An airborne two-stage impactor for chemical analysis of size-segregated cloud drops

Aqueous concentrations of ionic species observed in cloud water studies often have been in conflict with expectations from model predictions. These inconsistencies result from the size-dependent chemical composition of cloud drops during different stages in the lifetime of a cloud. To study this phenomenon, droplets of clouds need to be collected in different size ranges with high resolution in space and time. The only possibility for this kind of study is the use of an aircraft. Therefore, during the last several years, an attempt was made to develop a mobile cascade impactor, which can be installed outside an aircraft. The cloud water sampled in different size fractions can be transferred into the interior of the aircraft during the measuring flight. The collector is able to sample two size fractions. For continental clouds, the cutoffs are chosen to be >5 and >13.5 μm in diameter. For maritime clouds, the cutoff for the first stage could be shifted to 18.6 μm by lowering the nozzle speed. Prior to field application, the collector was characterized with the aid of “calibration fogs” produced in the laboratory with different drop sizes and different chemical compositions. The characterization included the examination of the cutoffs and the reliability of the sampling procedure with regard to the subsequent chemical analysis. With a collection period of 2 min, collection rates in the order of 0.1–1 cm³ min⁻¹ can be obtained. The collector characterized in this manner was successfully used during measuring flights in clouds over northern Germany. Preliminary concentrations of NH₄⁺, SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻ found in the two size fractions of the cloud drops are presented.     

山西云微物理特征的地面观测

利用连续气流纵向热梯度云凝结核仪和激光降水粒子谱测量仪对山西地面的云凝结核和雨滴谱进行了观测研究.研究结果表明,云凝结核(CCN)数浓度具有明显的日变化特征,1天出现了两次峰值,数浓度日变化与气象因子、人类活动有关.降水对CCN具有冲刷作用.利用关系式NCCN=CSk拟合得到的地面CCN活化谱参数C值明显较大,k值较高,属于典型的大陆型核谱.对层状云、层积云降水雨滴微物理特征参量分析发现:3次层状云、层积云降水雨滴数密度变化范围分别为74～229 m-3、305～743 m-3,平均含水量量级分别为10-2 g/m3、10-1g/m3,最大雨滴直径分别为1.78 mm、4.7 mm.对层状云降水雨滴的数密度和雨强贡献较大的分别是小于1 mm、0.2～2 mm的雨滴;对层积云降水雨滴的数密度和雨强贡献较大的分别是0.2～2 mm、1～3 mm的雨滴.层积云出现稳定谱的比例高于层状云.从瞬时谱型分布看,层状云出现单、双、三峰多,第四、五峰值的频率比较少,层积云雨滴谱分布没有出现指数型,常有多峰.从平均谱分布看,层状云谱宽窄于层积云,层状云雨滴平均谱服从指数分布,层积云曲线呈向下弯曲的趋势.对汾阳2008年7月17日一次积层混合云降水雨滴谱资料分析发现积层混合云降水雨滴微物理量起伏大,降水雨强主要由雨滴数密度决定.相同雨强下,若有相对更多的大雨滴,雷达反射率会更大一些.随着强回波云块的过境,雨滴数浓度、雨滴谱峰值个数、谱宽均明显增大.     

基于地面雨滴谱资料分析层状云和对流云降水的特征

根据由声雨滴谱仪器测量得到的雨滴谱资料,结合降水云的结构来将降水云系划分成为对流云降水云系和层状云降水云系.分析这两种降水云系中的稳定雨滴谱特征,包括雨滴谱的各种特征直径(平均直径Dm、众数直径Dd、平均体积直径Dv、优势直径Dp、中数直径Dna和中数体积直径Dn)、峰值结构和Z-R关系等.通过对这些量的分析,进一步分析划分降水云系的判据.     

Continuous scanning of the mobility and size distribution of charged clusters and nanometer particles in atmospheric air and the Balanced Scanning Mobility Analyzer BSMA

Measuring of charged nanometer particles in atmospheric air is a routine task in research on atmospheric electricity, where these particles are called the atmospheric ions. An aspiration condenser is the most popular instrument for measuring atmospheric ions. Continuous scanning of a mobility distribution is possible when the aspiration condenser is connected as an arm of a balanced bridge. Transfer function of an aspiration condenser is calculated according to the measurements of geometric dimensions, air flow rate, driving voltage, and electric current. The most complicated phase of the calibration is the estimation of the inlet loss of ions due to the Brownian deposition. The available models of ion deposition on the protective inlet screen and the inlet control electrofilter have the uncertainty of about 20%. To keep the uncertainty of measurements low the adsorption should not exceed a few tens of percent. The online conversion of the mobility distribution to the size distribution and a correct reduction of inlet losses are possible when air temperature and pressure are measured simultaneously with the mobility distribution. Two instruments called the Balanced Scanning Mobility Analyzers (BSMA) were manufactured and tested in routine atmospheric measurements. The concentration of atmospheric ions of the size of about a few nanometers is very low and a high air flow rate is required to collect enough of ion current. The air flow of 52 l/s exceeds the air flow in usual aerosol instruments by 2–3 orders of magnitude. The high flow rate reduces the time of ion passage to 60 ms and the heating of air in an analyzer to 0.2 K, which suppresses a possible transformation of ions inside the instrument. The mobility range of the BSMA of 0.032–3.2 cm² V^− 1 s^− 1 is logarithmically uniformly divided into 16 fractions. The size distribution is presented by 12 fractions in the diameter range of 0.4–7.5 nm. The measurement noise of a fraction concentration is typically about 5 cm^− 3 and the time resolution is about 10 min when measuring simultaneously both positive and negative ions in atmospheric air.     

应用二维冰雹云模式做冰雹预报

应用二维冰雹云模式,模拟分析了渭干河灌区一次冰雹云过程的流场结构和云中含水量等宏微物理量的分布及其演变,并用１９９５年７～８月的探空资料,进行冰雹预报试验。结果表明：本模式可以真实地模拟出适合于冰雹云生长的环境流场、温度场、湿度场的分布及其演变过程,还可模拟出多单体雹云的发生、发展演变过程。根据大气层结稳定度,选择不同的热扰动强度,可使空报次数明显减少,预报准确率提高到６９．３％。     

Cirrus cloud horizontal and vertical inhomogeneity effects in a GCM

Summary A set of the inhomogeneity factor for high-level clouds derived from the ISCCP D1 dataset averaged over a five-year period has been incorporated in the UCLA atmospheric GCM to investigate the effect of cirrus cloud inhomogeneity on climate simulation. The inclusion of this inhomogeneous factor improves the global mean planetary albedo by about 4% simulated from the model. It also produces changes in solar fluxes and OLRs associated with changes in cloud fields, revealing that the cloud inhomogeneity not only affects cloud albedo directly, but also modifies cloud and radiation fields. The corresponding difference in the geographic distribution of precipitation is as large as 7 mm day⁻¹. Using the climatology cloud inhomogeneity factor also produces a warmer troposphere related to changes in the cloudiness and the corresponding radiative heating, which, to some extent, corrects the cold bias in the UCLA AGCM. The region around 14 km, however, is cooler associated with increase in the reflected solar flux that leads to a warmer region above. An interactive parameterization for mean effective ice crystal size based on ice water content and temperature has also been developed and incorporated in the UCLA AGCM. The inclusion of the new parameterization produces substantial differences in the zonal mean temperature and the geographic distribution of precipitation, radiative fluxes, and cloud cover with respect to the control run. The vertical distribution of ice crystal size appears to be an important factor controlling the radiative heating rate and the consequence of circulation patterns, and hence must be included in the cloud-radiation parameterization in climate models to account for realistic cloud processes in the atmosphere.     

Aerosol-cloud chemical fractionation: Enrichment factor analysis of cloud water

A field study was conducted at a mountain-top site in northwestern Colorado. Supercooled cloud water, collected as a function of droplet size, was analyzed for anions, cations and trace elements. Enrichment factors (EF) of SO ₄ ^2– , K⁺, Na⁺ and Cl^– relative to crustal and marine reference elements (Al and Na) were calculated to determine whether chemical fractionation of the aerosol occurs during cloud droplet formation. The largest EF's for all ions were found for droplets less than 10–15 µm diameter. Ratios of the small to large droplet mean EF's ranged from 1 to 2, for SO ₄ ^2– relative to both Al and Na⁺, to 10 to 12 for Na⁺, Cl^– and K⁺, relative to Al. EF's of K⁺ and Cl^– in the bulk cloud water were in crustal and marine proportions, respectively. It was concluded that although bulk could chemistry may indicate a lack of enrichment of a species, this may not be true throughout the droplet size distribution. The higher enrichments in small droplets is likely a result of their formation on small aerosol particles whereas the large droplets form on the largest aerosol particles. This may suppress EF's in precipitation relative to the total aerosol.     

主要卫星云气候数据集评述

自20世纪70年代气象卫星进入业务化观测以来,气象卫星已提供了40余年的观测数据。长时间序列的卫星数据为云气候研究提供了可能。基于长时间序列的卫星数据,构建云气候数据集会涉及诸如定标、反演算法、反演数据精度验证等方面。目前国际上也已生成了一系列的云气候数据集,如ISCCP,Patmos-x,CLARA和MODIS-ST等,这些数据集所选用的探测数据、反演算法不尽一致,数据集产品的时空属性各异。如何发挥极轨和静止气象卫星各自优势,融合两类卫星数据,形成高时间分辨率、质量稳定的长时间序列云气候数据集是未来需要解决的问题。     

一次冷锋云系的宏微观物理特征分析

利用常规气象资料、自动站资料、卫星云图、CINRAD-SA多普勒天气雷达资料以及NCEP再分析资料,结合飞行探测数据,对影响2011年4月17日河北抚宁县森林大火的一次冷锋云系进行分析.结果表明:1)宏观分析,过程降水的水汽仅来自冷锋自身所携带的微弱水汽,水汽辐合值较小,不利降水;2)微观分析,冷锋层状云系在水平和垂直方向上存在较薄的过冷水云区,小粒子数浓度大于20 cm^-3的云区占一定比例.飞机催化作业后,雷达回波强度增强,CAS(云气溶胶粒子探头)探测的小粒子数浓度、云含水量及粒子平均直径均有明显变化,说明该次冷锋云系有一定的增雨潜力.     

Computer modelling of clouds at Kleiner Feldberg

The airflow, cloud microphysics and gas- and aqueous-phase chemistry on Kleiner Feldberg have been modelled for the case study of the evening of 1 November 1990, in order to calculate parameters that are not easily measured in the cloud and thus to aid the interpretation of the GCE experimental data-set. An airflow model has been used to produce the updraught over complex terrain for the cloud model, with some care required to ensure realistic modelling of the strong stable stratification of the atmosphere. An extensive set of measurements has been made self-consistent and used to calculate gas and aerosol input parameters for the model. A typical run of the cloud model has calculated a peak supersaturation of 0.55% which occurs about 20 s after entering cloud where the updraught is 0.6 m s^–1. This figure has been used to calculate the efficiency with which aerosol particles were scavenged; it is higher than that calculated by other methods, and produces a cloud with slightly too many droplets. A broad cloud droplet size spectrum has been produced by varying the model inputs to simulate turbulent mixing and fluctuations in cloud parameters in space and time, and the ability of mixing processes near cloud-base to produce a lower peak supersaturation is discussed. The scavenging of soluble gases by cloud droplets has been observed and departures from Henry's Law in bulk cloud-water samples seen to be caused by variation of pH across the droplet spectrum and the inability of diffusion to adjust initial distributions of highly soluble substances across the spectrum in the time available. Aqueous-phase chemistry has been found to play a minor role in the cloud as modelled, but circumstances in which these processes would be more important are identified.     

机载光阵探头探测期间云粒子的破碎

机载光阵探头探测时,云粒子(液态和固态)进入二维光阵探头的采样区前,会因与探头探测臂发生机械碰撞,或者与探头外壳产生的湍流和风切变相互作用而破碎。破碎程度与粒子类型、大小、粒子密度、探头入口设计以及飞行空速等有关。利用2008年7~9月探测飞机(Y-12)在山西省太原地区的航测资料并对飞机采样期间的云粒子破碎现象进行介绍和分析,分析结果表明,粒子到达时间间隔分布具有双模态特征:长时间模态是粒子空间分布的真实结构,短时间模态则是云粒子破碎的结果。提出用粒子到达时间间隔阈值作为粒子破碎的判定标准,给出适用于2008年太原地区航测资料的粒子破碎识别阈值,其中适合于探头云粒子成像仪(CIP)的阈值是2×10-5 s,而探头降水粒子成像仪(PIP)的阈值是1×10-4 s。所提的阈值对于以Y-12为机载探测平台,以CIP和PIP探头为探测仪器所获取的其它航次云微物理图像资料的粒子破碎处理也是有一定的参考使用价值。     

Large aerosol particles in cirrus type clouds

Research flights in November 1990 over the central parts of the United States, Wyoming and Colorado, were aimed to the investigation of the properties and microstructure of cirrus clouds (mainly cirrocumulus lenticularis). Among the other parameters measured on board the NCAR Saberliner were the concentration and size distribution of submicron particles and, in some cases, the particle deliquescence. For coarse insoluble particles found inside and outside of cloud elements, size distributions and morphology information were obtained by evaluating inertial impactor samples with an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. In addition, the coarse particle composition was determined by x-ray energy spectrum analysis. The following conclusions from these measurements are:The large and coarse particle size distribution can be roughly simulated by a log-normal function with the modus around r=0.5 μm. Particle concentrations are very variable between several tenths and several particles per cm³. Particle volume distribution features a distinct maximum around 0.75 μm without a broad plateau which was observed in the case of sampling at lower altitude. Aerosol composition heterogeneity at cirrus cloud level is well documented by the evaluation of the fine particle sampling taken with the UMR sampling system. This heterogeneity can be partly explained by the interaction between aerosol and cloud elements, which is documented by the measured particle size distribution curves inside and outside of cloud elements. Assuming that particle deliquescence is caused by H₂SO₄ and/or by (NH₄)₂SO₄, particle soluble mass fractions were found to be around 30% in the first case and about 40% in the second. The most frequently occurring elements in large and coarse particles at cirrus cloud level were Si, Cl, Ba, S, Ca and C.     

GRAPES三维云初始场形成及在短临预报中的应用

围绕GRAPES_Meso的云初始场形成,以ARPS模式云分析方案为基础,优化诊断后应用我国风云二号静止气象卫星云产品、多普勒天气雷达三维组网拼图产品等观测资料结合模式背景信息,根据云热力-动力学原理及观测试验经验关系等,对云初始场的信息进行分析并通过松弛逼近同化方法实现对云内微物理信息同化应用。GRAPES_Meso中采用优化后的云初始场方案,水平分辨率为0.03°×0.03°和0.1°×0.1°的1个月（2014年7月15日-8月14日）连续试验和个例分析结果显示:云初始场形成方案能够分析出飑线等天气系统的云系和云内微物理变量特征。从模拟云图看,包含云初始场信息的GRAPES_Meso的云系的形态特征和分布范围短时临近预报结果更为准确。云初始场信息同化应用后,在1 h的时间尺度上,即可预报出与实况更为接近的降水;0~12 h时间范围内对降水均有积极的影响,可满足短时临近预报的需求,降水量级略偏大。批量连续试验（水平分辨率为0.03°×0.03°和0.1°×0.1°）的各个量级降水ETS（equitable threat score）评分都显著提高。     

The Great Dun Fell Experiment 1995: an overview

During March and April of 1995 a major international field project was conducted at the UMIST field station site on Great Dun Fell in Cumbria, Northern England. The hill cap cloud which frequently envelopes this site was used as a natural flow through reactor to examine the sensitivity of the cloud microphysics to the aerosol entering the cloud and also to investigate the effects of the cloud in changing the aerosol size distribution, chemical composition and associated optical properties. To investigate these processes, detailed measurements of the cloud water chemistry (including the chemistry of sulphur compounds, organic and inorganic oxidised nitrogen and ammonia), cloud microphysics and properties of the aerosol and trace gas concentrations upwind and downwind of the cap cloud were undertaken. It was found that the cloud droplet number was generally strongly correlated to aerosol number concentration, with up to 2000 activated droplets cm⁻³ being observed in the most polluted conditions. In such conditions it was inferred that hygroscopic organic compounds were important in the activation process. Often, the size distribution of the aerosol was substantially modified by the cloud processing, largely due to the aqueous phase oxidation of S(IV) to sulphate by hydrogen peroxide, but also through the uptake and fixing of gas phase nitric acid as nitrate, increasing the calculated optical scattering of the aerosol substantially (by up to 24%). New particle formation was also observed in the ultrafine aerosol mode (at about 5 nm) downwind of the cap cloud, particularly in conditions of low total aerosol surface area and in the presence of ammonia and HCl gases. This was seen to occur at night as well as during the day via a mechanism which is not yet understood. The implications of these results for parameterising aerosol growth in Global Climate Models are explored.     

Ice cloud microphysics,radiative transfer and large-scale cloud processes

Summary Parameterization programs for cloud microphyscs and radiative transfer involving ice clouds have been developed in terms of the mean effective size and ice water path. The mean effective size appears to be adequate in representing the ice crystal size distribution for radiative parameterizations. For a given ice water path, smaller mean effective sizes reflect more solar radiation, emit more IR radiation and enhance net radiative heating/cooling at the cloud top and bottom than larger sizes. The presence of small ice crystals may generate steeper lapse rates in clouds. A 3-D global cloud model that prescribes the horizontal wind fields in a 24 hour period is used to investigate the sensitivity of the mean effective size of ice crystals on the simulation of radiative heating, temperature, cloud cover and ice water content. A variation in the mean effective size from 75 to 50 m in a 24 hour prediction on simulation generates more cooling above the high cloud top and a decrease of temperature. These results lead to an increase of high cloud cover in some latitudes by as much as 4% and, at the same time, a decrease of middle cloud cover by 3–4% in latitudes between 60°S and 60°N.With 7 Figures     

气溶胶对雷暴云起电以及闪电发生率影响的数值模拟

本文利用二维耦合气溶胶模块的雷暴云起电模式,结合一次南京雷暴个例,进行250 m分辨率雷暴云起电模拟实验,探讨了气溶胶浓度对雷暴云空间电荷分布以及闪电发生率的影响。在这个气溶胶模块中,假定一个三模态的气溶胶对数分布,考虑了气溶胶活化过程。结果显示:(1)随着气溶胶浓度增大,雷暴云电荷结构保持为三极型。(2)当气溶胶浓度从50 cm-3增加至1000 cm-3时,水成物粒子浓度上升,雷暴云电荷量和闪电发生率增加明显。(3)气溶胶浓度在1000~3000 cm-3范围时,云水竞争限制了冰晶的增长,导致雷暴云上部主正电荷堆电荷量降低。云滴和霰粒子浓度缓慢上升促进中部主负电荷堆和底部次正电荷堆电荷量继续增大。闪电发生率保持稳定。(4)当气溶胶浓度大于3000 cm-3时,水成物粒子浓度稳定,云内的电荷量以及闪电发生率保持为一定量级。     

The spatial distribution of deposited seeding material in the Earth boundary layer during weather modification

Cloud seeding projects may have the time scale of half a century and cover the planetary-scale surface. Such activities among the positive also have negative consequences that include environmental pollution. Year after year cloud seeding over certain areas could produce large amounts of seeding agents washed out in precipitation. The sampling of these deposits is therefore important, but not applied in large space and time scales due to a high cost. As an alternative, the cloud seeding project measurements may be used for finding the deposit spatial pattern and locations of its maximum. In this study, we established the method for finding the spatial distribution of deposited silver iodide over a selected area after hail suppression using the observed characteristics of seeded hailstorms. The estimation of the silver iodide deposit maximum is 155?μg?m^?2 during a 6-year period. Our findings agree well with those obtained from sampling silver content in precipitation during the other convective cloud seeding experiments. On the other hand, our method gives an answer of where to place the samplers, and hence more detailed chemical analysis and monitoring can be done in the future. The proposed methodology may be applied for any other target area and cloud seeding scenario.     

On the effect of the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol particles on nucleation scavenging and the formation of a cloud interstitial aerosol

Nucleation scavenging and the formation of a cloud interstitial aerosol (CIA) were theoretically studied in terms of the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol particles. For this study, we used our air-parcel cloud model, which includes the entrainment of air and detailed microphysics, for determining the growth and interaction of aerosol particles and drops. Maritime and remote continental aerosol particle spectrums were used whose size distributions were superpositions of three log-normal distributions, each of a prescribed chemical composition. Our results show (1) that the CIA exhibits a size distribution with a distinctive cut-off at a specific radius of the dry as well as of the wet particle size distribution. All particles above this limiting size become activated to cloud drops and, thus, are not present in the CIA spectrum. This limiting size was found to be independent of the chemical composition of the particles and only dependent on the prevailing supersaturation. Below this specific size, the CIA spectrum becomes depleted of dry aerosol particles in a manner which does depend on their chemical composition and on the supersaturation in the air. (2) The number of aerosol particles nucleated to cloud drops depends critically on the chemical composition of the particles and on the prevailing supersaturation.     

A novel high-resolution small ion spectrometer to study ion nucleation of aerosols in ambient indoor and outdoor air

An electrically based ion spectrometer is described, capable of measuring particle sizes and mobilities from molecular ions (small ions) to aerosol particles across a size range of 0.4 to 30 nm in diameter. It consists of a single cylindrical capacitor divided into three electrically insulated sections. The current arriving at the central section is measured by an electrometer and represents the ion flux over a known range of mobilities determined by the applied voltage. The applied voltage is scanned in steps to measure the ion fluxes over a large number of overlapping mobility ranges. The recorded signal and the response function of the instrument are unfolded using a maximum entropy procedure to give a high-resolution measured mobility spectrum. The maximum entropy approach offers a considerable improvement over traditional aspiration collectors and can approach the resolution of a drift tube system. In this way, the spectrometer successfully overcomes the diffusion limit to small ion resolution. Illustrative spectra are shown, demonstrating for the first time the presence of some resolved structure within the small ion spectrum at the highest mobilities. It is demonstrated that the actual mobility spectrum of small ions falls in the range 0.8–2.0 × 10⁻⁴ m² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. This represents a narrower range than that previously measured which is attributed to improved spectral resolution in the present work.     

Meteorological research applications of MM-wave radar

Summary MM-wave radar has now been developed well beyond that of simply providing qualitative information about the presence or location of clouds. Uncertainty about cloud properties leading to gross errors in climate model results has provided the impetus to develop mm-wave radars into reliable, quantitative tools for studying clouds. Besides depicting the small-scale (a few tens of meters) features of tenuous cirrus and low level stratus clouds, the 3 mm and 8 mm wavelength radars described here can examine the physical structure, dynamics and small-scale turbulence of clouds when used alone. Polarization capability of these radars is now generating new information about the deformity of cloud particles needed for calculations of radiation budgets of clouds. When used with other sensors such as lidar or radiometers, additional cloud microphysical information can be retrieved. We discuss here two different ways to calculate ice mass content profiles from radar/lidar data and from radar/IR radiometer data. Mm-wave radar is most suited for these calculations because of complications introduced by 1) Bragg (refractivity) scatter, 2) the lower resolution, and 3) ground clutter effects at longer wavelengths. Combining radar and microwave radiometer data is shown to provide liquid water profiles in warm marine stratus clouds. The small size and weight of mm-wave radars make them particularly suitable for use on aircraft and satellite platforms and we show recent results from an airborne system to make that point. The technology has now advanced to the point where unattended, vertically-pointing, Doppler mm-wave radars will soon be commonly used in research applications.With 6 Figures