showing 9 related works from this author
Impacts of Varying Concentrations of Cloud Condensation Nuclei on Deep Convective Cloud Updrafts—A Multimodel Assessment
2021
AbstractThis study presents results from a model intercomparison project, focusing on the range of responses in deep convective cloud updrafts to varying cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations among seven state-of-the-art cloud-resolving models. Simulations of scattered convective clouds near Houston, Texas, are conducted, after being initialized with both relatively low and high CCN concentrations. Deep convective updrafts are identified, and trends in the updraft intensity and frequency are assessed. The factors contributing to the vertical velocity tendencies are examined to identify the physical processes associated with the CCN-induced updraft changes. The models show several c…
Model emulation to understand the joint effects of ice-nucleating particles and secondary ice production on deep convective anvil cirrus
2021
Abstract. Ice crystal formation in the mixed-phase region of deep convective clouds can affect the properties of climatically important convectively generated anvil clouds. Small ice crystals in the mixed-phase cloud region can be formed by heterogeneous ice nucleation by ice-nucleating particles (INP) and secondary ice production (SIP) by, for example, the Hallett-Mossop process. We quantify the effects of INP number concentration, the temperature dependence of the INP number concentration at mixedphase temperatures, and the Hallett-Mossop splinter production efficiency on the anvil of an idealised deep convective cloud using a Latin hypercube sampling method, which allows optimal coverage…
Interaction of microphysics and dynamics in a warm conveyor belt simulated with the ICON model
2023
Abstract. The representation of warm conveyor belts (WCBs) in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models is important, as they are responsible for the major precipitation in extratropical cyclones and modulate the large-scale flow evolution. Their cross-isentropic ascent into the upper troposphere is influenced by latent heat release mostly, but not exclusively, from cloud formation whose representation in NWP models is associated with large uncertainties. The diabatic heating additionally modifies the potential vorticity (PV) distribution which influences the circulation. We analyse diabatic heating and associated PV rates from all physics processes, including microphysics, turbulence, conv…
The temperature dependence of ice-nucleating particle concentrations affects the radiative properties of tropical convective cloud systems
2021
Convective cloud systems in the maritime tropics play a critical role in global climate, but accurately representing aerosol interactions within these clouds persists as a major challenge for weather and climate modelling. We quantify the effect of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) on the radiative properties of a complex tropical Atlantic deep convective cloud field using a regional model with an advanced double-moment microphysics scheme. Our results show that the domain-mean daylight outgoing radiation varies by up to 18 W m−2 depending on the chosen INP parameterisation. The key distinction between different INP parameterisations is the temperature dependence of ice formation, which alter…
Automated detection and classification of synoptic-scale fronts from atmospheric data grids
2022
Automatic determination of fronts from atmospheric data is an important task for weather prediction as well as for research of synoptic-scale phenomena. In this paper we introduce a deep neural network to detect and classify fronts from multi-level ERA5 reanalysis data. Model training and prediction is evaluated using two different regions covering Europe and North America with data from two weather services. We apply label deformation within our loss function, which removes the need for skeleton operations or other complicated post-processing steps as used in other work, to create the final output. We obtain good prediction scores with a critical success index higher than 66.9 % and an obj…
Vertical redistribution of moisture and aerosol in orographic mixed-phase clouds
2020
Orographic wave clouds offer a natural laboratory to investigate cloud microphysical processes and their representation in atmospheric models. Wave clouds impact the larger-scale flow by the vertical redistribution of moisture and aerosol. Here we use detailed cloud microphysical observations from the Ice in Clouds Experiment – Layer Clouds (ICE-L) campaign to evaluate the recently developed Cloud Aerosol Interacting Microphysics (CASIM) module in the Met Office Unified Model (UM) with a particular focus on different parameterizations for heterogeneous freezing. Modelled and observed thermodynamic and microphysical properties agree very well (deviation of air temperature <1 K; spe…
Waves to Weather: Exploring the Limits of Predictability of Weather
2021
AbstractPrediction of weather is a main goal of atmospheric science. Its importance to society is growing continuously due to factors such as vulnerability to natural disasters, the move to renewable energy sources, and the risks of climate change. But prediction is also a major scientific challenge due to the inherently limited predictability of a chaotic atmosphere, and has led to a revolution in forecasting methods as we have moved to probabilistic prediction. These changes provide the motivation for Waves to Weather (W2W), a major national research program in Germany with three main university partners in Munich, Mainz, and Karlsruhe. We are currently in the second 4-yr phase of our pla…
The nature of ice-nucleating particles affects the radiative properties of tropical convective cloud systems
2020
Abstract. Convective cloud systems in the maritime tropics play a critical role in global climate, but accurately representing aerosol interactions within these clouds persists as a major challenge for weather and climate modelling. We quantify the effect of ice-nucleating particles (INP) on the radiative properties of a complex Tropical Atlantic deep convective cloud field using a regional model with an advanced double-moment microphysics scheme. Our results show that the domain-mean daylight outgoing radiation varies by up to 18 W m−2 depending on the bio- and physico-chemical properties of INP. The key distinction between different INPs is the temperature dependence of ice formation, whi…
A trajectory-based classification of ERA-Interim ice clouds in the region of the North Atlantic storm track
2016
A two-type classification of ice clouds (cirrus) is introduced, based on the liquid and ice water content, LWC and IWC, along air parcel backward trajectories from the clouds. In situ cirrus has no LWC along the trajectory segment containing IWC; it forms via nucleation from the gas phase. In contrast, liquid-origin cirrus has both LWC and IWC along their backward trajectories; it forms via lifting from the lower troposphere and freezing of mixed-phase clouds. This classification is applied to 12 years of ERA-Interim ice clouds in the North Atlantic region. Between 400 and 500 hPa more than 50% are liquid-origin cirrus, whereas this frequency decreases strongly with altitude (<10% at 200 hP…