scholarly journals A depolarisation lidar based method for the determination of liquid-cloud microphysical properties

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 9917-9992 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Donovan ◽  
H. Klein Baltink ◽  
J. S. Henzing ◽  
S. R. de Roode ◽  
A. P. Siebesma
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Multiple Scattering ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Optimal Estimation ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Base Region ◽  
Large Eddy Simulation Model ◽  
Inversion Procedure

Abstract. The fact that polarisation lidars measure a depolarisation signal in liquid clouds due to the occurrence of multiple-scattering is well-known. The degree of measured depolarisation depends on the lidar characteristics (e.g. wavelength and receiver field-of-view) as well as the cloud macrophysical (e.g. liquid water content) and microphysical (e.g. effective radius) properties. Efforts seeking to use depolarisation information in a quantitative manner to retrieve cloud properties have been undertaken with, arguably, limited practical success. In this work we present a retrieval procedure applicable to clouds with (quasi-)linear liquid water content (LWC) profiles and (quasi-)constant cloud droplet number density in the cloud base region. Thus limiting the applicability of the procedure allows us to reduce the cloud variables to two parameters (namely the derivative of the liquid water content with height and the extinction at a fixed distance above cloud-base). This simplification, in turn, allows us to employ a fast and robust optimal-estimation inversion using pre-computed look-up-tables produced using extensive lidar Monte-Carlo multiple-scattering simulations. In this paper, we describe the theory behind the inversion procedure and successfully apply it to simulated observations based on large-eddy simulation model output. The inversion procedure is then applied to actual depolarisation lidar data corresponding to a range of cases taken from the Cabauw measurement site in the central Netherlands. The lidar results were then used to predict the corresponding cloud-base region radar reflectivities. In non-drizzling condition, it was found that the lidar inversion results can be used to predict the observed radar reflectivities with an accuracy within the radar calibration uncertainty (2–3 dBZ). This result strongly supports the accuracy of the lidar inversion results. Results of a comparison between ground-based aerosol number concentration and lidar-derived cloud droplet number densities are also presented and discussed. The observed relationship between the two quantities is seen to be consistent with the results of previous studies based on aircraft-based in situ measurements.

scholarly journals A depolarisation lidar-based method for the determination of liquid-cloud microphysical properties

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Donovan ◽  
H. Klein Baltink ◽  
J. S. Henzing ◽  
S. R. de Roode ◽  
A. P. Siebesma
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Multiple Scattering ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Optimal Estimation ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Base Region ◽  
Microphysical Properties ◽  
Inversion Procedure

Abstract. The fact that polarisation lidars measure a depolarisation signal in liquid clouds due to the occurrence of multiple scattering is well known. The degree of measured depolarisation depends on the lidar characteristics (e.g. wavelength and receiver field of view) as well as the cloud macrophysical (e.g. cloud-base altitude) and microphysical (e.g. effective radius, liquid water content) properties. Efforts seeking to use depolarisation information in a quantitative manner to retrieve cloud properties have been undertaken with, arguably, limited practical success. In this work we present a retrieval procedure applicable to clouds with (quasi-)linear liquid water content (LWC) profiles and (quasi-)constant cloud-droplet number density in the cloud-base region. Thus limiting the applicability of the procedure allows us to reduce the cloud variables to two parameters (namely the derivative of the liquid water content with height and the extinction at a fixed distance above cloud base). This simplification, in turn, allows us to employ a fast and robust optimal-estimation inversion using pre-computed look-up tables produced using extensive lidar Monte Carlo (MC) multiple-scattering simulations. In this paper, we describe the theory behind the inversion procedure and successfully apply it to simulated observations based on large-eddy simulation (LES) model output. The inversion procedure is then applied to actual depolarisation lidar data corresponding to a range of cases taken from the Cabauw measurement site in the central Netherlands. The lidar results were then used to predict the corresponding cloud-base region radar reflectivities. In non-drizzling condition, it was found that the lidar inversion results can be used to predict the observed radar reflectivities with an accuracy within the radar calibration uncertainty (2–3 dBZ). This result strongly supports the accuracy of the lidar inversion results. Results of a comparison between ground-based aerosol number concentration and lidar-derived cloud-droplet number densities are also presented and discussed. The observed relationship between the two quantities is seen to be consistent with the results of previous studies based on aircraft-based in situ measurements.

scholarly journals Understanding aerosol–cloud interactions through modeling the development of orographic cumulus congestus during IPHEx

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 1413-1437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajuan Duan ◽  
Markus D. Petters ◽  
Ana P. Barros
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Turbulent Dispersion ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Droplet Growth ◽  
Aerosol Cloud ◽  
Aerosol Cloud Interactions

Abstract. A new cloud parcel model (CPM) including activation, condensation, collision–coalescence, and lateral entrainment processes is used to investigate aerosol–cloud interactions (ACIs) in cumulus development prior to rainfall onset. The CPM was applied with surface aerosol measurements to predict the vertical structure of cloud development at early stages, and the model results were evaluated against airborne observations of cloud microphysics and thermodynamic conditions collected during the Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEx) in the inner region of the southern Appalachian Mountains (SAM). Sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the model response to variations in key ACI physiochemical parameters and initial conditions. The CPM sensitivities mirror those found in parcel models without entrainment and collision–coalescence, except for the evolution of the droplet spectrum and liquid water content with height. Simulated cloud droplet number concentrations (CDNCs) exhibit high sensitivity to variations in the initial aerosol concentration at cloud base, but weak sensitivity to bulk aerosol hygroscopicity. The condensation coefficient ac plays a governing role in determining the evolution of CDNC, liquid water content (LWC), and cloud droplet spectra (CDS) in time and with height. Lower values of ac lead to higher CDNCs and broader CDS above cloud base, and higher maximum supersaturation near cloud base. Analysis of model simulations reveals that competitive interference among turbulent dispersion, activation, and droplet growth processes modulates spectral width and explains the emergence of bimodal CDS and CDNC heterogeneity in aircraft measurements from different cloud regions and at different heights. Parameterization of nonlinear interactions among entrainment, condensational growth, and collision–coalescence processes is therefore necessary to simulate the vertical structures of CDNCs and CDSs in convective clouds. Comparisons of model predictions with data suggest that the representation of lateral entrainment remains challenging due to the spatial heterogeneity of the convective boundary layer and the intricate 3-D circulations in mountainous regions.

The Potential of a Spaceborne Cloud Radar for the Detection of Stratocumulus Clouds

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 676-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil I. Fox ◽  
Anthony J. Illingworth
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Effective Radius ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Sensitivity Threshold ◽  
Marine Stratocumulus ◽  
Cloud Radar ◽  
Stratocumulus Clouds

Abstract The radar reflectivity and liquid water content of stratocumulus clouds have been computed from cloud droplet spectra recorded during more than 4000 km of cloud penetrations by an aircraft, and the probability of detecting various values of liquid water content as a function of the radar sensitivity threshold has been derived. The goal of the study is to specify the sensitivity required for any future spaceborne cloud radar. In extensive marine stratocumulus deeper than about 200 m, occasional but ubiquitous drizzle-sized droplets of up to 200 μm dominate the radar return and increase it by between 10 and 20 dB above the cloud droplet contribution to the return, making radar detection easier, although the concentration of the drizzle drops is so low that they have no effect on the liquid water content or effective radius. These occasional drizzle-sized droplets are present throughout the vertical and horizontal extent of such clouds but should evaporate within 200 m of cloud base. On occasion, the drizzle can fall farther and may yield a false measurement of cloud-base altitude, but such cases can be recognized by examining the vertical profile of reflectivity. A radar sensitivity threshold of −30 dBZ would detect 80%, 85%, and 90% of the marine stratocumulus, with a liquid water content above 0.025, 0.05, and 0.075 g m−3, respectively. Because nonprecipitating drizzle droplets are rare in continental stratocumulus, the equivalent figures are reduced to 38%, 33%, and 25%. Improving the sensitivity to −40 dBZ increases detection probability to nearly 100% for both types of cloud. These figures are based on the assumption that the cloud is deep enough to fill the radar pulse volume.

scholarly journals Aerosol-landscape-cloud interaction: Signatures of topography effect on cloud droplet formation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami Romakkaniemi ◽  
Zubair Maalick ◽  
Antti Hellsten ◽  
Antti Ruuskanen ◽  
Olli Väisänen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Water ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Droplet Formation ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Topography Effect ◽  
Boreal Environment ◽  
The Hill

Abstract. Long-term in situ measurements of aerosol-cloud interactions are usually performed in measurement stations residing on hills, mountains, or high towers. In such conditions, the surface topography of the surrounding area can affect the measured cloud droplet distributions by increasing turbulence or causing orographic flows and thus the observations might not be representative for a larger scale. The objective of this work is to analyse, how the local topography affects the observations at Puijo measurement station, which is located in the 75 m high Puijo tower, which itself stands on a 150 m high hill. The analysis of the measurement data shows that the observed cloud droplet number concentration mainly depends on the CCN concentration. However, when the wind direction aligns with the direction of the steepest slope of the hill, a clear topography effect is observed. This finding was further analysed by simulating 3D flow fields around the station and by performing trajectory ensemble modelling of aerosol- and wind-dependent cloud droplet formation. The results showed that in typical conditions, with geostrophic winds of about 10 m s−1, the hill can cause updrafts of up to 1 m s−1 in the air parcels arriving at the station. This is enough to produce in-cloud supersaturations higher than typically found at the cloud base (SS of ~ 0.2 %), and thus additional cloud droplets may form inside the cloud. In the observations, this is seen in the form of a bi-modal cloud droplet size distribution. The effect is strongest with high winds across the steepest slope of the hill and with low liquid water contents, and its relative importance quickly decreases as these conditions are relaxed. We therefore conclude that, after careful screening for wind speed and liquid water content, the observations at Puijo measurement station can be considered representative for clouds in a boreal environment.

scholarly journals Why Does Deep Convection Have Different Sensitivities to Temperature Perturbations in the Lower versus Upper Troposphere?

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Tian ◽  
Zhiming Kuang
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Vertical Velocity ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Base Temperature ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Convective Parameterization ◽  
Parameterization Schemes

Abstract Previous studies have documented that deep convection responds more strongly to above-the-cloud-base temperature perturbations in the lower troposphere than to those in the upper troposphere, a behavior that is important to the dynamics of large-scale moist flows, such as convectively coupled waves. A number of factors may contribute to this differing sensitivity, including differences in buoyancy, vertical velocity, and/or liquid water content in cloud updrafts in the lower versus upper troposphere. Quantifying the contributions from these factors can help to guide the development of convective parameterization schemes. We tackle this issue by tracking Lagrangian particles embedded in cloud-resolving simulations within a linear response framework. The results show that both the differences in updraft buoyancy and vertical velocity play a significant role, with the vertical velocity being the more important, and the effect of liquid water content is only secondary compared to the other two factors. These results indicate that cloud updraft vertical velocities need to be correctly modeled in convective parameterization schemes in order to properly account for the differing convective sensitivities to temperature perturbations at different heights of the free troposphere.

scholarly journals Active probing of cloud multiple scattering, optical depth, vertical thickness, and liquid water content using wide-angle imaging lidar

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven P. Love ◽  
Anthony B. Davis ◽  
Charles A. Rohde ◽  
Larry Tellier ◽  
Cheng Ho
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Multiple Scattering ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Wide Angle ◽  
Active Probing ◽  
Vertical Thickness

scholarly journals Modelling the relationship between liquid water content and cloud droplet number concentration observed in low clouds in the summer Arctic and its radiative effects

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-43
Author(s):  
Joelle Dionne ◽  
Knut von Salzen ◽  
Jason Cole ◽  
Rashed Mahmood ◽  
W. Richard Leaitch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Radiative Effect ◽  
Low Clouds ◽  
Cloud Radiative Effect ◽  
Cloud Droplet Number Concentration

Abstract. Low clouds persist in the summer Arctic with important consequences for the radiation budget. In this study, we simulate the linear relationship between liquid water content (LWC) and cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC) observed during an aircraft campaign based out of Resolute Bay, Canada, conducted as part of the Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments study in July 2014. Using a single-column model, we find that autoconversion can explain the observed linear relationship between LWC and CDNC. Of the three autoconversion schemes we examined, the scheme using continuous drizzle (Khairoutdinov and Kogan, 2000) appears to best reproduce the observed linearity in the tenuous cloud regime (Mauritsen et al., 2011), while a scheme with a threshold for rain (Liu and Daum, 2004) best reproduces the linearity at higher CDNC. An offline version of the radiative transfer model used in the Canadian Atmospheric Model version 4.3 is used to compare the radiative effects of the modelled and observed clouds. We find that there is no significant difference in the upward longwave cloud radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere from the three autoconversion schemes (p=0.05) but that all three schemes differ at p=0.05 from the calculations based on observations. In contrast, the downward longwave and shortwave cloud radiative effect at the surface for the Wood (2005b) and Khairoutdinov and Kogan (2000) schemes do not differ significantly (p=0.05) from the observation-based radiative calculations, while the Liu and Daum (2004) scheme differs significantly from the observation-based calculation for the downward shortwave but not the downward longwave fluxes.

Drizzle in Stratiform Boundary Layer Clouds. Part I: Vertical and Horizontal Structure

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 3011-3033 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Precipitation Rate ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Horizontal Structure ◽  
Boundary Layer Clouds ◽  
Droplet Concentration

Abstract Detailed observations of stratiform boundary layer clouds on 12 days are examined with specific reference to drizzle formation processes. The clouds differ considerably in mean thickness, liquid water path (LWP), and droplet concentration. Cloud-base precipitation rates differ by a factor of 20 between cases. The lowest precipitation rate is found in the case with the highest droplet concentration even though this case had by far the highest LWP, suggesting that drizzle can be severely suppressed in polluted clouds. The vertical and horizontal structure of cloud and drizzle liquid water and bulk microphysical parameters are examined in detail. In general, the highest concentration of r > 20 μm drizzle drops is found toward the top of the cloud, and the mean volume radius of the drizzle drops increases monotonically from cloud top to base. The resulting precipitation rates are largest at the cloud base but decrease markedly only in the upper third of the cloud. Below cloud, precipitation rates decrease markedly with distance below base due to evaporation, and are broadly consistent in most cases with the results from a simple sedimentation–evaporation model. Evidence is presented that suggests evaporating drizzle is cooling regions of the subcloud layer, which could result in dynamical feedbacks. A composite power spectrum of the horizontal spatial series of precipitation rate is found to exhibit a power-law scaling from the smallest observable scales to close to the maximum observable scale (∼30 km). The exponent is considerably lower (1.1–1.2) than corresponding exponents for LWP variability obtained in other studies (∼1.5–2), demonstrating that there is relatively more variability of drizzle on small scales. Singular measures analysis shows that drizzle fields are much more intermittent than the cloud liquid water content fields, consistent with a drizzle production process that depends strongly upon liquid water content. The adiabaticity of the clouds, which can be modeled as a simple balance between drizzle loss and turbulent replenishment, is found to decrease if the time scale for drizzle loss is shorter than roughly 5–10 eddy turnover time scales. Finally, the data are compared with three simple scalings derived from recent observations of drizzle in subtropical stratocumulus clouds.

scholarly journals Estimating drizzle drop size and precipitation rate using two-colour lidar measurements

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Westbrook ◽  
R. J. Hogan ◽  
E. J. O'Connor ◽  
A. J. Illingworth
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Drop Size ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Precipitation Rate ◽  
Infrared Light ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Drop Diameter ◽  
Lidar Measurements

Abstract. A method to estimate the size and liquid water content of drizzle drops using lidar measurements at two wavelengths is described. The method exploits the differential absorption of infrared light by liquid water at 905 nm and 1.5 μm, which leads to a different backscatter cross section for water drops larger than ≈50 μm. The ratio of backscatter measured from drizzle samples below cloud base at these two wavelengths (the colour ratio) provides a measure of the median volume drop diameter D0. This is a strong effect: for D0=200 μm, a colour ratio of ≈6 dB is predicted. Once D0 is known, the measured backscatter at 905 nm can be used to calculate the liquid water content (LWC) and other moments of the drizzle drop distribution. The method is applied to observations of drizzle falling from stratocumulus and stratus clouds. High resolution (32 s, 36 m) profiles of D0, LWC and precipitation rate R are derived. The main sources of error in the technique are the need to assume a value for the dispersion parameter μ in the drop size spectrum (leading to at most a 35% error in R) and the influence of aerosol returns on the retrieval (≈10% error in R for the cases considered here). Radar reflectivities are also computed from the lidar data, and compared to independent measurements from a colocated cloud radar, offering independent validation of the derived drop size distributions.

scholarly journals Relationships between cloud droplet effective radius, liquid water content, and droplet concentration for warm clouds in Brazil embedded in biomass smoke

1999 ◽  
Vol 104 (D6) ◽  
pp. 6145-6153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Reid ◽  
Peter V. Hobbs ◽  
Arthur L. Rangno ◽  
Dean A. Hegg
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Effective Radius ◽  
Biomass Smoke ◽  
Droplet Concentration
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