Search results for "Ocean"

Drop Shapes and Axis Ratio Distributions: Comparison between 2D Video Disdrometer and Wind-Tunnel Measurements

2009

Abstract Comparisons of drop shapes between measurements made using 2D video disdrometer (2DVD) and wind-tunnel experiments are presented. Comparisons are made in terms of the mean drop shapes and the axis ratio distributions. Very close agreement of the mean shapes is seen between the two sets of measurements; the same applies to the mean axis ratio versus drop diameter. Also, in both sets of measurements, an increase in the oscillation amplitudes with increasing drop diameter is observed. In the case of the 2DVD, a small increase in the skewness was also detected. Given that the two sets of measurements were conducted in very different conditions, the agreement between the two sets of dat…

A Flux Method for the Numerical Solution of the Stochastic Collection Equation: Extension to Two-Dimensional Particle Distributions

2000

Abstract In the present paper a new method is introduced for the numerical solution of the stochastic collection equation in cloud models dealing with two-dimensional cloud microphysics. The method is based on the assumption that the probability for the collision of two cloud drops only depends on the water mass of each and not on the mass of the aerosol nuclei. With this assumption it is possible to reduce the two-dimensional solution of the stochastic collection equation to a one-dimensional approach. First, the two-dimensional particle spectrum is integrated over the aerosol mass yielding a one-dimensional drop spectrum in the water mass grid. For this intermediate drop distribution the …

The Dynamics of Eye Formation and Maintenance in Axisymmetric Diabatic Vortices

2009

Abstract This paper investigates the occurrence, formation, and maintenance of eyes in idealized axisymmetric balanced vortices with diabatic forcing. Two key elements of the model setup are temperature relaxation toward a specified equilibrium temperature Te and Ekman pumping from a turbulent boundary layer. Furthermore, the flow is assumed to be almost inviscid in the interior. The model does not attempt any closure for moist convection. Previous work by the authors has shown that there is a continuous transition from monsoonlike vortices to hurricane-like vortices. This transition is governed by the ratio ℱ = αT /cD, where αT is the thermal relaxation rate and cD the surface drag coeffic…

Production altitude and time delays of the terrestrial gamma flashes: Revisiting the Burst and Transient Source Experiment spectra

2008

[1] On the basis of the RHESSI results it has been suggested that terrestrial gamma flashes (TGFs) are produced at very low altitudes. On the other hand some of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) spectra show unabsorbed fluxes of X rays in the 25–50 keV energy range, indicating a higher production altitude. To investigate this, we have developed a Monte Carlo code for X-ray propagation through the atmosphere. The most important features seen in the modeled spectra are (1) a low-energy cutoff which moves to lower energies as TGFs are produced at higher altitudes, (2) a high-energy cutoff which moves to lower energies as TGFs are observed at larger zenith angles, and (3) time d…

Collocated measurements of boundary layer cloud microphysical and radiative properties: A feasibility study

2010

[1] First data from collocated, helicopter-based measurements of boundary layer cloud microphysical properties (effective droplet radius Reff, droplet number concentration N) and spectral radiative quantities (cloud optical thickness τ, cloud top albedo ρ, reflectivity ) are presented. The in situ measurements of the microphysical cloud properties were collected by the Airborne Cloud Turbulence Observation System (ACTOS) attached to a helicopter by a 145 m long rope. Cloud spectral reflectivity was derived from radiances measured by grating spectrometers combined with downward looking optical inlets installed underneath the helicopter. Correlations between cloud microphysics and reflected r…

Reply to comment by R. Grard et al. on “An analysis of VLF electric field spectra measured in Titan's atmosphere by the Huygens probe”

2011

A Theoretical Model to Describe the Motion of Aerosol Particles Due to the Combined Action of Inertia, Brownian Diffusion and Phoretic and Electric F…

1978

Abstract General principles of non-equilibrium thermodynamics are used to formulate a model which describes the motion of aerosol particles affected simultaneously by Brownian diffusion, inertial impaction, electric forces and phoretic forces. The theory presented applies to an ideal mixture consisting of dry air, water vapor and aerosol particles where temperature, pressure as well as vapor and particle concentration inhomogeneities are to be considered. In addition, the system is subjected to the earth's gravity, to an external electric field as well as to a Coulomb force due to a charged collecting water drop. The basic model assumptions are as follows: 1) the diffusive kinetic energy of…

Performance of a Focused Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer for Measurements in the Stratosphere of Particle Size in the 0.06–2.0-µm-Diameter Range

1995

A focused cavity aerosol spectrometer aboard a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft provided high-resolution measurements of the size of the stratospheric particles in the 0.06-2.0-micrometer-diameter range in flights following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. Effects of anisokinetic sampling and evaporation in the sampling system were accounted for by means adapted and specifically developed for this instrument. Calibrations with monodisperse aerosol particles provided the instrument's response matrix, which upon inversion during data reduction yielded the particle size distributions. The resultant dataset is internally consistent and generally shows agreement to within a factor of 2 wi…

Nonlinear Critical Layers in Barotropic Stability

1991

Abstract Applying the method of matched asymptotic expansions (MAE) to the shallow water equations on a rotating sphere, the structure of critical layers that occur in the linear and inviscid analysis of neutral disturbances of barotropic zonal flows is investigated, assuming that the critical layers are controlled by nonlinearity rather than viscosity or nonparallel flow effects. It turns out that nonlinearity is insufficient to resolve the critical layer singularity completely. It suffices however to connect linear and nondissipative solutions across critical latitudes.

A Fast Solar Radiation Transfer Code for Application in Climate Models

1983

A method is presented for the calculation of solar heating rates in turbid and cloudy atmospheres. In contrast to other typical two-stream procedures, the system of differential equations describing the radiative transfer is decoupled through the application of a series expansion of the flux densities resulting in a single analytical expression for each flux. The present method (PM) yields a solution for the entire atmosphere instead of individual atmospheric layers. This procedure avoids as part of the solution scheme the inversion of a rather complex matrix thus resulting in high numerical efficiency. The model includes the absorption by atmospheric gases such as water vapor, CO2, O3 and …