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Abstract
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Abstract
A framework is introduced to investigate the indirect effect of aerosol loading on tropical deep convection using three-dimensional limited-domain idealized cloud-system-resolving model simulations coupled with large-scale dynamics over fixed sea surface temperature. The large-scale circulation is parameterized using the spectral weak temperature gradient (WTG) approximation that utilizes the dominant balance between adiabatic cooling and diabatic heating in the tropics. The aerosol loading effect is examined by varying the number of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) available to form cloud droplets in the two-moment bulk microphysics scheme over a wide range of environments from 30 to 5000 cm−3. The radiative heating is held at a constant prescribed rate in order to isolate the microphysical effects. Analyses are performed over the period after equilibrium is achieved between convection and the large-scale environment. Mean precipitation is found to decrease modestly and monotonically when the aerosol number concentration increases as convection gets weaker, despite the increase in cloud liquid water in the warm-rain region and ice crystals aloft. This reduction is traced down to the reduction in surface enthalpy fluxes as an energy source to the atmospheric column induced by the coupling of the large-scale motion, though the gross moist stability remains constant. Increasing CCN concentration leads to 1) a cooler free troposphere because of a reduction in the diabatic heating and 2) a warmer boundary layer because of suppressed evaporative cooling. This dipole temperature structure is associated with anomalously descending large-scale vertical motion above the boundary layer and ascending motion at lower levels. Sensitivity tests suggest that changes in convection and mean precipitation are unlikely to be caused by the impact of aerosols on cloud droplets and microphysical properties but rather by accounting for the feedback from convective adjustment with the large-scale dynamics. Furthermore, a simple scaling argument is derived based on the vertically integrated moist static energy budget, which enables estimation of changes in precipitation given known changes in surfaces enthalpy fluxes and the constant gross moist stability. The impact on cloud hydrometeors and microphysical properties is also examined, and it is consistent with the macrophysical picture.
Abstract
A framework is introduced to investigate the indirect effect of aerosol loading on tropical deep convection using three-dimensional limited-domain idealized cloud-system-resolving model simulations coupled with large-scale dynamics over fixed sea surface temperature. The large-scale circulation is parameterized using the spectral weak temperature gradient (WTG) approximation that utilizes the dominant balance between adiabatic cooling and diabatic heating in the tropics. The aerosol loading effect is examined by varying the number of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) available to form cloud droplets in the two-moment bulk microphysics scheme over a wide range of environments from 30 to 5000 cm−3. The radiative heating is held at a constant prescribed rate in order to isolate the microphysical effects. Analyses are performed over the period after equilibrium is achieved between convection and the large-scale environment. Mean precipitation is found to decrease modestly and monotonically when the aerosol number concentration increases as convection gets weaker, despite the increase in cloud liquid water in the warm-rain region and ice crystals aloft. This reduction is traced down to the reduction in surface enthalpy fluxes as an energy source to the atmospheric column induced by the coupling of the large-scale motion, though the gross moist stability remains constant. Increasing CCN concentration leads to 1) a cooler free troposphere because of a reduction in the diabatic heating and 2) a warmer boundary layer because of suppressed evaporative cooling. This dipole temperature structure is associated with anomalously descending large-scale vertical motion above the boundary layer and ascending motion at lower levels. Sensitivity tests suggest that changes in convection and mean precipitation are unlikely to be caused by the impact of aerosols on cloud droplets and microphysical properties but rather by accounting for the feedback from convective adjustment with the large-scale dynamics. Furthermore, a simple scaling argument is derived based on the vertically integrated moist static energy budget, which enables estimation of changes in precipitation given known changes in surfaces enthalpy fluxes and the constant gross moist stability. The impact on cloud hydrometeors and microphysical properties is also examined, and it is consistent with the macrophysical picture.
Abstract
In this study the radiative impact of three separate cirrus anvil systems that occurred during the Maritime Continent Thunderstorm Experiment is investigated. Retrievals of microphysical cloud properties and an independent radar measurement are used to develop an appropriate set of radar reflectivity factor (Z)–ice water content (IWC) parameterizations. This set of parameterizations is then applied to the reflectivity field of a scanning 5.2-cm radar. The three-dimensional ice water structure is used as input to a two-stream radiative transfer model using an independent pixel approximation for several different stages in the life cycle of the cloud system. Peak radiative heating/cooling occurs at many different levels from just below the tropopause down to the freezing level. This behavior is attributed to spatial variability of the anvil cloud–top height. There is a distinct difference between the average radiative heating profile in the presence of island-based convection as compared with oceanic convection. The island-based convection results in a heating profile that concentrates cloud-top solar heating and IR cooling higher in the atmosphere and with a greater magnitude in comparison with studies of oceanic convection. Island-based thunderstorms can play a major role in the large-scale radiative energy balance. The net radiative convergence averaged over a simplified diurnal cycle and over a 120 × 120 km2 grid box containing an island-based thunderstorm and its associated anvil cloud is near zero. When considering the energy balance over the tropical western Pacific, it is important to consider the “Maritime Continent” region with all of its small islands separately from the oceanic regime.
Abstract
In this study the radiative impact of three separate cirrus anvil systems that occurred during the Maritime Continent Thunderstorm Experiment is investigated. Retrievals of microphysical cloud properties and an independent radar measurement are used to develop an appropriate set of radar reflectivity factor (Z)–ice water content (IWC) parameterizations. This set of parameterizations is then applied to the reflectivity field of a scanning 5.2-cm radar. The three-dimensional ice water structure is used as input to a two-stream radiative transfer model using an independent pixel approximation for several different stages in the life cycle of the cloud system. Peak radiative heating/cooling occurs at many different levels from just below the tropopause down to the freezing level. This behavior is attributed to spatial variability of the anvil cloud–top height. There is a distinct difference between the average radiative heating profile in the presence of island-based convection as compared with oceanic convection. The island-based convection results in a heating profile that concentrates cloud-top solar heating and IR cooling higher in the atmosphere and with a greater magnitude in comparison with studies of oceanic convection. Island-based thunderstorms can play a major role in the large-scale radiative energy balance. The net radiative convergence averaged over a simplified diurnal cycle and over a 120 × 120 km2 grid box containing an island-based thunderstorm and its associated anvil cloud is near zero. When considering the energy balance over the tropical western Pacific, it is important to consider the “Maritime Continent” region with all of its small islands separately from the oceanic regime.
Abstract
Data gathered by the University of Wyoming King Air, the Atmospheric Environmental Services Twin otter and an NCAR Queen Air were used in thermodynamic analyses to determine the sources of environmental air entrained into cumulus clouds. The measurements were made in clouds ranging from small cumuli a few kilometers deep to a large supercell system. Previous results have indicated that the source of entrained air in continental cumuli is generally above the flight level, often near cloud top. The results reported here, however, suggest that the source of entrained air is close to, or slightly above, the observation level of the aircraft, even when the aircraft descends through different levels in the cloud. The results are consistent with the idea that cumulus clouds consist of thermal-like elements from which the least buoyant mixed parcels are shed off and the most buoyant mixed parcels may continue with the general ascent. A schematic model of cumulus convection is presented and supported by measurements of air motions in small cumulus clouds.
Abstract
Data gathered by the University of Wyoming King Air, the Atmospheric Environmental Services Twin otter and an NCAR Queen Air were used in thermodynamic analyses to determine the sources of environmental air entrained into cumulus clouds. The measurements were made in clouds ranging from small cumuli a few kilometers deep to a large supercell system. Previous results have indicated that the source of entrained air in continental cumuli is generally above the flight level, often near cloud top. The results reported here, however, suggest that the source of entrained air is close to, or slightly above, the observation level of the aircraft, even when the aircraft descends through different levels in the cloud. The results are consistent with the idea that cumulus clouds consist of thermal-like elements from which the least buoyant mixed parcels are shed off and the most buoyant mixed parcels may continue with the general ascent. A schematic model of cumulus convection is presented and supported by measurements of air motions in small cumulus clouds.
Abstract
We have analyzed small-scale fluctuations in microphysical, dynamical and thermodynamical parameters measured in two warm cumulus clouds during the Cooperative Convective Precipitation Experiment (CCOPE) project (1981) in light of predictions of several recent models. The measurements show the existence at all levels throughout the sampling period of two statistically distinct kinds of cloudy regions, termed “variable” and “steady,” often separated by transition zones of less than ten meters. There is some evidence for microphysical variability induced by local fluctuations in thermodynamic and dynamic parameters; however, the predominant variations are of a nature consistent with laboratory evidence suggesting that mixing is dominated by large structures. Entrainment appears to occur largely near cloud top but the data presented here do not permit identification of a mechanism for transport of the entrained air throughout the cloud.
Abstract
We have analyzed small-scale fluctuations in microphysical, dynamical and thermodynamical parameters measured in two warm cumulus clouds during the Cooperative Convective Precipitation Experiment (CCOPE) project (1981) in light of predictions of several recent models. The measurements show the existence at all levels throughout the sampling period of two statistically distinct kinds of cloudy regions, termed “variable” and “steady,” often separated by transition zones of less than ten meters. There is some evidence for microphysical variability induced by local fluctuations in thermodynamic and dynamic parameters; however, the predominant variations are of a nature consistent with laboratory evidence suggesting that mixing is dominated by large structures. Entrainment appears to occur largely near cloud top but the data presented here do not permit identification of a mechanism for transport of the entrained air throughout the cloud.
Abstract
The analysis of Paluch suggests that some cumuli contain cloudy air from only two sources: cloud base and cloud top. A framework is presented for the investigation of droplet spectral evolution in clouds composed of air from only these two sources. The key is the investigation of the dependence of droplet concentration N on the fraction of cloud base air F in a sample of cloudy air. This N-vs-F analysis is coupled with an investigation of droplet spectral parameters to infer the types and scales of entrainment and mixing events.
The technique is used in a case study of a small, nonprecipitating continental cumulus cloud which was sampled during the 1981 CCOPE project in eastern Montana. The mixing between cloudy and entrained air in this cloud often appears to occur without total removal of droplets, although there is evidence that total evaporation occurs in some regions with low liquid water content. The observed droplet spectra are compared with those calculated from an adiabatic parcel model. The spectral comparison and the results of the N-vs-F analysis support the hypothesis that cloudy and environmental air interact on fairly large scales with subsequent homogenization of the large-scale regions. This description is consistent with recent models of mixing in turbulent flows.
Abstract
The analysis of Paluch suggests that some cumuli contain cloudy air from only two sources: cloud base and cloud top. A framework is presented for the investigation of droplet spectral evolution in clouds composed of air from only these two sources. The key is the investigation of the dependence of droplet concentration N on the fraction of cloud base air F in a sample of cloudy air. This N-vs-F analysis is coupled with an investigation of droplet spectral parameters to infer the types and scales of entrainment and mixing events.
The technique is used in a case study of a small, nonprecipitating continental cumulus cloud which was sampled during the 1981 CCOPE project in eastern Montana. The mixing between cloudy and entrained air in this cloud often appears to occur without total removal of droplets, although there is evidence that total evaporation occurs in some regions with low liquid water content. The observed droplet spectra are compared with those calculated from an adiabatic parcel model. The spectral comparison and the results of the N-vs-F analysis support the hypothesis that cloudy and environmental air interact on fairly large scales with subsequent homogenization of the large-scale regions. This description is consistent with recent models of mixing in turbulent flows.
A Technique for Estimating Liquid Droplet Diameter and Liquid Water Content in Stratocumulus Clouds Using Radar and Lidar MeasurementsAbstract
This paper describes a technique for estimating the liquid water content (LWC) and a characteristic particle diameter in stratocumulus clouds using radar and lidar observations. The uncertainty in LWC estimate from radar and lidar measurements is significantly reduced once the characteristic particle diameter is known. The technique is independent of the drop size distribution. It is applicable for a broad range of W-band reflectivity Z between −30 and 0 dBZ and all values of lidar backscatter β observations. No partitioning of cloud or drizzle is required on the basis of an arbitrary threshold of Z as in prior studies. A method for estimating droplet diameter and LWC was derived from the electromagnetic simulations of radar and lidar observations. In situ stratocumulus cloud and drizzle probe spectra were input to the electromagnetic simulation. The retrieved droplet diameter and LWC were validated using in situ measurements from the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The retrieval method was applied to radar and lidar measurements from the northeastern Pacific. Uncertainty in the retrieved droplet diameter and LWC that are due to the measurement errors in radar and lidar backscatter measurements are 7% and 14%, respectively. The retrieved LWC was validated using the concurrent G-band radiometer estimates of the liquid water path.
Abstract
This paper describes a technique for estimating the liquid water content (LWC) and a characteristic particle diameter in stratocumulus clouds using radar and lidar observations. The uncertainty in LWC estimate from radar and lidar measurements is significantly reduced once the characteristic particle diameter is known. The technique is independent of the drop size distribution. It is applicable for a broad range of W-band reflectivity Z between −30 and 0 dBZ and all values of lidar backscatter β observations. No partitioning of cloud or drizzle is required on the basis of an arbitrary threshold of Z as in prior studies. A method for estimating droplet diameter and LWC was derived from the electromagnetic simulations of radar and lidar observations. In situ stratocumulus cloud and drizzle probe spectra were input to the electromagnetic simulation. The retrieved droplet diameter and LWC were validated using in situ measurements from the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The retrieval method was applied to radar and lidar measurements from the northeastern Pacific. Uncertainty in the retrieved droplet diameter and LWC that are due to the measurement errors in radar and lidar backscatter measurements are 7% and 14%, respectively. The retrieved LWC was validated using the concurrent G-band radiometer estimates of the liquid water path.
Abstract
Simple parameterizations of droplet effective radius in stratiform and convective clouds are presented for use in global climate models. Datasets from subtropical marine stratocumulus, continental and maritime convective clouds, and hill cap clouds in middle latitudes and a small amount of data from stratocumulus clouds in middle latitudes have been examined. The results suggest strongly that a simple relationship exists between droplet effective radius and liquid water content in layer clouds with the droplet effective radius proportional to the cube root of the liquid water content. The constant of proportionality is different over oceans and continents. In current global climate models liquid water content is not a predicted variable in convective clouds, and the data strongly suggest that a fixed value of droplet effective radius between 9 and 10 μm should be used for continental clouds more than 500 m deep and 16 μm for maritime cumulus more than 1.5 km deep.
Abstract
Simple parameterizations of droplet effective radius in stratiform and convective clouds are presented for use in global climate models. Datasets from subtropical marine stratocumulus, continental and maritime convective clouds, and hill cap clouds in middle latitudes and a small amount of data from stratocumulus clouds in middle latitudes have been examined. The results suggest strongly that a simple relationship exists between droplet effective radius and liquid water content in layer clouds with the droplet effective radius proportional to the cube root of the liquid water content. The constant of proportionality is different over oceans and continents. In current global climate models liquid water content is not a predicted variable in convective clouds, and the data strongly suggest that a fixed value of droplet effective radius between 9 and 10 μm should be used for continental clouds more than 500 m deep and 16 μm for maritime cumulus more than 1.5 km deep.
Abstract
This study examines 6 yr of cloud properties observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA Terra satellite in five prominent marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud regions (California, Peru, Canary, Angola, and Australia) and investigates their relationships with near-surface meteorological parameters obtained from NCEP reanalyses. About 62 000 independent scenes are used to examine the instantaneous relationships between cloud properties and meteorological parameters that may be used for global climate model (GCM) diagnostics and parameterization. Cloud liquid water path (LWP) generally increases with lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and lifting condensation level (LCL), whereas cloud drizzle frequency is favored by weak LTS and negligible cold air advection. Cloud fraction (CF) depends strongly on variations in LTS, and to a lesser extent on surface air temperature advection and LCL, although the relationships vary from region to region. The authors propose capturing the effects of these three parameters on CF via their linear combination in terms of a single parameter, the effective lower-tropospheric stability (eLTS). Results indicate that eLTS offers a marked improvement over LTS alone in explaining the median CF variations within the different study regions. A parameterization of CF in terms of eLTS is provided, which produces results that are improved over those of Klein and Hartmann’s LTS-only parameterization. However, the new parameterization may not predict the observed variability correctly, and the authors propose a method that might address this shortcoming via a statistical approach.
Abstract
This study examines 6 yr of cloud properties observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA Terra satellite in five prominent marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud regions (California, Peru, Canary, Angola, and Australia) and investigates their relationships with near-surface meteorological parameters obtained from NCEP reanalyses. About 62 000 independent scenes are used to examine the instantaneous relationships between cloud properties and meteorological parameters that may be used for global climate model (GCM) diagnostics and parameterization. Cloud liquid water path (LWP) generally increases with lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and lifting condensation level (LCL), whereas cloud drizzle frequency is favored by weak LTS and negligible cold air advection. Cloud fraction (CF) depends strongly on variations in LTS, and to a lesser extent on surface air temperature advection and LCL, although the relationships vary from region to region. The authors propose capturing the effects of these three parameters on CF via their linear combination in terms of a single parameter, the effective lower-tropospheric stability (eLTS). Results indicate that eLTS offers a marked improvement over LTS alone in explaining the median CF variations within the different study regions. A parameterization of CF in terms of eLTS is provided, which produces results that are improved over those of Klein and Hartmann’s LTS-only parameterization. However, the new parameterization may not predict the observed variability correctly, and the authors propose a method that might address this shortcoming via a statistical approach.
Abstract
Mixing of environmental air into clouds, or entrainment, has been identified as a major contributor to erroneous climate predictions made by modern comprehensive climate and numerical weather prediction models. Despite receiving extensive attention, the ad hoc treatment of this convective-scale process in global models remains poor. On the other hand, while limited-area high-resolution nonhydrostatic models can directly resolve entrainment, their sensitivity to model resolution, especially with the lack of benchmark mass flux observations, limits their applicability. Here, the dataset from the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign focusing on radar retrievals of convective updraft vertical velocities is used with the aid of cloud-resolving model simulations of four deep convective events over the Amazon to provide insights into entrainment. Entrainment and detrainment are diagnosed from the model simulations by applying the mass continuity equation over cloud volumes, in which grid cells are identified by some thresholds of updraft vertical velocity and cloud condensates, and accounting for the sources and sinks of the air mass. Entrainment is then defined as the environmental air intruding into convective cores causing cloud volume to shrink, while detrainment is defined as cloudy grid cells departing the convective core and causing cloud volume to expand. It is found that the diagnosed entrainment from the simulated convective events is strongly correlated to the inverse of the updraft vertical velocities in convective cores, which enables a more robust estimation of the mixing time scale. This highlights the need for improved observational capabilities for sampling updraft velocities across diverse geographic and cloud conditions. Evaluation of a number of assumptions used to represent entrainment in parameterization schemes is also presented, as contrasted against the diagnosed one.
Abstract
Mixing of environmental air into clouds, or entrainment, has been identified as a major contributor to erroneous climate predictions made by modern comprehensive climate and numerical weather prediction models. Despite receiving extensive attention, the ad hoc treatment of this convective-scale process in global models remains poor. On the other hand, while limited-area high-resolution nonhydrostatic models can directly resolve entrainment, their sensitivity to model resolution, especially with the lack of benchmark mass flux observations, limits their applicability. Here, the dataset from the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign focusing on radar retrievals of convective updraft vertical velocities is used with the aid of cloud-resolving model simulations of four deep convective events over the Amazon to provide insights into entrainment. Entrainment and detrainment are diagnosed from the model simulations by applying the mass continuity equation over cloud volumes, in which grid cells are identified by some thresholds of updraft vertical velocity and cloud condensates, and accounting for the sources and sinks of the air mass. Entrainment is then defined as the environmental air intruding into convective cores causing cloud volume to shrink, while detrainment is defined as cloudy grid cells departing the convective core and causing cloud volume to expand. It is found that the diagnosed entrainment from the simulated convective events is strongly correlated to the inverse of the updraft vertical velocities in convective cores, which enables a more robust estimation of the mixing time scale. This highlights the need for improved observational capabilities for sampling updraft velocities across diverse geographic and cloud conditions. Evaluation of a number of assumptions used to represent entrainment in parameterization schemes is also presented, as contrasted against the diagnosed one.
