Numerical sensitivity studies on the impact of aerosol properties and drop freezing modes on the glaciation, microphysics, and dynamics of clouds

[1] Numerical simulations were performed to investigate the effects of drop freezing in immersion and contact modes for a convective situation. For the description of heterogeneous drop freezing, new approaches were used considering the significantly different ice nucleating efficiencies of various ice nuclei. An air parcel model with a sectional two-dimensional description of the cloud microphysics was employed. Sensitivity studies were undertaken by varying the insoluble particle types as well as the soluble fraction of the aerosol particles showing the effects of these parameters on drop freezing and their possible impact on the vertical cloud dynamics. The soluble fraction ɛ decides whe…

Collision efficiencies empirically determined from laboratory investigations of collisional growth of small raindrops in a laminar flow field

In laboratory experiments at the vertical wind tunnel of the University of Mainz the collisional growth of drops with radii between 70 and 170 μm in radius were observed while the collector drop freely floated in a cloud of droplets with radii ranging from 1 to 7 μm. Previously existing tables with collision efficiency values were interpolated and completed in such a way that drop growth rates calculated with these collision efficiencies match with observed growth rates. These new tables provide collision efficiency values for a wide range of drop sizes and radius ratios p including those ranges where efficiency values missed so far. This is of high importance for small p-ratios where the c…

Theoretical Investigations of the Wet Deposition of Atmospheric Pollutants