endreny e
a
University of Napoli 'Parthenope', Department of Engineering, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143, Napoli, Italy
b
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
c
Beijing Engineering Research Center for Watershed Environmental Restoration & Integrated Ecological Regulation, Beijing, 100875, China
d
University of Napoli 'Parthenope', Department of Science and Technology, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143, Napoli, Italy
e
Department of Environmental Resources Engineering, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210,
USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Earth's critical zone is vulnerable to atmospheric aerosol pollution due to aerosol impacts on cloud
Received 30 March 2017 microphysics, precipitation characteristics, soil erosion, and the subsequent interactions of the soil-
Received in revised form vegetation-atmosphere transfer of water, energy and aerosols. This review explains the individual and
30 March 2018
inter-connected processes of aerosol loading, cloud microphysics, precipitation characteristics, and soil
Accepted 1 April 2018
Available online 2 April 2018
erosion. A by-product of soil erosion is the generation of additional atmospheric aerosols, as well as the
enhancement of surface erosion due to increased runoff. The literature includes empirical and theoretical
studies within and across these domains. Case studies from China and Italy are provided to illustrate the
Keywords:
Aerosol pollution
key concepts connecting this system. The knowledge of the multiscale-impacts of aerosol pollution
Cloud physics enables actions toward cleaner production processes to reduce aerosol pollution as well as forest and
Precipitation climatology vegetation management to reduce soil erosion vulnerability. This review provides our community new
Storm erosivity insights on how to assess and manage earth's critical zone and our energy, food, water, and human
Adaptation and mitigation options resources.
Cleaner production © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction critical zone of aerosol pollution, that lead to intensified precipi-

The Earth's critical zone contains the soil, plant, atmospheric
interface and is managed by humans for life support, including food
production and drinking water supply. A reliable supply of
ecosystem services depends on managing production inputs (i.e.,
resource extraction) and outputs, which include pollutants re-
leases, so they do not degrade the critical zone (e.g.: Gray and
Sadoff, 2007; Rockstro€ m et al., 2009; Steffen et al., 2015). Second-
ary impacts from anthropogenic pollution can be hardest to
manage, given their spatial, temporal, and cause-effect distance
from problems. Such a challenge is exacerbated by a lack of
comprehensive and multi-disciplinary scientific literature. In this
review, we are compiling literature that addresses the impact to the
* Corresponding author. University of Napoli 'Parthenope', Department of Engi-
neering, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143, Napoli, Italy.
E-mail address: marco.casazza@uniparthenope.it (M. Casazza).
tation, increased soil loss, and reduced food and water supply.
Despite several decades of research predicting increased weather
extremes (Kunkel et al., 2013; Field et al., 2014; Lavers et al., 2015),
the literature has only recently established a cause-effect expla-
nation of how aerosol pollution (Stocker, 2014) modifies clouds,
precipitation, and soil erosion.
The impacts of anthropogenic aerosols on the critical zone's
atmospheric component, and human health, are well established
compared to indirect impacts on soil erosion. St. Luis, Los Angeles,
London (the latter is known as Big Smoke), Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi
and some other heavily polluted megacities of the rapidly indus-
trializing countries are now experiencing severe, frequent, and
enduring smog episodes (Shi et al., 2016). In China alone, hundreds
of millions of residents are exposed to smog levels that exceed
health standards (Zhang et al., 2014), and until these health impacts
are addressed perhaps policy makers will not consider other im-
pacts to the critical zone. This mainly depends on the burden of
disease, generated by anthropogenic aerosol emissions, which is

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.004
0959-6526/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
136 M. Casazza et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 189 (2018) 135e144
still a relevant literature topic (e.g.: Arden Pope III and Dockery,
2013; Kim et al., 2013; Gatto et al., 2014; Romanazzi et al., 2014;
Cen, 2015; Casazza et al., 2016; Jang et al., 2016; Ku et al., 2017).
Atmospheric aerosols typically have a wide range of particle
sizes, called polydisperse, and may be solid, liquid, or solid-liquid
mixtures. Smog is a solid-liquid aerosol composed of gasses and
particulate matter (PM hereafter). The diameter of PM in aerosols
can range from 0.001 to 100 mm. Atmospheric aerosols can become
either Ice Nuclei (IN) or Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN), which
are basic constituents in the formation of clouds. Consequently, PM
affects both clouds and precipitation properties (Lohmann and
Feichter, 2005; Rosenfeld et al., 2008, 2014). Aerosols composed
of hygroscopic particles, which especially promote the condensa-
tion of water vapour, are broadly called Condensation Nuclei (CN),
and these may become CCN, being involved in the formation of
cloud droplets. Both the mass and the composition of PM water-
soluble components influence the capacity of atmospheric aero-
sols to act as CCN (Tao et al., 2012). In such a process, aerosols are
scavenged from the atmosphere. Aerosol particles may be scav-
enged in cloud by water drops and ice crystals via nucleation and
impaction, which includes inertial impaction, Brownian diffusion,
thermophoresis, diffusiophoresis, and electric effects in the pres-
ence of charges (Prodi et al., 2014). For a deeper knowledge on this
subject, consider the reference works of Pruppacher and Klett
(2010), Mason (2010), and Wang (2013).
Land surface soils in the critical zone are vulnerable to alter-
ations in precipitation characteristics, both chemical and physical.
Chemical alterations might involve an increase in precipitation
acidity, with complex feedback loops with food production that
involve changes in soil physical, chemical, and biological structure
(Hedin and Likens, 1996). This review focuses on physical alter-
ations in precipitation and impacts to soil erosion (Lal, 2001). Soil
erosion is an important driving force in the transformation of the
critical zone. Accelerated soil erosion can cause loss of topsoil, the
development of catastrophic floods, droughts, and famine threat-
ening food and environmental security worldwide. About ten
million hectares of cropland are lost each year because of soil
erosion, which reduces the limited cropland for food production
and leads to millions of people suffering malnourishment. Modern
soil loss rates are 10e40 times faster than the rates of soil renewal
(Zhao et al., 2013). Soil erosion also affects the global carbon cycle,
reducing accumulation of CO2, and releasing stored CO2 (Lal, 2003;
Van Oost et al., 2007; Hoffmann et al., 2013).
This review is focused on the relations among aerosol charac-
teristics and cloud and precipitation properties, that, in turn, affect
soil erosion. In addition, two cases at regional scales are examined,
the Piemonte Region of Italy, a focus area in Europe to manage
agricultural and industrial pollution, and the Jing-Jin-Ji macro-re-
gion of China, a focus area in Asia to manage smog crises. A dis-
cussion section focuses on actions to alleviate the vulnerability of
erosion in the critical zone.
2. Methods
2.1. Characteristics of the present survey
The literature survey was based on different criteria, using
journal articles from Google Scholar and Web of Science. A set of
searches were performed using the words: (1) “aerosol” and
“precipitation” (23,000 results Google Scholar, 3974 results Web of
Science); (2) “aerosol” and “erosion” (45,400 results Google
Scholar, 464 results Web of Science); and (3) “precipitation” and
“erosion” (1,040,000 results Google Scholar, 3857 results Web of
Science). A previous research also served as reference for the
bibliographical search (Casazza, 2016). For search (1), the top five
cited articles from the Web of Science search for aerosol and pre-
cipitation were focused on climate change, published in Science,
Journal of Climate, and Nature, and each was cited more than 1000
times. For search (2), the top five cited articles from Web of Science
were focused on aerosols produced by soil erosion, published in
Reviews of Geophysics, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmo-
spheres, and Nature, and each was cited more than 375 times. For
search (3), the top five cited articles from Web of Science were
focused on the influence of precipitation on landscape features
through the erosion process, and each was cited more than 200
times.
The literature identified from these searches was then screened
to identify articles that discussed pertinent features of aerosols,
precipitation, and erosion that would help understand their inter-
related nature. Articles that were identified as highly relevant were
further screened to identify the relevant articles they cited and
were cited by in subsequent literature. The aerosol literature was
used to describe the sources, fluxes, and the distribution of aerosols
in order to identify the anthropogenic fingerprint on its role in
altering precipitation and erosion.
3. Results
3.1. Aerosol pollution
Globally, the annual atmospheric primary PM emissions from
human activities have reached impressive levels. Since 1970, the
primary anthropogenic PM emissions, excluding biomass burning,
exceed 1010 kg/year, with annual emissions still increasing (EC-JRC/
PBL, 2011). Aerosol optical depth (AOD) measured by satellite-
sensors (SeaWiFS and MISR), served as input to define a global
ground-level PM2.5 (i.e.: PM having an aerodynamic diameter up-
per size of 2.5 mm) dataset, spanning along 15 years, from 1998 to
2012 (Boys et al., 2014). These data provided geographically annual
trends that correlate with rapid societal and production trans-
formation, particularly in Southeast Asia. The 15-yr satellite plat-
form observations indicate that AOD concentrations are quite
stable over time, with different characteristics over land and the
oceans and higher concentrations over land, both during the day
and night-time (Winker et al., 2013). In particular, at mid and high
latitudes, AOD observations suggest that PM is mainly found in the
kilometre closest to the Earth's surface. The vertical location of
aerosol PM depends on the depth of the atmospheric mixing layer,
or planetary boundary layer, which constrains vertical transport
and mixing phenomena; the mixing layer depth depends on solar
radiation and atmospheric thermodynamics. The global maxima
AOD values have concentrated between: a) 40 e60 South lati-
tudes, due to Southern Ocean areas marine aerosol load; and b)
between 0 and 40 North, where Saharan dust with strong vertical
transport generates. In areas of high aerosol concentrations or
burdens, diurnal fluctuations are smaller within the mixing layer
than beyond the mixing layer.
Regional and sectoral drivers of aerosol emissions are influenced
by individual contributions of sulfate (SO2), Black Carbon (BC) and
Organic Carbon (OC). In fact, these represent the major components
of human-produced PM (Andreae and Crutzen, 1997). In particular,
OC and BC fractions are found in carbonaceous aerosols, while
sulfates and nitrates, generated by the conversion of gases into PM,
are main components of secondary aerosols. The global impacts
and mean atmospheric lifetime for these aerosols was considered
in reference to the start of the industrial era, set at year 1850, and
contrasted with the current era set for year 2000, and modelling
was used to infer values for aerosol values for 1850 (Lamarque et al.,
2010). During this period of industrial growth there has been a
large increase in aerosol loads since 1850, greater than doubling
 M. Casazza et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 189 (2018) 135e144 137

SO2 and OC, and a near doubling of BC, while their lifetime in the be either neutralized by ammonia (NH3) or transformed into
atmosphere has increased by 6% or 0.2 days (Table 1). ammonium sulfate, (NH4)2SO4, if excess NH3 is available. On the
Differentiating anthropogenic and natural sources for aerosol other side, remaining NH3 supports the transformation for HNO3
emissions is important in any subsequent management. While BC into ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) aerosol can form. Otherwise,
has no known natural sources, OC and SO2 have nearly 30% of their HNO3 remains in the gas phase, except within clouds. These pro-
load generated by natural sources (Table 2) (Koch et al., 2007). The cesses are partially supported via photochemical reactions, which
largest anthropogenic sources vary by aerosol type, but for BC and also involve ozone (O3). Consequently, the global mean load of
OC are, in decreasing order based on data from 1996, biomass smaller-dimension SO2 and NO2 aerosol (i.e.: excluding the bigger
combustion and residential (e.g., heating or cooking). For SO2, the size particles derived from reactions with mineral dust) for year
largest anthropogenic sources, in decreasing order based on data 2000 were determined to be 0.34 Tg(S) yr 1 and 0.11 Tg(N)yr 1
from 1995, are power production and industrial heating and steam. which remove the weight of O2 (Bauer et al., 2007).
At a broad geographic scale, Southeast Asia has some of the highest Despite the existing emission controls and management actions,
BC, OC, and SO2 aerosol emissions due to non-biomass burning aerosol PM pollution has remained a critical issue in recent years
activities, while Africa has the highest BC, OC, and SO2 aerosol for many areas. Data of the emissions inventory in China's Jing-Jin-Ji
emissions for biomass burning activities (Table 3). area indicate that 1.59  107 tons of PM10 (73.6 tons/km2) and
Aerosols of secondary origin are formed as a consequence of 1.03  107 tons of PM2.5 (47.9 tons/km2) were emitted in year 2010;
photochemical processes in the atmosphere, such as from the re- PM10 values were measured and PM2.5 were estimated based on a
actions of SO2 and NO2, and are especially relevant for PM pollution. theoretical PM2.5-to-PM10 ratio of 0.65 (Greenpeace, 2013). How-
Moreover, due to the characteristic small dimension of secondary ever, this ratio is uncertain (Brauer et al., 2012). In fact, both lower
particles, they constitute a potential major source of CCN. These and higher ratios, between 0.06 and 0.73, have been observed in
aerosol species are mainly generated from oxidation of SO2 and NOx China (Guo et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2016). In 2014, the PM2.5
to H2SO4 and HNO3 (Park et al., 2004). In particular, SO2 aerosol, can average concentration in Jing-Jin-Ji area reached their top-recorded
value around 100 mg/m3, the highest ever measured in China.
Meanwhile, the secondary particles accounted for about 68e84% of
Table 1 total PM2.5 concentrations (Miao et al., 2015). The city of Turin, in
Global amtrhropogenically-influenced aerosol load and atmospheric lifetime. In Italy's Piemonte region, has one of the highest production rates of
particular, data refer to for sulfate (SO2), Black Carbon (BC) and Organic Carbon (OC) secondary inorganic aerosol among the European urban areas
(data derived from: Lamarque et al., 2010). (Kiesewetter et al., 2015). Despite government and media attention
Year 1850 2000 on Turin since March 2015, in December 2015 aerosol levels
SO2 Aerosol load (mg(SO2)/m2) 1.55 3.65
increased and Turin experienced a PM10 daily value of 126 mg/m3,
Lifetime (days) 3.4 3.6 and a PM2.5 value of 97 mg/m3. In the Piemonte region, the 2010
OC Aerosol load (mg(C2)/m2) 0.09 0.24 total PM10 emissions were 1.92  104 tons (0.756 tons/km2), while
Lifetime (days) 5.6 5.8 the PM2.5 emissions were 1.40  104 tons (0.551 tons/km2), a PM2.5-
BC Aerosol load (mg(C2)/m2) 0.64 1.04
to-PM10 ratio of 0.73 which is within an observed ratio range of
Lifetime (days) 5.2 5.4
0.47e0.90 for Turin, higher in cold months (Alessandria et al.,
2014). The available data for the same year for the considered
Italian region indicate a year average concentration of 24 mg/m3 for
Table 2
Sectoral emissions for BC, OC and SO2, expressed as absolute values (Tg) referred to PM10 and of 16 mg/m3 for PM2.5 with a PM2.5-to-PM10 ratio of 0.67.
years 1995 and 1996 (from: Koch et al., 2007). Once emitted into the atmosphere, aerosols are either trans-
ported both horizontally and vertically by air masses or removed
Sector BC (Tg) OC (Tg) SO2 (Tg)
through dry or wet scavenging processes. Vertical aerosol PM
Industrial 1.1 1 34 concentrations within the atmosphere, and their variability, are
Residential 2.1 8 7
Power 0.03 0.03 26
mainly affected by convective transport, ageing, vertical extent of
Transport 1.3 1 6 biomass-burning emissions (e.g., stack height), aqueous oxidation,
Biomass combustion 3.7 30.1 2 and in-cloud scavenging (Kipling et al., 2016).
Natural 0.0 18.6 29
TOTAL 8.2 58.7 104
3.2. Cloud and precipitation regime alteration

Atmospheric aerosol concentration, size, and composition in

Table 3
clouds were characterized during clean and polluted boundary
Regional emissions for BC, OC and SO2, expressed as absolute values (Tg) referred to
years 1995 and 1996 (from: Koch et al., 2007).
layer conditions over the United Kingdom during summer 2013, as
part of the COnvective Precipitation Experiment (COPE). On
World region BC (Tg) OC (Tg) SO2 (Tg)
average, aerosol mass loadings were 2.5 mg/m3, and generated CCN
Non-Biomass Burning Aerosol (NBBA) concentrations between 150 and 500/cm3 between 0.1% and 0.9%
SE Asia 1.5 2.9 19.8 supersaturation (Taylor et al., 2016). During elevated anthropogenic
N America 0.4 0.8 9.6
Europe 0.5 0.9 16.3
emissions, there was a 6-fold increase in the concentration of CCN
S Asia 0.6 2.2 3.8 from marine organic aerosols (OA), BC, SO4, and NH4NO3, and a
Other 1.5 4.7 22.6 3e4-fold increase in drop number concentrations (Taylor et al.,
Biomass burning 2016). This experiment's focus on anthropogenic pollutants ex-
S America 1.2 9.6 0.3
tends the prior focus on episodic and geographically limited
Africa 1.5 11.3 0.6
Other 1 9.7 0.4 emissions from volcanoes and forest fires (e.g.: Diodato, 1999;
Natural Rosenfeld, 1999; Gillett et al., 2004; Walter et al., 2014).
World 0 16.6 30.4 Aerosol observations and simulation in the Goddard Cumulus
TOTAL Ensemble Model for the Piedmont region of Virginia, US were used
World 8.2 58.7 103.8
to demonstrate that when pollution increases concentrations of
138 M. Casazza et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 189 (2018) 135e144
aerosol CCN, larger and more intense cloud development ensues,
along with more extensive ice anvil development, larger areas of
stratiform precipitation, and greater total precipitation depth
(O'Halloran et al., 2015). The ice anvil development was due to
stronger convection, overcoming the opposing trend for decreased
precipitation efficiency (O'Halloran et al., 2015). Under scenarios
with lower concentrations of aerosol CCN, precipitation started at
approximately the same time as with higher concentrations of CCN,
but the cloud size decreased, and total precipitation decreased by
approximately 90% (O'Halloran et al., 2015).
Aerosols are not the only variable influencing cloud and pre-
cipitation characteristics, and other factors include changes to the
earth's radiation budget and cosmic ray fluxes (e.g.: Casazza and
Alessio, 2015) Observed cloud cover has exhibited a declining
trend of 0.4% per decade, concentrated in the middle latitudes, from
year 1971 through 2009 (Eastman and Warren, 2013). This trend
was explained by the jet streams poleward shift, and should occur
in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Meanwhile, a
significant global decrease in low-level clouds, accompanied by an
opposite trend for middle and upper level clouds, has been detec-
ted (McLean, 2014). Dominant cloud types have also shifted in some
regions, such as the Indian region during monsoons, and from
stratiform to cumuliform in the Northern Eurasian region, which
has been associated with increased aerosol PM and changes in at-
mospheric temperatures influencing cloud temperatures (Norris
et al., 2016).
Aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) are variable (Table 4),
depending on aerosol and cloud characteristics, which, in turn, are
dependent on atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics factors,
such as updraft speeds (Zhang et al., 2015). Fan et al. (2016) dis-
cussed the importance of ACI for the evolution of different cloud
types. In particular, the study included: warm clouds (i.e.: without
ice phase and/or mixed-phase regimes); mixed-phase clouds (i.e.:
mainly made of mixed ice crystals and supercooled liquid droplets);
deep convective clouds, with predominantly ice crystal growth of
drop sizes; cirrus clouds; orographic clouds (e.g.: Muhlbauer and
Lohmann, 2008, 2009; Muhlbauer et al., 2010). For most cloud
types, increased anthropogenic aerosol CCN concentrations, for a
fixed volume of atmospheric moisture, will generally result in a
larger number of cloud droplets of smaller average size, and con-
ditions that favour a greater rate of drop evaporation or sublima-
tion, leading to precipitation suppression (Table 4). In these
conditions, the temperature gradient in the cloud will steepen,
more intense updrafts can form, cloud height can grow, and the
precipitation drops reaching the ground tend toward a larger size
distribution (Table 4).
Both experimental and model data have confirmed aerosol PM
affects precipitation from clouds through suppression and
enhancement of extreme, convective, events (e.g.: Rosenfeld, 2003;
Rosenfeld and Givati, 2006; Rosenfeld et al., 2007; Bell et al., 2008,
2009). In particular, within an atmosphere with elevated aerosol
concentrations, the decrease in precipitation efficiency (e.g., pre-
cipitation evaporating or sublimating before reaching the ground)
is attributable to aerosols warming a deeper layer of dry air outside
cloud updrafts (Khain et al., 2005). Further, aerosols modify cloud
droplet sizes, decreasing the temperature of glaciation, and
creating greater droplet numbers (Zipori et al., 2015). The micro-
physical processes largely drive cloud cover, top height, thickness at
the mature and dissipation stages. These effects depend on the
generation of larger amounts of smaller but longer-lasting ice
particles (Freud and Rosenfeld, 2012; Fan et al., 2013). By affecting
precipitation, aerosols influence phase change and radiative pro-
cesses and thereby influence the net heating of the atmosphere,
which also changes the vertical distribution of latent heat release,
typically lifting the height of peak heating.
Aerosols have affected extreme weather events, increasing their
frequency from a 1990s baseline, and perhaps affecting the kinetic
energy of their falling drops (Rosenfeld and Bell, 2011; Field et al.,
2014). Even in cases where total precipitation depth decreases,
aerosols tend to increase extreme precipitation intensity and vari-
ability. Growth in CCN concentrations triggers intense pre-
cipitations through enhanced development of mixed-phase and
deep convective cloud dynamics and their related microphysics
(Qian et al., 2009; Koren et al., 2012; O'Halloran et al., 2015; D. H.
Wang et al., 2015; Bower et al., 2016; Ilotoviz et al., 2016). Increasing
CCN concentrations (from 300 to 700/cm3) in a deep convective
cloud, for a fixed precipitation intensity, the Weather Research and
Forecasting (WRF) model predicted a decrease in kinetic energy of
precipitation, explained by smaller drop sizes (Nissan and Toumi,
2013). By contrast, in orographic warm clouds, as CCN concentra-
tions were increased from 300 to 1200/cm3, for a fixed precipitation
intensity, the WRF model predicted an increase in kinetic energy of
precipitation, explained by larger drop sizes (Nissan and Toumi,
2013). The cloud microphysics affects the cloud precipitation
characteristics. Atmospheric models simulating the Sichuan Basin
(NW China) catastrophic flood (8th-9th July 2013) suggested this
event is largely explained by elevated aerosol pollution, which
significantly enhanced the rainfall intensity over the mountainous
areas (Fan et al., 2015).
Precipitation intensity is related to kinetic energy through drop
number, which affects drop size and fall rate (van Dijk et al., 2002).
A meaningful inverse trend between precipitation intensity and
frequency was observed in China. In particular, with intensity
increasing in storms, some regions experienced fewer storms (Liu
et al., 2005; Zhai et al., 2005; Zhang and Cong, 2014). Similarly, in
Italy, there has been a significant decrease in the number of wet
days while there has been a corresponding increase in precipitation
intensity (Brunetti et al., 2002, 2004; Casazza and Piano, 2003a).
Floods in Italy's Piemonte region resulted in 342 deaths and 17,983
homeless between years 1963 and 2012 (National Research Council
data), and aerosol PM pollution is a likely exacerbating mechanism
(e.g.: Casazza and Piano, 2004; Rosenfeld et al., 2006; Ntelekos
et al., 2009; Yuan et al., 2011; Guo et al., 2014). This is based in
part on observed and modelled studies showing large lightning
flash density, increased rainfall intensity, and suppressed moderate
precipitation correlating with atmospheric aerosol loading (Wang
et al., 2011; Zhang, 2014). In sum, aerosol PM pollution changes
cloud physics and precipitation regimes.
3.3. Alterations to soil erosivity
Global maps of erosivity generally indicate regions most prone
to erosion are located near the equator, distributed across South-
east Asia, Central Africa, South America, Central America and the
Caribbean (Panagos et al., 2017). These regions coincide with areas
receiving increased aerosol loads (see Table 3), which would likely
receive deep convective cloud precipitation with greater kinetic
energy and erosivity.
An increase in precipitation intensity leads to an increasing
storm erosivity factor (Casazza et al., 2008). This factor, used within
the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and within its derivatives, is
a function of rainfall amount and intensity (Kirby, 2010). This
erosivity factor, determined for each storm event, is obtained as the
product of total kinetic energy flux, its maximum 30-minute pre-
cipitation intensity, I30, and time. The runoff erosivity factor, RR, is
the summed product of instantaneous storm kinetic energy flux,
precipitation intensity, runoff fraction, and the square of time
(Kinnel et al., 1994). The influence of precipitation intensity on
storm erosivity is constrained by measurements, capturing both the
temporal and the spatial variability in precipitation, as well as the
 M. Casazza et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 189 (2018) 135e144 139

Table 4
Main Aerosol-Cloud Interaction (ACI) mechanisms depending on cloud type (warm clouds, mixed-phase clouds, deep convective clouds, cirrus clouds). (Mainly derived from:
Fan et al., 2016).

Cloud type Main aerosol cloud interaction (ACI) (observed or modelled) References

Warm clouds
Among which are accounted:
 light precipitation, if any is recorded (for boundary layer
W. boundary layer clouds.
Q2: Please update Zipori et al.,
in press.
Non-precipitating clouds.
Mixed-phase clouds
Deep Convective Clouds (DCC)
Cirrus clouds
Orographic clouds
 CCN increase the number of cloud droplets; Twomey 1977; Albrecht 1989; Rosenfeld 1999; Ackerman et al.,
 CCN increase leads to reduced droplet size; 2004; McFiggans et al., 2006; Xue and Feingold 2006; Gustafson
 CCN increase may lead to the formation of closed cells with et al., 2008; Yuan and Yu 2011; Christensen and Stephens 2011,
2012; Shrivastava et al., 2013; Chen et al., 2015
clouds)
 Evaporation enhanced
 Potential transition to DCC (for boundary layer clouds)
 Increased invigoration and enhanced rain rates (if low drop
number concentration, Nd, is observed)
 Increased Liquid Water Content (LWC) if aerosols are added Fan et al. (2012)
 Reduced droplet size and precipitation suppression by PM
concentration increase
 Higher aerosol load increases cloud cover and cloud-top Koren et al. (2010); Li et al. (2011); Lebo and Seingeld (2011,
height; 2012); Niu and Li (2012); Fan et al. (2013)
 Tendency toward suppression of warm rain;
 Higher aerosol load contributes to ice particle size reduction
 Stratiform polluted clouds with higher number of smaller ice
particles
 Possible thermodynamic invigoration
 Nucleation mechanisms determine the aerosol impacts on Ka€rcher et al. (2006); Barahona and Nenes (2009); Gettelman
cirrus clouds; et al. (2012)
 The balance between homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous
nucleation influences ACI
 Dust aerosols are efficient Ice Nuclei, which support the Muhlbauer and Lohmann (2008, 2009); Muhlbauer et al. (2010)
development of ice phase;
 Anthropogenic aerosols freezing initiation prevalently
through immersion mode instead of contact nucleation;
 Higher in-cloud riming rates, consequent higher precipitation
efficiency and enhanced orographic precipitation;
 Mixed-phase conditions reduce the overall susceptibility of
stratiform orographic clouds and precipitation to changes in
the aerosol number concentrations
 In the case of warm orographic cloud:
 Orographic precipitation shifted downstream, depending
on increased aerosol load;
 Warm-phase orographic precipitation reduced at the
mountain upslope side
 Enhancement of downslope precipitation, critically
depending on the mountain width and on flow dynamics.
Upslope precipitation decrease not compensated by
growth of leeward precipitation, if stably stratified
unblocked flow is present;
 Leeward precipitation enhancement and eventual
precipitation loss compensation upslope, in case of flow
blocking. ACI effect on latent heat may alter the orographic
flow dynamics.

quantifications of its kinetic energy flux (Fiener and Auerswald,
2009; Chebbi et al., 2011; Lanza et al., 2010; Casazza, 2016). Both
the kinetic energy flux and the precipitation intensity are functions
of the drop size distribution (DSD), which expresses the concen-
tration of rain drops with respect to their equivalent diameter
(Caracciolo et al., 2006, 2011). A change in the characteristics of
clouds and precipitation will affect the DSD and the erosivity fac-
tors, while erosivity will then likely change the fraction of precip-
itation becoming runoff, i.e., not infiltrating.
In modelling the development of deep convective clouds within
a supercell thunderstorm, Nissan and Toumi (2013) increased CCN
concentration from 300 to 700/cm3 and noted a corresponding
increase between 25 and 35% in precipitation intensity, kinetic
energy, and USLE and runoff erosivity factors. When CCN concen-
tration increased from 700 to 1200/cm3, the precipitation intensity
and kinetic energy experienced an oscillating decrease between 10
and 5% of their peak values at 700/cm3, while erosivity oscillated
around its peak value, indicating precipitation kinetic energy and
soil erosivity are not completely coupled (Nissan and Toumi, 2013).
By contrast, in orographic warm clouds, the increase of CCN
concentration from 300 to 1200/cm3 led to a 60e90% decrease in
precipitation intensity, kinetic energy, and USLE and runoff
erosivity factors. The positive trends between aerosol CCN and
precipitation intensity, kinetic energy, and erosivity for deep
convective clouds, compared with the negative trends for warm
clouds, is explained in part by the two cloud types experiencing
different transitions between the competing processes of rainfall
suppression and intensification.
The erosivity of the precipitation is more strongly influenced by
its kinetic energy, more so than its total depth (Zhang et al., 2010).
In the case of China, between 1961 and 2012, erosivity, measured
using the RU metric, increased by 17.4% in the arid zone, where deep
convective clouds are more prevalent and enhanced levels of
aerosol CCN concentration would lead to greater precipitation ki-
netic energy (Yang and Lu, 2015). During the same period in areas of
China with a greater distribution of warm clouds, such as sub-
humid and semi-arid zones, erosivity slightly decreased (Yang
and Lu, 2015), which may be explained by the negative trend be-
tween aerosol CCN and erosivity established by Nissan and Toumi
(2013). In Italy, with elevated aerosol CCN concentrations,
140 M. Casazza et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 189 (2018) 135e144
precipitation erosivity has been characterized as the highest across
Europe (Panagos et al., 2014), with values higher than 1000 MJ mm
ha 1 h 1 yr 1 (Panagos et al., 2015). The erosion of soils leads to
greater concentrations of aerosols and CCN concentrations
(Prospero et al., 2002), which can then lead to intensification of
precipitation and erosion from deep convective clouds (Nissan and
Toumi, 2013), creating a positive feedback loop.
Erosion of the earth's soils affects the ability of soils to partition
precipitation between runoff and infiltration, leading to additional
erosion through scour, and land surface vulnerability. The erosion
process will reduce the thickness and hence pore volume of soils, as
well decrease soil surface permeability, which together generates
greater surface runoff (Hillel, 1987). The additional runoff along the
surface will create shear forces that can exceed soil tractive forces
and lead to increased sheet, rill, gully, and river channel erosion
(Wohl, 2014).
4. Discussion
Feedback between increased erosivity and increased aerosol
concentrations adds complexity to the challenge of managing this
critical zone system for cleaner production. With the growing
probability of erosion of fertile soil particles, there are risks of
desertification (Rossi et al., 2006) and increased intensity of pre-
cipitation and erosion. The increasing risk for agricultural soil loss
due to increased storm erosivity has serious implications for our
world's chronically malnourished citizens, as well as our efforts to
slow and reverse adverse agricultural impacts on land, water,
biodiversity and climate (Smith, 2013). Indeed, the community of
scholars involved in cleaner production must invest in adaptation
and mitigation actions to sustain our global critical zone, and
provide a system that delivers resource security (Wheeler and von
Braun, 2013).
A transition to cleaner production could address atmospheric
aerosol pollution as well as address problems associated with a
disruption of climate, conversion of lands, and an accelerated loss of
biodiversity. Several roadmaps and practices, going from preven-
tive approaches to interdisciplinary solutions, were described by
Shi et al. (2014). Those authors stressed the importance of inte-
grating efficiency-based approaches within appropriate social,
economic, legal and education frameworks. Obviously, the effec-
tiveness of future cleaner productions cannot be disentangled from
the definition of a strategy for a clean and affordable energy future.
To effectively address this topic, we should gradually phase out
energy-intensive, pollution-intensive and emission-intensive in-
dustries (Lyu et al., 2016). Energy, agriculture, and transportation
are sectors that could significantly reduce aerosol production
(Ghisellini and Casazza, 2016; Basosi et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2017a;
Meng et al., 2017). Among the possible paths for accelerating the
transition to equitable post fossil-carbon societies, Eco-Industrial
Development (EID) represents a great opportunity (Geng et al.,
2016a), together with the circular economy option (e.g.: Ghisellini
et al., 2016; Geng et al., 2016b). A clean and affordable energy
future will contribute to fewer anthropogenic aerosols and less
erosive precipitation.
Vegetation management, including reforestation and afforesta-
tion, is a critical approach in reducing vulnerability of the land
surface to erosion and the feedback loop to soil based aerosol
production. Soil protection from erosion can be complemented by
land surface management, including use of tree and shrub cover, in
urban and rural areas, to provide canopy interception of precipi-
tation, as well as root tensile strength, organic matter, and moisture
regimes that contribute to stabile soils. Such tree cover will addi-
tionally contribute to removal of some aerosols through canopy
filtering of pollutants, and globally provide billions of dollars per
year in services improving human health (Endreny et al., 2017).
Urban and rural forest and vegetation cover will reconnect the
water and energy balance between the soil and atmosphere
(Makarieva et al., 2013), which will contribute to a better func-
tioning critical zone. Cleaner production in urban areas is strategic,
as they represent a major source of pollutant emissions, and only
occupy less than 5% of global land area. Production patterns should
be designed to fit local environmental capacity, comparative ad-
vantages, as well as to meet high-quality targets. A shift in pro-
duction structure to low energy consumption and low pollution is
advisable for sustainable urbanization globally (Liu et al., 2015), and
vegetation cover can lead to reduction of building energy costs and
improvement of human thermal comfort, reducing air conditioning
costs.
Environmental monitoring and modelling will continue to be
crucial for assessing the transition to cleaner production, and
manage the nexus of aerosols, precipitation, and erosion. Moni-
toring can extend to production and consumption systems, by
recording changes in integrated indicators of sustainability (Liu
et al., 2017b). Sensors for remote sensing include multispectral
(Errico et al., 2015), electro-optical visible (Lega et al., 2010) and
infrared cameras (Lega et al., 2008, 2014), but also chemical and
biological monitoring devices (Lega et al., 2011). Monitoring with a
hierarchical view of the environmental variables is provided by
retrieval from satellite, drone, and in-situ platforms, to assess a
wide temporal and spatial spectrum of environmental phenomena
(Ferrara et al., 2017; Teta et al., 2017; Casazza et al., 2008, 2017a). As
one example, to reduce aerosol generation from volatilizing pol-
lutants across large areas with heterogeneous chemical compounds
and dumping, remote thermal observations can identify potential
hot-spots (Maio et al., 2017), and in-situ strategies can then be
targeted (Casazza et al., 2018). To manage for precipitation and
consider erosive protection, better precipitation forecasting, out
through seasonal, may be obtained through general circulation
model improvements (Harris et al., 2016). To monitor the feedback
loops between aerosols and precipitation characteristics, such as
drop size and number, and associated intensity and kinetic energy,
traditional raingauge networks need to be complemented with
disdrometers (e.g.: Tapiador et al., 2010; Jaffrain et al., 2011;
Jameson et al., 2015).
Moral drivers, combined with technology drivers, should be
considered in an effective societal transition toward cleaner pro-
duction. Education on common goods could be important,
including critical zone management for future generations, a
resource stewardship view effective in sustainability (Etzioni,
2015). While atmospheric aerosol pollution could be framed as
part of a global commons, in an atmosphere moving across public
and private space, soil erosion may be viewed as owned by private
or public interests (Hudson and Rosenbloom, 2013). The private,
non-commons view of land is evidenced in the direct appropriation
of land and of conversion of customary land use into private titles in
several areas of the world (Friedmann, 2015). Fortunately, there is a
growing interest in protecting soils due to a greater understanding
of their role as an ecosystem service supporting several natural
systems benefiting human wellbeing and biodiversity (Carpenter
et al., 2009). Soils are typically considered within the ecosystem
services category of supporting, providing a medium for plant
growth and nutrient transformation, yet they are fundamentally
linked to provisioning, regulating, and cultural services (MEA,
2005). In the light of the wider understanding of soil functions, a
shared resource of commons approach would be more appropriate
(Short et al., 2015). This is also true within the urban framework,
through the promotion of urban agriculture (Freire and Ramos,
2014). In contrast to present commons economic models, an
actor-level frame change can support the growth of management
 M. Casazza et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 189 (2018) 135e144
by consensus, and avoid future tragedies of the commons (Ansari
et al., 2013).
Finally, new narratives are necessary for enhancing the trans-
formative power of society, and overcoming the inertia of our
systems. By understanding the multi-dimensional nature of socio-
ecological systems, better alternatives can be viewed for solving the
current environmental problems. Different ways and tools are
needed to approach the transition towards sustainable, healthier
and more equitable socio-ecologic systems. A broad-minded
approach is necessary to appreciate both the complexity of these
systems and the stakeholder perspectives of different stakeholders.
This broad-minded approach should use a diverse set of models
and theory to forecast social and technological trajectories (Strand
et al., 2016). Aesthetic and creative inquiries, as well as multiple
languages, can help communities share views about reaching more
sustainable and equitable post fossil-carbon society (Casazza et al.,
2017b). Creativity, combined with the holistic problem framing and
unlocking qualities of insight problem solving, opens a pathway for
organizations seeking more radical and breakthrough solutions to
sustainability problems (Kajzer Mitchell and Walinga, 2017). Cre-
ative insight focuses not merely on the technical novelty of sus-
tainable designs, but also on social, cognitive, and psychological
aspects of those designs. To foster innovation in production, holistic
leadership that considers a triple bottom line is necessary to
transform business ideas into sustainable products and services
(Przychodzen et al., 2016). This implies a steep discounting of
financial profit at the cost of social and environmental loss.
5. Conclusions
Earth's atmospheric and critical zones have been disrupted by
aerosol pollution, which can impact our management of food,
water, and other natural resource based products. Atmospheric
influence cloud microphysics, impact cloud droplet formation, and
can enhance cloud convective development. The process includes a
complex mix of precipitation suppression for smaller drop sizes,
and precipitation enhancement for larger drops. The increase in
water drop size of intense precipitation leads to greater kinetic
energy, and greater erosive power of precipitation at the critical
zone's soil interface. Eroded soils become aerosols within the tur-
bulent boundary layer of the atmosphere, and this is a positive
feedback mechanism that demands attention from a community
dedicated to cleaner production.
The management of this aerosol-precipitation-erosion process
with its positive feedback can focus on the emission of anthropo-
genic aerosols and protection of exposed soils with vegetation. The
atmospheric aerosols generate microphysical processes that also
have distinct impacts on atmospheric radiative balances and
climate disruption. A clear understanding of how aerosols affect
climate disruption and erosion needs to be combined with a
commitment to design and implement necessary management
actions beneficial to human wellbeing and biodiversity. Cleaner
production, together with appropriate decision-making processes,
urban planning, and business management, will play a crucial role
in a solution to this critical zone issue.
Acknowledgements
 degli
Massimiliano Lega received a partial support by Universita
Studi di Napoli ‘Parthenope’ under “Bando di sostegno alla ricerca
individuale per il triennio 2015e2017”. Gengyuan Liu is supported
by the National Key Research and Development Program of China
(No. 2016YFC0503005), the Projects of Sino-America International
Cooperation and Exchanges of NSFC (No. 51661125010). Sergio
141
Ulgiati, Marco Casazza and Gengyuan Liu are also supported by
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41471466,
71673029) and the 111 Project (No. B17005). This project was partly
supported by the U.S. e Italy Fulbright Commission and Parthenope
University through a Fulbright Scholar grant to Theodore Endreny.
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