MICROSTRUCTURES AND TEMPORAL VARIATION CHARACTERISTICS DURING A SEA FOG EVENT ALONG THE WEST COAST OF THE TAIWAN STRAIT

Synoptic systems and microphysical properties associated with a sea fog event are analyzed based on the measurements of visibility, meteorological elements and fog droplet spectrum from a comprehensive field campaign in Xiamen, Fujian province during spring 2013. The influences of meteorological elements on the microstructures of the sea fog are also discussed. The results showed that the wind speed and direction changed suddenly during the intermittent and disperse phases of the sea fog. Liquid water content, number concentration and average diameter varied obviously in the development, mature and disperse phases of the sea fog. The burst re-enforcement of sea fog was accompanied by explosive broadening of fog droplet spectrum; average diameter, number concentration and liquid water content increased sharply; and background meteorological conditions also changed significantly. The microstructures fluctuated intensely due to changes in turbulence, radiation and meteorological conditions at different stages, including nucleation, condensation, coagulation, and evaporation, as well as the discontinuity of spatial distribution of droplets.     

Microphysical characteristics of sea fog over the east coast of Leizhou Peninsula, China

Microphysical properties of sea fog and correlations of these properties were analyzed based on the measurements from a comprehensive field campaign carried out from 15 March to 18 April 2010 on Donghai Island (21°35’’N, 110°32’5’’E) in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China. There were four types of circula- tion pattern in favor of sea fog events in this area identified, and the synoptic weather pattern was found to influence the microphysical properties of the sea fogs. Those influenced by a warm sector in front of a cold front or the anterior part of low pressure were found to usually have a much longer duration, lower visibility, greater liquid water content, and bigger fog droplet sizes. A fog droplet number concentration of N≥1 cm-3 and liquid water content of L≥0.001 g m-3 can be used to define sea fogs in this area. The type of fog droplet size distribution of the sea fog events was mostly monotonically-decreasing, with the spectrum width always being >20 μm. The significant temporal variation of N was due in large part to the number concentration variation of fog droplets with radius <3 μm. A strong collection process appeared when droplet spectrum width was >10 μm, which subsequently led to the sudden increase of droplet spectrum width. The dominant physical process during the sea fog events was activation with subsequent condensational growth or reversible evaporation processes, but turbulent mixing also played an important role. The collection process occurred, but was not vital.     

ANALYSIS OF THE MICROPHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF RADIATION FOG IN XUANEN MOUNTAINOUS REGION OF HUBEI, CHINA

Based on data of radiation fog events in Xuanen, Hubei province, 2010, this paper analyzes the microphysical process and evolution characteristics of radiation fogs with complicated substrate in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and compares them with findings in other areas. Results are as follows: radiation fog in Xuanen is evidently weaker in droplet number concentration and liquid water content than land fogs in other areas. Its liquid water content fluctuates obviously, 0.01g/ m3 with visibility of 1,000 meters, which is quite different from that in urban areas, but similar to the Nanling Mountains. Bi-modal droplet distribution is likely to occur in Xuanen mountain radiation fog (MRF) events. Statistical analysis shows that the observed droplet size distribution can be piecewise described well by the Gamma distribution. There is a positive correlation between liquid water content, fog droplet concentration and mean radius, especially in the development and dissipation stage. Condensation growth and droplet evaporation are major processes of Xuanen MRF. The dissipation time coincided with the time when the grass temperature reached the peak value, which indicated that dew evaporation is a key role in maintaining Xuanen MRF. In the early stage of dense fog’s growth, droplets with diameter of over 20 micrometers can be observed with visibility of 800-1,000m, which might be caused by the transportation of low cloud droplets to earth’s surface by turbulence. Big droplets in the initial stage correspond to higher water content, leading to the higher observed value of water content of Xuanen MRF.     

Examination of Microphysical Relationships and Corresponding Microphysical Processes in Warm Fogs

In this paper, the microphysical relationships of 8 dense fog events collected from a comprehensive fog observation campaign carried out at Pancheng（32.2 N, 118.7 E） in the Nanjing area, China in the winter of 2007 are investigated. Positive correlations are found among key microphysical properties（cloud droplet number concentration, droplet size, spectral standard deviation, and liquid water content） in each case, suggesting that the dominant processes in these fog events are likely droplet nucleation with subsequent condensational growth and/or droplet deactivation via complete evaporation of some droplets. The abrupt broadening of the fog droplet spectra indicates the occurrence of the collision-coalescence processes as well, although not dominating. The combined efects of the dominant processes and collision-coalescence on microphysical relationships are further analyzed by dividing the dataset according to visibility or autoconversion threshold in each case. The result shows that the specific relationships of number concentration to volume-mean radius and spectral standard deviation depend on the competition between the compensation of small droplets due to nucleation-condensation and the loss of small droplets due to collision-coalescence. Generally, positive correlations are found for diferent visibility or autoconversion threshold ranges in most cases, although negative correlations sometimes appear with lower visibility or larger autoconversion threshold. Therefore, the compensation of small droplets is generally stronger than the loss, which is likely related to the sufcient fog condensation nuclei in this polluted area.     

EVOLUTION OF LIQUID WATER CONTENT IN A SEA FOG CONTROLLED BY A HIGH-PRESSURE PATTERN

On March 16–17, 2008, a sea fog occurred in Dianbai in the west of Guangdong Province and was accompanied by a high-pressure synoptic system. Using comprehensive observation datasets, this study analyzes the evolution of liquid water content during this sea fog and investigates the relationships between liquid water content and the average diameters and count densities of fog droplets, air temperature, wind speed and turbulence exchanges. The main results are presented as follows. (1) The sea fog showed a quasi-periodic oscillation characteristic, i.e., it developed, disappeared and then developed again. (2) During the sea fog, the number of fog droplets changed significantly while the changes in average diameter of the fog droplets were relatively small. The development and disappearance of the sea fog correlated significantly with the fog droplet numbers. (3) The air-cooling mechanism played a significant role in sea fog formation and development. However, the influences of this mechanism were not evident during fog persistence. (4) During sea fog formation, weak turbulence exchanges were helpful for fog formation. During sea fog development and persistence, liquid water content increased when turbulence exchanges weakened, and vice versa. The changes in turbulence exchanges were closely related to the quasi-periodic oscillations observed in sea fog presence.     

The First Observed Cloud Echoes and Microphysical Parameter Retrievals by China's 94-GHz Cloud Radar

By using the cloud echoes first successfully observed by China's indigenous 94-GHz SKY cloud radar, the macrostructure and microphysical properties of drizzling stratocumulus clouds in Anhui Province on 8 June2013 are analyzed, and the detection capability of this cloud radar is discussed. The results are as follows.(1) The cloud radar is able to observe the time-varying macroscopic and microphysical parameters of clouds,and it can reveal the microscopic structure and small-scale changes of clouds.(2) The velocity spectral width of cloud droplets is small, but the spectral width of the cloud containing both cloud droplets and drizzle is large. When the spectral width is more than 0.4 m s-1, the radar reflectivity factor is larger(over –10 dBZ).(3) The radar's sensitivity is comparatively higher because the minimum radar reflectivity factor is about–35 dBZ in this experiment, which exceeds the threshold for detecting the linear depolarized ratio(LDR) of stratocumulus(commonly –11 to –14 dBZ; decreases with increasing turbulence).(4) After distinguishing of cloud droplets from drizzle, cloud liquid water content and particle effective radius are retrieved. The liquid water content of drizzle is lower than that of cloud droplets at the same radar reflectivity factor.     

Application of aircraft observations over Beijing in cloud microphysical property retrievals from CloudSat

Cloud microphysical property retrievals from the active microwave instrument on a satellite require the cloud droplet size distribution obtained from aircraft observations as a priori data in the iteration procedure.The cloud lognormal size distributions derived from 12 flights over Beijing,China,in 2008-09 were characterized to evaluate and improve regional CloudSat cloud water content retrievals.We present the distribution parameters of stratiform cloud droplet （diameter ＜500 tm and ＜1500 μm） and discuss the effect of large particles on distribution parameter fitting.Based on three retrieval schemes with different lognormal size distribution parameters,the vertical distribution of cloud liquid and ice water content were derived and then compared with the aircraft observations.The results showed that the liquid water content （LWC） retrievals from large particle size distributions were more consistent with the vertical distribution of cloud water content profiles derived from in situ data on 25 September 2006.We then applied two schemes with different a priori data derived from flight data to CloudSat overpasses in northern China during April-October in 2008 and 2009.The CloudSat cloud water path （CWP） retrievals were compared with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS） liquid water path （LWP） data.The results indicated that considering a priori data including large particle size information can significantly improve the consistency between the CloudSat CWP and MODIS CWP.These results strongly suggest that it is necessary to consider particles with diameters greater than 50 tm in CloudSat LWC retrievals.     

Some Characteristics of Cumulus Convection over the Tibetan Plateau

The diagnostic model of the cumulus convection proposed by Yanai et al. (1973) was applied to the atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau, and used to estimate the vertical mass flux, entrainment and detrainment, excess temperature and moisture, liquid water content, and condensation and precipitation rates of highland cloud clusters. The results illustrated that in clouds over the Tibetan Plateau, the water vapor condensation rate, liquid water content, and efficiency of the rain generation process are less than those in the tropics (represented by the Marshall Islands region). Therefore, the condensational latent heat released over the Tibetan Plateau, overall, is much smaller than that in the tropics. The water vapor and liquid water detrainment from shallow nonprecipitating cumulus clouds, and their entrainment into deep cumulus clouds, serve as a growing mechanism for the deep precipitating cumulus towers over the Tibetan Plateau. It should be noted that there is a stronger detrainment of liquid water     

A Numerical Study of the Urban Intensity Effect on Fog Evolution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

The influence of urban intensity on fog evolution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region (China) is investigated numerically with the the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the urban canopy parameterization-building energy model (UCP- BEM) urban physics scheme. The experiments were designed with a focus on the influence of different urban intensities, which are represented by a different fractional coverage of natural land, buildings, and energy consumption inside buildings in an urban environment. The results of this study indicate that urban areas notably influence fog evolution when natural land is reduced to a small fraction (e.g., less than 10%). Developed land changes fog evolution through urban effects. Higher urban intensity (HUI) generally results in warmer temperatures and lower wind speeds throughout the day, while inhibiting morning specific humidity loss and afternoon specific humidity gain because of the HUI effect on surface heat flux, surface roughness, and surface moisture flux. HUI leads to later and weaker liquid water content formation, with a higher liquid water content base, primarily due to its effect on near surface temperatures. This finding implies that HUI may inhibit the conditions for fog formation. In addition, urban areas with equal natural and developed land coverage seem to greatly enhance the upward surface moisture flux, which is attributed to the combination of a relatively large potential evaporation on developed land and an ample moisture supply from natural land. As a result, the specific humidity increases in the afternoon.     

Numerical Experiment Research of a Marine Fog Event in the Pearl River Estuary Region

A marine fog event that occurred near the Pearl River Estuary region on 26 March 2002 was investigated with the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5). The results of numerical experiment are very consistent with the surface observations, especially in the processes of marine fog formation and evolution. Besides, a series of sensitivity numerical experiments were performed by varying the distribution of landuse type and the turbulence exchange process. It is shown that the marine fog forms along the coastal line. Tests have indicated that when the distribution of landuse type is modified, the regions where the marine fog can intrude into are obviously different. The turbulence process in the model is important for fog formation and evolution. If the influence of turbulence process is ignored in numerical simulation experiment, the simulated maximum of the cloud liquid water content and the height of fog top will be decreased greatly.     

一次南海海雾微物理结构个例分析

本文利用2010年3月22～23日广东省湛江市一次海雾过程的雾滴谱和能见度资料,分析了海雾的微物理特征及微物理参量(数浓度、液态含水量和平均直径)之间的相关性,并讨论了影响海雾的主要物理过程。结果表明:湛江地区海雾的平均雾滴谱符合Junge分布;在海雾发展和成熟阶段,雾滴谱拓宽过程以及数浓度与平均直径的正相关关系表明本次海雾过程主要以雾滴活化和凝结增长过程为主;湍流过程的参与使得雾滴混合均匀,雾滴平均直径向3.5 μm附近集中,趋向平均化。同时湍流使雾体内部和外部空气交流,外部空气的凝结核核化,数浓度升高,凝结增长造成小雾滴变大。     

江苏北部不同等级雾的微物理结构及个例分析

利用2015—2017年秋冬季在江苏北部观测到12次雾过程的雾滴谱数据及常规气象观测资料,统计分析了轻雾、大雾、浓雾、强浓雾和特强浓雾等级下的微物理特征量及雾滴谱分布,并通过一次雾过程的分析,探讨了不同雾等级下的主要微物理过程。结果表明:随着雾等级的提升,雾滴数浓度、含水量增长明显,而轻雾、大雾和浓雾的雾滴平均直径和最大直径差异不大,但当能见度小于200 m时,平均直径和最大直径显著增大;能见度下降时,平均数浓度谱和含水量谱的谱线上抬,从浓雾到强浓雾,粒径大于10 μm的大雾滴增长明显;雾滴数浓度主要由小雾滴控制,雾滴含水量受大雾滴影响;东海县郊平均的雾滴含水量与南京观测结果相差不大,但雾滴数浓度仅为南京的一半左右,平均直径大约是南京的2.3倍;个例分析中,能见度从1000 m下降到50 m,凝结核活化并凝结增长是主要微物理过程,但可凝结水汽是影响该过程效果的一个重要因子,可使雾滴数浓度和平均直径呈现不同的相关关系;能见度降到50 m以下时,碰并过程效果显著;日出后雾滴蒸发作用显现并逐步增强。      

从夹卷的角度探讨雾不同阶段微物理量的变化机理

夹卷混合过程作为影响云雾的主要物理过程之一,对云雾的生命周期、云雾降水的形成过程、辐射传输过程和气溶胶间接效应等都有着重要影响。本文从微物理和动力两个方面探讨辐射雾中的夹卷混合机制,既促进对夹卷混合机制的理论认识,又从新的角度来讨论辐射雾的发展消亡过程。利用2006年和2007年冬季在南京进行的雾综合观测的资料,研究了9个个例中的夹卷混合机制。首先,针对2007年12月10～11日这一次辐射雾过程进行详细分析,探讨了不同阶段微物理量的变化和夹卷混合机制。结果表明:成熟阶段主要为极端非均匀夹卷混合机制,数浓度和含水量同时减小,体积平均半径却基本保持不变;快速消散阶段主要为均匀夹卷混合机制,各微物理量同时减小,互为正相关关系。除了微物理,本文也分析了夹卷混合机制的动力特征,计算了过渡尺度数,发现在成熟（快速消散）阶段,过渡尺度数小（大）,有利于极端非均匀（均匀）夹卷混合机制的发生。其次,分析了其他8个个例中微物理量之间的相关关系,发现体积平均半径和含水量之间主要呈正相关关系,以均匀夹卷混合为主。所得结果有助于夹卷混合机制参数化方案的开发,同时为辐射雾的模拟预报提供参考。     

南京冬季浓雾的演变特征及爆发性增强研究

2007年12月18—19日,南京地区出现了一次持续20h的浓雾过程,其中能见度低于50m的强浓雾几乎占到整个雾过程的1／3。利用同期在南京市北郊的外场观测数据,结合NCEP再分析资料,分析了该次雾的演变过程、微物理结构及边界层特征,探讨了地面雾爆发性增强的成因。结果表明：本次雾在西南平流的增湿作用下触发生成;日出后,平流输送和地表蒸发提供了充足水汽来源,贴地层逆温因高空下沉增温而向上抬升且稳定存在,因此大雾得以维持;整个雾过程中雾滴数浓度、平均直径、含水量随时间的变化趋势基本一致,平均谱曲线均呈指数下降分布,雾滴集中在小滴端;两次地面雾爆发性增强均发生在夜间,其特征为各微物理参量明显增大,滴谱上抬拓宽;爆发性增强的原因是地表气温陡降、贴地层逆温增强及可充当雾滴凝结核的气溶胶大粒子数增多。     

天津平流雾过程及其空中微物理特征个例研究

2016/2017冬季在天津开展了平流雾微物理特征观测试验,结合距地66 m高度处雾滴谱和255 m气象塔大气边界层资料,借助突变和趋势一致性非参数检验方法对重度霾后接连发生的两次平流雾过程发展阶段进行客观划分,揭示雾体内部一定高度处雾滴微物理特征和尺度分布特征的观测事实,讨论其生消演变规律。结果表明,伴随西南暖湿平流,饱和层首先在空中出现并向地面扩展,雾过程中成熟阶段观测高度范围内升温,雾层处于中性或弱不稳定层结状态。66 m高度处大雾滴持续存在,微物理特征与地面能见度准同步变化,数浓度高值出现在成熟阶段初期,而含水量、特征直径高值出现在成熟阶段后期,对应成熟阶段后期雾滴数浓度减少、地面能见度小幅跃升。消散阶段各尺度数浓度因雾滴蒸发同步减小。     

近地层辐射过程与雾微结构的相互作用特征

利用2006-2009年南京郊区（32°12’N,118°42’E,25ma．s．1）冬季雾综合观测资料,分析了近地层辐射特征与雾微物理结构的相互作用。结果表明,净辐射通量密度介于-50～＋25W·m12时,雾层中雾滴数浓度逐渐增加,且雾滴半径越小,雾滴数密度增大越显著。近地层辐射冷却或弱增温,有利于雾滴活化和凝结增长。地面辐射增温较强时,雾滴数浓度和不同尺度雾滴数密度均减少,且雾滴半径越小,雾滴数密度减小得越快。太阳短波反射率的变化主要受雾滴数浓度、平均半径和液态含水量的影响。雾过程中,雾滴数浓度和液态含水量每增大100cm-3和0．001g·m-1。引起的太阳短波反照率的增量分别为5．29×10-3和1．18×10-4。