Search results for "Liquid water"
showing 10 items of 61 documents
A statistical subgrid-scale algorithm for precipitation formation in stratiform clouds in the ECHAM5 single column model
2011
Abstract. Cloud properties are usually assumed to be homogeneous within the cloudy part of the grid-box, i.e. subgrid-scale inhomogeneities in cloud cover and/or microphysical properties are often neglected. However, precipitation formation is initiated by large particles. Thus mean values are not representative and could lead to a delayed onset of precipitation. For a more physical description of the subgrid-scale structure of clouds we introduce a new statistical sub-column algorithm to study the impact of cloud inhomogeneities on stratiform precipitation. Each model column is divided into N independent sub-columns with sub-boxes in each layer, which are completely clear or cloudy. The cl…
Nuclear quantum effects in liquid water from path-integral simulations using anab initioforce-matching approach
2014
We have applied path integral simulations, in combination with new ab initio based water potentials, to investigate nuclear quantum effects in liquid water. Because direct ab initio path integral simulations are computationally expensive, a flexible water model is parameterized by force-matching to density functional theory-based molecular dynamics simulations. The resulting effective potentials provide an inexpensive replacement for direct ab inito molecular dynamics simulations and allow efficient simulation of nuclear quantum effects. Static and dynamic properties of liquid water at ambient conditions are presented and the role of nuclear quantum effects, exchange-correlation functionals…
Influence of heterogeneous freezing on the microphysical and radiative properties of orographic cirrus clouds
2013
The influence of heterogeneous freezing on the microphysical and optical properties of orographic cirrus clouds has been simulated with the large eddy simulation model EULAG. Idealised simulations with different concentrations of ice nuclei (IN) in a dynamically dominated regime with high vertical velocities have been performed. Furthermore the temperature at cloud formation as well as the critical supersaturation for initiation of heterogenous freezing have been varied. The shortwave, longwave and net cloud forcing has been calculated under the assumption that the clouds form between 06:00 and 12:00 local time (LT) or between 12:00 and 18:00 LT. In general it can be seen that the onset of …
A numerical model of the cloud-topped planetary boundary-layer: Impact of aerosol particles on the radiative forcing of stratiform clouds
1997
In a numerical sensitivity study, the microphysical model of stratus MISTRA, is used to investigate the impact of aerosol particles on the evolution of stratiform clouds. Four model runs are presented, each for a different type of background aerosol. Two include aerosol particle size-distributions which are typical of marine and rural continental air masses; a third represents a mixture of marine and rural continental aerosol particles, and the fourth rural continental aerosol particles with a reduced solubility in water. The results show that the microphysical structure of layer clouds was strongly affected by the physico-chemical properties of the aerosol particles from which the cloud dr…
A numerical model of the cloud-topped planetary boundary-layer: radiative forcing of aerosols in stratiform clouds
1998
In a numerical sensitivity study with the microphysical stratus model MISTRA the impact of aerosol particles on the time evolution of stratiform clouds is investigated. Four model runs with different aerosol size distributions are presented. Two size distributions are typical for maritime and continental air masses. The third model run consists of a mixture of maritime and rural aerosol particles, while in the fourth case study rural aerosol particles with a reduced water solubility are utilized. The numerical results show that the microphysical structure of the clouds is strongly affected by the physico-chemical properties of the aerosol particles. In the maritime case, with a relatively l…
Riming of Graupel: Wind Tunnel Investigations of Collection Kernels and Growth Regimes
2009
Abstract Laboratory experiments were carried out in the vertical wind tunnel in Mainz, Germany, to study the collision coalescence growth of single spherical ice particles having initial radii between 290 and 380 μm while they were freely floated in a laminar flow containing a cloud of supercooled droplets with radii between 10 and 20 μm. The experiments were performed in a temperature range between −8 and −12°C, where riming proceeds in the atmosphere, and with cloud liquid water contents lying between 0.9 and 1.6 g m−3 (i.e., values typically found in mixed-phase clouds). The collection kernels were calculated from the mass increase of the rimed ice particles and the average liquid water …
Cloud Particle Interactions
2010
In Chapter 10, we discussed the behavior of isolated cloud particles in sorne detai1. Now we shall consider their hydrodynamic interactions, with a view to providing a quantitative assessment of the processes of particle growth by collision and coalescence, and of collisional breakup. We shall first treat the collision problem for drops of radii less than about 500 μm which, in accordance with our previous description of drop distortion in Section 10.3.2, may be regarded as rigid spheres (at least when falling in isolation). This will be followed by a discussion of the phenomena of drop coalescence and breakup. Finally, we shall consider water drop-ice crystal and ice crystal-ice crystal in…
Growth of Cloud Drops by Collision, Coalescence and Breakup
2010
As we have already learned from our brief historical review in Chapter 1, it has long been established that the presence of ice is not always necessary for precipitation formation in clouds. In more recent times, radar observations have confirmed this early conclusion. In such cases, the flow of water up the spectrum from small droplets to rain must occur by the process of collision and coalescence of drops. This is often referred to as the collection process, and sometimes erroneously as the ‘warm rain’ process. The latter designation is somewhat inappropriate, since collection growth also occurs in clouds colder than 0°C (Braham, 1964).
Sensitivities of Amazonian clouds to aerosols and updraft speed
2017
Abstract. The effects of aerosol particles and updraft speed on warm-phase cloud microphysical properties are studied in the Amazon region as part of the ACRIDICON-CHUVA experiment. Here we expand the sensitivity analysis usually found in the literature by concomitantly considering cloud evolution, putting the sensitivity quantifications into perspective in relation to in-cloud processing, and by considering the effects on droplet size distribution (DSD) shape. Our in situ aircraft measurements over the Amazon Basin cover a wide range of particle concentration and thermodynamic conditions, from the pristine regions over coastal and forested areas to the southern Amazon, which is highly poll…
Observed and Simulated Variability of Droplet Spectral Dispersion in Convective Clouds Over the Amazon
2021
In this study, the variability of the spectral dispersion of droplet size distributions (DSDs) in convective clouds is investigated. Analyses are based on aircraft measurements of growing cumuli near the Amazon basin, and on numerical simulations of an idealized ice‐free cumulus. In cleaner clouds, the relative dispersion ϵ, defined as the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean value of the droplet diameter, is negatively correlated with the ratio of the cloud water content (qc) to the adiabatic liquid water content (qa), while no strong correlation between ϵ and qc/qa is seen in polluted clouds. Bin microphysics numerical simulations suggest that these contrasting behaviors are associ…