scholarly journals The Role of Ice Splintering on Microphysics of Deep Convective Clouds Forming Under Different Aerosol Conditions: Simulations Using the Model With Spectral Bin Microphysics

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Qu ◽  
Alexander Khain ◽  
Vaughan Phillips ◽  
Eyal Ilotoviz ◽  
Jacob Shpund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds ◽  
Bin Microphysics

scholarly journals Theoretical basis for convective invigoration due to increased aerosol concentration

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5407-5429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. J. Lebo ◽  
J. H. Seinfeld
Keyword(s):  
Number Concentration ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Microphysics Scheme ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Aerosol Loading ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds ◽  
Bin Microphysics ◽  
Cumulative Precipitation

Abstract. The potential effects of increased aerosol loading on the development of deep convective clouds and resulting precipitation amounts are studied by employing the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model as a detailed high-resolution cloud resolving model (CRM) with both detailed bulk and bin microphysics schemes. Both models include a physically-based activation scheme that incorporates a size-resolved aerosol population. We demonstrate that the aerosol-induced effect is controlled by the balance between latent heating and the increase in condensed water aloft, each having opposing effects on buoyancy. It is also shown that under polluted conditions, increases in the CCN number concentration reduce the cumulative precipitation due to the competition between the sedimentation and evaporation/sublimation timescales. The effect of an increase in the IN number concentration on the dynamics of deep convective clouds is small and the resulting decrease in domain-averaged cumulative precipitation is shown not to be statistically significant, but may act to suppress precipitation. It is also shown that even in the presence of a decrease in the domain-averaged cumulative precipitation, an increase in the precipitation variance, or in other words, andincrease in rainfall intensity, may be expected in more polluted environments, especially in moist environments. A significant difference exists between the predictions based on the bin and bulk microphysics schemes of precipitation and the influence of aerosol perturbations on updraft velocity within the convective core. The bulk microphysics scheme shows little change in the latent heating rates due to an increase in the CCN number concentration, while the bin microphysics scheme demonstrates significant increases in the latent heating aloft with increasing CCN number concentration. This suggests that even a detailed two-bulk microphysics scheme, coupled to a detailed activation scheme, may not be sufficient to predict small changes that result from perturbations in aerosol loading.

Deep convective clouds as aerosol production engines: Role of insoluble organics

2006 ◽  
Vol 111 (D17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markku Kulmala ◽  
Anni Reissell ◽  
Mikko Sipilä ◽  
Boris Bonn ◽  
Taina M. Ruuskanen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds

scholarly journals Comment on "Clouds and the Faint Young Sun Paradox" by Goldblatt and Zahnle (2011)

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 701-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Rondanelli ◽  
R. S. Lindzen
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Cirrus Clouds ◽  
Climate Feedback ◽  
Cloud Radiative Forcing ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
High Clouds

Abstract. Goldblatt and Zahnle (2011) raise a number of issues related to the possibility that cirrus clouds can provide a solution to the faint young sun paradox. Here, we argue that: (1) climates having a lower than present mean surface temperature cannot be discarded as solutions to the faint young sun paradox, (2) the detrainment from deep convective clouds in the tropics is a well-established physical mechanism for the formation of high clouds that have a positive radiative forcing (even if the possible role of these clouds as a negative climate feedback remains controversial) and (3) even if some cloud properties are not mutually consistent with observations in radiative transfer parameterizations, the most relevant consistency (for the purpose of hypothesis testing) is with observations of the cloud radiative forcing. Therefore, we maintain that cirrus clouds, as observed in the current climate and covering a large region of the tropics, can provide a solution to the faint young sun paradox, or at least ease the amount of CO2 or other greenhouse substances needed to provide temperatures above freezing during the Archean.

scholarly journals Non-Monotonic Dependencies of Cloud Microphysics and Precipitation on Aerosol Loading in Deep Convective Clouds: A Case Study Using the WRF Model with Bin Microphysics

Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye-Lim Jeon ◽  
Sungju Moon ◽  
Hyunho Lee ◽  
Jong-Jin Baik ◽  
Jambajamts Lkhamjav
Keyword(s):  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Precipitation Event ◽  
Cold Pool ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Aerosol Loading ◽  
Optimal Value ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds ◽  
Bin Microphysics

Aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in deep convective clouds are investigated through numerical simulations of a heavy precipitation event over South Korea on 15–16 July 2017. The Weather Research and Forecasting model with a bin microphysics scheme is used, and various aerosol number concentrations in the range N0 = 50–12,800 cm−3 are considered. Precipitation amount changes non-monotonically with increasing aerosol loading, with a maximum near a moderate aerosol loading (N0 = 800 cm−3). Up to this optimal value, an increase in aerosol number concentration results in a greater quantity of small droplets formed by nucleation, increasing the number of ice crystals. Ice crystals grow into snow particles through deposition and riming, leading to enhanced melting and precipitation. Beyond the optimal value, a greater aerosol loading enhances generation of ice crystals while the overall growth of ice hydrometeors through deposition stagnates. Subsequently, the riming rate decreases because of the smaller size of snow particles and supercooled drops, leading to a decrease in ice melting and a slight suppression of precipitation. As aerosol loading increases, cold pool and low-level convergence strengthen monotonically, but cloud development is more strongly affected by latent heating and convection within the system that is non-monotonically reinforced.

scholarly journals Theoretical basis for convective invigoration due to increased aerosol concentration

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2773-2842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. J. Lebo ◽  
J. H. Seinfeld
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Microphysics Scheme ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Aerosol Loading ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds ◽  
Bin Microphysics ◽  
Cumulative Precipitation

Abstract. The potential effects of increased aerosol loading on the development of deep convective clouds and resulting precipitation amounts are studied by employing the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model as a detailed high-resolution cloud resolving model (CRM) with both detailed bulk and bin microphysics schemes. The bulk microphysics scheme incorporates a physically based parameterization of cloud droplet activation as well as homogeneous and heterogeneous freezing in order to explicitly resolve the possible aerosol-induced effects on the cloud microphysics. These parameterizations allow one to segregate the effects of an increase in the aerosol number concentration into enhanced cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and/or ice nuclei (IN) concentrations using bulk microphysics. The bin microphysics scheme, with its explicit calculations of cloud particle collisions, is shown to better predict cumulative precipitation. Increases in the CCN number concentration may not have a monotonic influence on the cumulative precipitation resulting from deep convective clouds. We demonstrate that the aerosol-induced effect is controlled by the balance between latent heating and the increase in condensed water aloft, each having opposing effects on buoyancy. It is also shown that under polluted conditions and in relatively dry environments, increases in the CCN number concentration reduce the cumulative precipitation due to the competition between the sedimentation and evaporation/sublimation timescales. The effect of an increase in the IN number concentration on the dynamics of deep convective clouds is small, but may act to suppress precipitation. A comparison of the predictions using the bin and bulk microphysics schemes demonstrate a significant difference between the predicted precipitation and the influence of aerosol perturbations on updraft velocity within the convective core. The bulk microphysics scheme is shown to be unable to capture the changes in latent heating that occur as a result of changes in the CCN number concentration, while the bin microphysics scheme demonstrates significant increases in the latent heating aloft with increasing CCN number concentration. This suggests that a detailed two-bulk microphysics scheme, which is more computationally efficient than bin microphysics schemes, may not be sufficient, even when coupled to a detailed activation scheme, to predict small changes that result from perturbations in aerosol loading.

scholarly journals A Numerical Investigation of the Potential Effects of Aerosol-Induced Warming and Updraft Width and Slope on Updraft Intensity in Deep Convective Clouds

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Lebo
Keyword(s):  
Wind Shear ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Freezing Level ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Aerosol Effect ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds

Abstract The effects of aerosol perturbations on deep convective clouds have received considerable attention in the recent literature, especially from a modeling perspective. The published responses in precipitation amount and updraft strength vary in both sign and magnitude and may be the result of different models and parameterizations. Here, a simple numerical framework is employed to determine the potential effects of warming both below the freezing level (warm invigoration) and above the freezing level (mixed-phase invigoration) due to increased aerosol loading. The role of updraft width and slope in the same framework is also examined, highlighting the relative importance of each factor on the resulting updraft strength. The results show that the potential effects of warm invigoration are 2–3 times larger than for mixed-phase invigoration. However, a relatively small response in updraft velocity to warming is found, especially in comparison with the predicted changes in updraft velocity due to small differences in system slope and width, with 87.7% and 96.4% of the subadiabatic and adiabatic realizations, respectively, showing changes in updraft velocity of less than 15% for warmings of no more than 2°C. This result suggests that observations of the aerosol effect will be largely muddled by the natural variability of convective updraft width and slope (which are related to environmental wind shear).

scholarly journals Frequency of deep convective clouds in the tropical zone from 10 years of AIRS data

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 10795-10806 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. Aumann ◽  
A. Ruzmaikin
Keyword(s):  
Brightness Temperature ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Tropical Zone ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
The Past ◽  
Atmospheric Window ◽  
Deep Convective Clouds ◽  
Sst Anomaly ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Global Precipitation

Abstract. Deep convective clouds (DCCs) have been widely studied because of their association with heavy precipitation and severe weather events. Changes in the properties of DCCs are likely in a changing climate. Ten years of data collected by Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) allow us to identify decadal trends in frequency of occurrence of DCCs over land and ocean. In the past, DCCs have been identified in the thermal infrared by three methods: (1) thresholds based on the absolute value of an atmospheric window channel brightness temperature; (2) thresholds based on the difference between the brightness temperature in an atmospheric window channel and the brightness temperature centered on a strong water vapor absorption line; and (3) a threshold using the difference between the window channel brightness temperature and the tropopause temperature based on climatology. Simultaneous observations of these infrared identified DCCs with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit–Humidity Sounder for Brazil (AMSU-HSB) using 183 GHz water channels provide a statistical correlation with microwave deep convection and overshooting convection. In the past 10 years, the frequency of occurrence of DCCs has decreased for the tropical ocean, while it has increased for tropical land. The area of the tropical zone associated with DCCs is typically much less than 1%. We find that the least frequent, more extreme DCCs show the largest trend in frequency of occurrence, increasing over land and decreasing over ocean. The trends for land and ocean closely balance, such that the DCC frequency changed at an insignificant rate for the entire tropical zone. This pattern of essentially zero trend for the tropical zone, but opposite land/ocean trends, is consistent with measurements of global precipitation. The changes in frequency of occurrence of the DCCs are correlated with the Niño34 index, which defines the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the east-central Pacific. This is also consistent with patterns seen in global precipitation. This suggests that the observed changes in the frequency are part of a decadal variability characterized by shifts in the main tropical circulation patterns, which does not fully balance in the 10-year AIRS data record. The regional correlations and anti-correlations of the DCC frequency anomaly with the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI) provide a new perspective for the regional analysis of past events, since the SST anomaly in the Nino34 region is available in the form of the extended MEI from 1871.

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