Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

The Influence of the Cloud Shell on Tracer Budget Measurements of LES Cloud Entrainment

Jordan T. Dawe Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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Philip H. Austin Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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Print Publication:
01 Dec 2011
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/2011JAS3658.1
Page(s):
2909–2920
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Abstract

Direct measurements of rates of entrainment into and detrainment from cumulus cloud cores obtained from LES model cloud fields produce values twice as large as those produced from tracer budget calculations. This difference can be explained by two effects: the presence of a shell of air around the cloud cores that is moister than the mean environment and air at the edge of the cloud core that is drier than the mean core, and the tendency for the mean tracer values of the entrained fluid to be greater than the mean tracer values of the cloud shell. Preferential entrainment of shell air that is moving upward faster than the mean shell creates strong vertical momentum fluxes into the cumulus cloud core, thereby making the assumption that cumulus cloud cores entrain fluid with zero vertical momentum incorrect. Variability in the properties of the moist cloud shell has strong impacts on entrainment values inferred from tracer budget calculations. These results indicate that the dynamics of the cloud shell should be included in parameterization of cumulus clouds used in general circulation models.

Corresponding author address: Jordan T. Dawe, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. E-mail: jdawe@eos.ubc.ca

Abstract

Direct measurements of rates of entrainment into and detrainment from cumulus cloud cores obtained from LES model cloud fields produce values twice as large as those produced from tracer budget calculations. This difference can be explained by two effects: the presence of a shell of air around the cloud cores that is moister than the mean environment and air at the edge of the cloud core that is drier than the mean core, and the tendency for the mean tracer values of the entrained fluid to be greater than the mean tracer values of the cloud shell. Preferential entrainment of shell air that is moving upward faster than the mean shell creates strong vertical momentum fluxes into the cumulus cloud core, thereby making the assumption that cumulus cloud cores entrain fluid with zero vertical momentum incorrect. Variability in the properties of the moist cloud shell has strong impacts on entrainment values inferred from tracer budget calculations. These results indicate that the dynamics of the cloud shell should be included in parameterization of cumulus clouds used in general circulation models.

Corresponding author address: Jordan T. Dawe, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. E-mail: jdawe@eos.ubc.ca
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