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Impact of turbulence on cloud microphysics

Impact of turbulence on cloud microphysics
Impact of turbulence on cloud microphysics
The effects of in-cloud turbulence on the growth of cloud droplets by condensation and coalescence in low level water clouds are reviewed. It is shown that while the entrainment of dry air into clouds may explain the observed variability in the droplet spectra, and particularly in droplet concentration, doubt still exists as to whether the entrainment of subsaturated air can give rise to enhanced droplet growth by condensation, that is growth in excess of that expected in an adiabatic parcel. It is also shown that the increase in the length of the path of some of the droplets in stratocumulus due to turbulent updraughts can significantly increase the rate of production of drizzle sized droplets by coalescence. The effects of turbulence are generally believed to increase the collection kernels of cloud droplets, although the magnitude of the increase is in doubt. The impact of such changes on the growth of a population of cloud droplets by coalescence is sensitive to their magnitude. In particular, such changes may be capable of partially overcoming the barrier to growth which occurs between the condensation and coalescence processes in still air at a droplet radius of around 20 μm, although further detailed studies are required.
353-368
Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz
Bagheri, Gholamhossein
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Bodenschatz, Eberhard
b372c1cb-168b-4fba-9d21-66071dce4822
Lawson, John
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Jan, Moláček
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Nordsiek, Freja
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Schlenczek, Oliver
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Bittner, Michael
Bagheri, Gholamhossein
deeef2dd-be4e-4ce4-8ec4-1c1acb429b56
Bodenschatz, Eberhard
b372c1cb-168b-4fba-9d21-66071dce4822
Lawson, John
4e0b1895-51c5-41e6-9322-7f79e76e0e4c
Jan, Moláček
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Nordsiek, Freja
ec8b6efa-8739-4685-8690-9994cca4814e
Schlenczek, Oliver
c480fde3-878f-44aa-954c-101769727793
Bittner, Michael

Bagheri, Gholamhossein, Bodenschatz, Eberhard, Lawson, John, Jan, Moláček, Nordsiek, Freja and Schlenczek, Oliver (2022) Impact of turbulence on cloud microphysics. In, Bittner, Michael (ed.) Science at the environmental research station Schneefernerhaus / Zugspitze. Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz, pp. 353-368.

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

The effects of in-cloud turbulence on the growth of cloud droplets by condensation and coalescence in low level water clouds are reviewed. It is shown that while the entrainment of dry air into clouds may explain the observed variability in the droplet spectra, and particularly in droplet concentration, doubt still exists as to whether the entrainment of subsaturated air can give rise to enhanced droplet growth by condensation, that is growth in excess of that expected in an adiabatic parcel. It is also shown that the increase in the length of the path of some of the droplets in stratocumulus due to turbulent updraughts can significantly increase the rate of production of drizzle sized droplets by coalescence. The effects of turbulence are generally believed to increase the collection kernels of cloud droplets, although the magnitude of the increase is in doubt. The impact of such changes on the growth of a population of cloud droplets by coalescence is sensitive to their magnitude. In particular, such changes may be capable of partially overcoming the barrier to growth which occurs between the condensation and coalescence processes in still air at a droplet radius of around 20 μm, although further detailed studies are required.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 1 May 2022

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 473018
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/473018
PURE UUID: 31c46a69-2ae3-4d50-9c10-cb5685be154d
ORCID for John Lawson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3260-3538

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Date deposited: 06 Jan 2023 18:13
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:53

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Contributors

Author: Gholamhossein Bagheri
Author: Eberhard Bodenschatz
Author: John Lawson ORCID iD
Author: Moláček Jan
Author: Freja Nordsiek
Author: Oliver Schlenczek
Editor: Michael Bittner

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