scholarly journals Modeling Polarization Signals from Cloudy Brown Dwarfs Luhman 16 A and B in Three Dimensions

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Sagnick Mukherjee ◽  
Jonathan J. Fortney ◽  
Rebecca Jensen-Clem ◽  
Xianyu Tan ◽  
Mark S. Marley ◽  
...  

Abstract The detection of disk-integrated polarization from Luhman 16 A and B in the H band, and subsequent modeling, has been interpreted in the framework of zonal cloud bands on these bodies. Recently, Tan and Showman investigated the 3D atmospheric circulation and cloud structures of brown dwarfs with general circulation models (GCMs), and their simulations yielded complex cloud distributions showing some aspects of zonal jets, but also complex vortices that cannot be captured by a simple model. Here we use these 3D GCMs specific to Luhman 16 A and B, along with the 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code ARTES, to calculate their polarization signals. We adopt the 3D temperature–pressure and cloud profiles from the GCMs as our input atmospheric structures. Our polarization calculations at 1.6 μm agree well with the measured degree of linear polarization from both Luhman 16 A and B. Our calculations reproduce the measured polarization for both objects with cloud particle sizes between 0.5 and 1 μm for Luhman 16 A and of 5 μm for Luhman 16 B. We find that the degree of linear polarization can vary on hour-long timescales over the course of a rotation period. We also show that models with azimuthally symmetric band-like cloud geometries, typically used for interpreting polarimetry observations of brown dwarfs, overpredict the polarization signal if the cloud patterns do not include complex vortices within these bands. This exploratory work shows that GCMs are promising for modeling and interpreting polarization signals of brown dwarfs.

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (21) ◽  
pp. 31433-31469 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Nichman ◽  
C. Fuchs ◽  
E. Järvinen ◽  
K. Ignatius ◽  
N. F. Höppel ◽  
...  

Abstract. Cloud microphysical processes involving the ice phase in tropospheric clouds are among the major uncertainties in cloud formation, weather and General Circulation Models (GCMs). The simultaneous detection of aerosol particles, liquid droplets, and ice crystals, especially in the small cloud-particle size range below 50 μm, remains challenging in mixed phase, often unstable ice-water phase environments. The Cloud Aerosol Spectrometer with Polarisation (CASPOL) is an airborne instrument that has the ability to detect such small cloud particles and measure their effects on the backscatter polarisation state. Here we operate the versatile Cosmics-Leaving-OUtdoor-Droplets (CLOUD) chamber facility at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) to produce controlled mixed phase and other clouds by adiabatic expansions in an ultraclean environment, and use the CASPOL to discriminate between different aerosols, water and ice particles. In this paper, optical property measurements of mixed phase clouds and viscous Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) are presented. We report observations of significant liquid – viscous SOA particle polarisation transitions under dry conditions using CASPOL. Cluster analysis techniques were subsequently used to classify different types of particles according to their polarisation ratios during phase transition. A classification map is presented for water droplets, organic aerosol (e.g., SOA and oxalic acid), crystalline substances such as ammonium sulphate, and volcanic ash. Finally, we discuss the benefits and limitations of this classification approach for atmospherically relevant concentration and mixtures with respect to the CLOUD 8–9 campaigns and its potential contribution to Tropical Troposphere Layer (TTL) analysis.


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 474-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideyuki Nakano ◽  
Hiroyasu Hasumi

Abstract A series of zonal currents in the Pacific Ocean is investigated using eddy-permitting ocean general circulation models. The zonal currents in the subsurface are classified into two parts: one is a series of broad zonal flows that has the meridional pattern slanting poleward with increasing depth and the other is finescale zonal jets with the meridional scale of 3°–5° formed in each broad zonal flow. The basic pattern for the broad zonal flows is similar between the coarse-resolution model and the eddy-permitting model and is thought to be the response to the wind forcing. A part of the zonal jets embedded in each zonal flow is explained by the anomalous local wind forcing. Most of them, however, seem to be mainly created by the rectification of turbulent processes on a β plane (the Rhines effect), and zonal jets in this study have common features with the zonally elongated flows obtained in previous modeling studies conducted in idealized basins. The position of zonal jets is not stable when the ocean floor is flat, whereas it oscillates only within a few degrees under realistic bottom topography.


2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Heymsfield ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
Aaron Bansemer ◽  
Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff ◽  
Matthew J. McGill ◽  
...  

Abstract The effective radius (re) is a crucial variable in representing the radiative properties of cloud layers in general circulation models. This parameter is proportional to the condensed water content (CWC) divided by the extinction (σ). For ice cloud layers, parameterizations for re have been developed from aircraft in situ measurements 1) indirectly, using data obtained from particle spectrometer probes and assumptions or observations about particle shape and mass to get the ice water content (IWC) and area to get σ, and recently 2) from probes that derive IWC and σ more directly, referred to as the direct approach, even though the extinction is not measured directly. This study compares [IWC/σ] derived from the two methods using datasets acquired from comparable instruments on two aircraft, one sampling clouds at midlevels and the other at upper levels during the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers (CRYSTAL) Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (FACE) field program in Florida in 2002. A penetration by one of the aircraft into a cold midlatitude orographic wave cloud composed of small particles is further evaluated. The σ and IWC derived by each method are compared and evaluated in different ways for each aircraft dataset. Direct measurements of σ exceed those derived indirectly by a factor of 2–2.5. The IWC probes, relying on ice sublimation, appear to measure accurately except when the IWC is high or the particles too large to sublimate completely during the short transit time through the probe. The IWC estimated from the particle probes are accurate when direct measurements are available to provide constraints and give useful information in high IWC/large particle situations. Because of the discrepancy in σ estimates between the direct and indirect approaches, there is a factor of 2–3 difference in [IWC/σ] between them. Although there are significant uncertainties involved in its use, comparisons with several independent data sources suggest that the indirect method is the more accurate of the two approaches. However, experiments are needed to resolve the source of the discrepancy in σ.


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soon-Il An ◽  
Jong-Seong Kug ◽  
Yoo-Geun Ham ◽  
In-Sik Kang

Abstract The multidecadal modulation of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) due to greenhouse warming has been analyzed herein by means of diagnostics of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) and the eigenanalysis of a simplified version of an intermediate ENSO model. The response of the global-mean troposphere temperature to increasing greenhouse gases is more likely linear, while the amplitude and period of ENSO fluctuates in a multidecadal time scale. The climate system model outputs suggest that the multidecadal modulation of ENSO is related to the delayed response of the subsurface temperature in the tropical Pacific compared to the response time of the sea surface temperature (SST), which would lead a modulation of the vertical temperature gradient. Furthermore, an eigenanalysis considering only two parameters, the changes in the zonal contrast of the mean background SST and the changes in the vertical contrast between the mean surface and subsurface temperatures in the tropical Pacific, exhibits a good agreement with the CGCM outputs in terms of the multidecadal modulations of the ENSO amplitude and period. In particular, the change in the vertical contrast, that is, change in difference between the subsurface temperature and SST, turns out to be more influential on the ENSO modulation than changes in the mean SST itself.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinping Xu ◽  
Shengping He ◽  
Yongqi Gao ◽  
Botao Zhou ◽  
Huijun Wang

AbstractPrevious modelling and observational studies have shown discrepancies in the interannual relationship of winter surface air temperature (SAT) between Arctic and East Asia, stimulating the debate about whether Arctic change can influence midlatitude climate. This study uses two sets of coordinated experiments (EXP1 and EXP2) from six different atmospheric general circulation models. Both EXP1 and EXP2 consist of 130 ensemble members, each of which in EXP1 (EXP2) was forced by the same observed daily varying sea ice and daily varying (daily climatological) sea surface temperature (SST) for 1982–2014 but with different atmospheric initial conditions. Large spread exists among ensemble members in simulating the Arctic–East Asian SAT relationship. Only a fraction of ensemble members can reproduce the observed deep Arctic warming–cold continent pattern which extends from surface to upper troposphere, implying the important role of atmospheric internal variability. The mechanisms of deep Arctic warming and shallow Arctic warming are further distinguished. Arctic warming aloft is caused primarily by poleward moisture transport, which in conjunction with the surface warming coupled with sea ice melting constitutes the surface-amplified deep Arctic warming throughout the troposphere. These processes associated with the deep Arctic warming may be related to the forcing of remote SST when there is favorable atmospheric circulation such as Rossby wave train propagating from the North Atlantic into the Arctic.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1509
Author(s):  
Mengru Zhang ◽  
Xiaoli Yang ◽  
Liliang Ren ◽  
Ming Pan ◽  
Shanhu Jiang ◽  
...  

In the context of global climate change, it is important to monitor abnormal changes in extreme precipitation events that lead to frequent floods. This research used precipitation indices to describe variations in extreme precipitation and analyzed the characteristics of extreme precipitation in four climatic (arid, semi-arid, semi-humid and humid) regions across China. The equidistant cumulative distribution function (EDCDF) method was used to downscale and bias-correct daily precipitation in eight Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) general circulation models (GCMs). From 1961 to 2005, the humid region had stronger and longer extreme precipitation compared with the other regions. In the future, the projected extreme precipitation is mainly concentrated in summer, and there will be large areas with substantial changes in maximum consecutive 5-day precipitation (Rx5) and precipitation intensity (SDII). The greatest differences between two scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) are in semi-arid and semi-humid areas for summer precipitation anomalies. However, the area of the four regions with an increasing trend of extreme precipitation is larger under the RCP8.5 scenario than that under the RCP4.5 scenario. The increasing trend of extreme precipitation in the future is relatively pronounced, especially in humid areas, implying a potential heightened flood risk in these areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuraddeen Mukhtar Nasidi ◽  
Aimrun. Wayayok ◽  
Ahmad Fikri Abdullah ◽  
Muhamad Saufi Mohd Kassim

AbstractPrecipitation is sensitive to increasing greenhouse gas emission which has a significant impact on environmental sustainability. Rapid change of climate variables is often result into large variation in rainfall characteristics which trigger other forms of hazards such as floods, erosion, and landslides. This study employed multi-model ensembled general circulation models (GCMs) approach to project precipitation into 2050s and 2080s periods under four RCPs emission scenarios. Spatial analysis was performed in ArcGIS10.5 environment using Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation and Arc-Hydro extension. The model validation indicated by coefficient of determination, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency, percent bias, root mean square error, standard error, and mean absolute error are 0.73, 0.27, 20.95, 1.25, 0.37 and 0.15, respectively. The results revealed that the Cameron Highlands will experience higher mean daily precipitations between 5.4 mm in 2050s and 9.6 mm in 2080s under RCP8.5 scenario, respectively. Analysis of precipitation concentration index (PCI) revealed that 75% of the watershed has PCI greater than 20 units which indicates substantial variability of the precipitation. Similarly, there is varied spatial distribution patterns of projected precipitation over the study watershed with the largest annual values ranged between 2900 and 3000 mm, covering 71% of the total area in 2080s under RCP8.5 scenario. Owing to this variability in rainfall magnitudes, appropriate measures for environmental protection are essential and to be strategized to address more vulnerable areas.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4468
Author(s):  
Yalalt Nyamgerel ◽  
Yeongcheol Han ◽  
Minji Kim ◽  
Dongchan Koh ◽  
Jeonghoon Lee

The triple oxygen isotopes (16O, 17O, and 18O) are very useful in hydrological and climatological studies because of their sensitivity to environmental conditions. This review presents an overview of the published literature on the potential applications of 17O in hydrological studies. Dual-inlet isotope ratio mass spectrometry and laser absorption spectroscopy have been used to measure 17O, which provides information on atmospheric conditions at the moisture source and isotopic fractionations during transport and deposition processes. The variations of δ17O from the developed global meteoric water line, with a slope of 0.528, indicate the importance of regional or local effects on the 17O distribution. In polar regions, factors such as the supersaturation effect, intrusion of stratospheric vapor, post-depositional processes (local moisture recycling through sublimation), regional circulation patterns, sea ice concentration and local meteorological conditions determine the distribution of 17O-excess. Numerous studies have used these isotopes to detect the changes in the moisture source, mixing of different water vapor, evaporative loss in dry regions, re-evaporation of rain drops during warm precipitation and convective storms in low and mid-latitude waters. Owing to the large variation of the spatial scale of hydrological processes with their extent (i.e., whether the processes are local or regional), more studies based on isotopic composition of surface and subsurface water, convective precipitation, and water vapor, are required. In particular, in situ measurements are important for accurate simulations of atmospheric hydrological cycles by isotope-enabled general circulation models.


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