Activation of cloud droplets in bin-microphysics simulation of shallow convection

This paper describes implementation of the warm-rain bin microphysics in a LES model based on the EULAG fluid flow solver. The binmicrophysics EULAG is applied to the case of shallow nonprecipitating tropical convection to investigate the impact of the secondary activation of cloud droplets above the cloud base. In a previous study applying the EULAG model with the double-moment bulk warm-rain microphysics scheme, the in-cloud activation was shown to have significant implications for the mean microphysical and optical characteristics of the cloud field. By contrasting the simulations with and without in-cloud activation as in the previous study, we show that the in-cloud activation has qualitatively similar but quantitatively smaller effect. In particular, the concentration of cloud droplets in the bin simulation without in-cloud activation decreases with height not as strongly as in corresponding simulations applying the double-moment bulk scheme.     

Removal of aerosol particles from the atmosphere by growing cloud droplets

Summary When a vapor pressure gradient exists in air containing suspended particulate matter, the particles are propelled toward the region of lower vapor pressure by molecular bombardment of vapor molecules. It has been proposed that this effect is important as a process for removing the particles of natural aerosols from the air surrounding growing cloud droplets.This effect has been investigated experimentally by observing the removal of artificial aerosol particles form an experimental chamber in which a known vapor pressure gradient was established. The velocities imparted to particles under the action of a vapor pressure gradient were determined. The results of the measurements were used to calculate the rate of removal of particles in the vicinity of growing cloud droplets. It was concluded that less than 1% of the particles in the region would be removed during the growth of a typical cloud.This work has been submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.     

Size distribution models of fog and cloud droplets and their volume extinction coefficients at visible and infrared wavelengths

Based on the average variability of the skewness with respect to the droplet mode radius, a wide set of mean size-distribution models is presented in terms of the modified gamma function for fog and stratified cloud droplets. These models appear appropriate for giving reliable size-distribution curves relative to the various formation stages of the droplet population both in fogs and in stratus and stratocumulus clouds.The corresponding volume extinction coefficient has been computed at various wavelengths from 0.4 to 17 m using Van de Hulst's (1957) approximation multiplied by Deirmendjian's (1960) correction factors. This set of theoretical extinction data has been compared with experimental extinction measurements performed in atmospheres characterized by a marked thermal inversion for describing the evolutionary features of the water droplet size distribution within the whole ground layer.     

Numerical modeling of magnetization of a precipitating rock suspension

The influence of collisions between the clusters of a precipitating material on its magnetization at the precipitation stage in an aqueous medium is analyzed. In laboratory experiments, when the sedimentation rate exceeds the value of this rate under natural conditions by several orders of magnitude, collisions are an important factor which sharply decreases the value of magnetization. Only the case of precipitation in distilled water, when the probability of aggregation of particles with their collision approach is small, can be an exception to this rule. Under natural conditions, the concentration of the precipitating solid phase plays the decisive role. For the conditions of deep-water lakes and coastal sea basins with the relatively high sedimentation rate its concentration is sufficient for intensification of the flocculation process, beginning from a certain depth. However, the quantity of material precipitating on the surface for areas distant from continents is too small and in these regions the role of collisions is of negligible importance. The magnetization of the precipitating suspension under conditions of intense flocculation has a linear dependence on the field and is defined by at least seven parameters, which characterize both magnetic and nonmagnetic particles. Such a multiparametric dependence of the magnetization value on the precipitation conditions is responsible for the practical impossibility of estimating the magnitude of the ancient geomagnetic field by the method of reprecipitation in view of the impossibility of adequately reproducing in the laboratory the precipitation conditions in the natural basins.     

Evolution of droplets in subsea oil and gas blowouts: Development and validation of the numerical model VDROP-J

The droplet size distribution of dispersed phase (oil and/or gas) in submerged buoyant jets was addressed in this work using a numerical model, VDROP-J. A brief literature review on jets and plumes allows the development of average equations for the change of jet velocity, dilution, and mixing energy as function of distance from the orifice. The model VDROP-J was then calibrated to jets emanating from orifices ranging in diameter, D, from 0.5 mm to 0.12 m, and in cross-section average jet velocity at the orifice ranging from 1.5 m/s to 27 m/s. The d₅₀/D obtained from the model (where d₅₀ is the volume median diameter of droplets) correlated very well with data, with an R² = 0.99. Finally, the VDROP-J model was used to predict the droplet size distribution from Deepwater Horizon blowouts. The droplet size distribution from the blowout is of great importance to the fate and transport of the spilled oil in marine environment.     

A steady-state model of a cumulus cloud

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Light scattering constants for a water cloud

Summary The study of radiative transfer in clouds and fog requires a knowledge of basic radiation constants. For this purpose the volume extinction, scattering, and absorption coefficients, the maximum absorption coefficients for composite spectral lines, and the coefficients used to expand the phase function into a series of Legendre polynomials for analytic representation of the phase function are provided in tabular and graphical format. The analysis for cloud droplets is based upon the rigorous electromagnetic theory. All Mie computations are carried out in an exact manner avoiding any approximations. Absorption line constants as computed here are based upon the investigations ofElsasser withCulbertson [5]³) andWyatt, Stull, andPlass [18]. Tabulations are made on the basis of fifty spectral intervals covering the entire solar and infrared spectra. Polarization effects are disregarded in this study.     

极光沉降粒子能量与AE、Dst指数的相关分析

对NOAA的POES系列极轨卫星观测得到的1978年以来近30年的极光沉降粒子半球能量的估算值EPI(Estimated Power Input)数据进行了分析,结果表明,极光沉降粒子有显著的春秋分峰值的年变化特征,并且有冬季半球沉降能量较大的南北半球不对称性.对EPI的时均值Pa与地磁指数AE、Dst的相关分析得到,Pa与AE的相关系数为0.76,Pa与Dst的相关系数为-0.55.把南北半球的时均值SPa,NPa数据分别与AE,Dst指数做相关,发现SPa与AE的相关性稍高于NPa的,SPa和NPa与Dst的相关性近似.当时延τ=0时,AE与Pa的相关最好,表明全球极光沉降粒子和极光电集流的变化同步;当Dst滞后于Pa,时延τ=1~2 h,Pa与Dst的相关最好,并且时延τ为6～8 h,Pa与Dst的相关都好于无时延的水平.     

Parameterizations of cloud feedback in a radiative-convective model

The effect of cloud feedback on the response of a radiative-convective model to a change in cloud model parameters, atmospheric CO₂ concentration, and solar constant has been studied using two different parameterization schemes. The method for simulating the vertical distribution of both cloud cover and cloud optical thickness, which depends on the relative humidity and on the saturation mixing ratio of water vapor, respectively, is the same in both approaches, but the schemes differ with respect to modeling the water vapor profile. In scheme I atmospheric water vapor is coupled to surface parameters, while in scheme II an explicit balance equation for water vapor in the individual atmospheric layers is used. For both models the combined effect of feedbacks due to variations in lapse rate, cloud cover, and cloud optical thickness results in different relationships between changes in surface temperature, planetary temperature, and cloud cover. Specifically, for a CO₂ doubling and a 2% increase in solar constant, in both models the surface warming is reduced by cloud feedback, in contrast to no feedback, with the greater reduction in scheme I as compared to that of scheme II.     

Submersible surveys of benthos near a turbidity cloud

Seabed impacted by settling solids from a turbidity plume can be surveyed by submersible using a ‘bounce’ technique to determine depth of the turbidity front, and hence depth above which benthos observations are practical. The protocol adopted was that after frontal depth was determined by a preliminary dive, the site for the benthic survey was selected. On arrival on the seabed a reconnaisance was made for the observers to agree on the identification of visible benthos. Then 100 × 1 m² transects were surveyed using a 1 m² quadrat attached to the submersible in view of the port-side observer. At the site investigated, two shallow water stations (depths 13–15 m, and 16–18 m) showing light deposits of mine tailings were seen to support associations of large epifauna and infauna. The first station had an almost single-species stand of the burrowing anenome Pachycerianthus fimbriatus at approximately 100 · 100 m^?2, and the second a diverse species association with several starfish and other species at 1–2 · 100 m^?2. Burrow holes (up to 3–5 cm diameter) of various sizes indicated that large infaunal species were present. At a deeper station (36–27 m) with heavy tailings and almost no burrow holes, a single Dungeness crab, Cancer magister, and an unidentified shrimp were seen in the 100 m² transect. Each dive site was inshore (shallower) from a routinely monitored benthos station shown repeatedly to support a population of small infauna in the tailings. Burrow holes have the potential for determining the identity and abundance of large infaunal species present if an identification system can be developed. The technique of epifaunal and burrow hole surveys (by submersible and scuba diver), combined with infaunal and sediment core surveys and contemporary theory on infaunal succession, provides the potential for a procedure to map the distribution in shallow water of tailings impact and benthic recovery (succession).     

The granulometrical characteristics of a slowly-moving dust cloud

A torn-up road offered the opportunity to sample a dust cloud continuously at different heights during a time interval of 51 hours. In particular the granulometrical characteristics of the dust caught were investigated. It appears that if the air layer in the vicinity of a dust cloud is not too turbulent, the cloud will be clearly granulometrically stratified. The coarse material moves chiefly at the bottom of the cloud, whereas the fine material will occur both at the bottom and at the top. The experiment also shows that the higher the dust in the cloud, the worse it is sorted. Above a critical height, however, the degree of sorting increases again. The variation of the mean dust diameter d₅₀, as a function of the height z, can be expressed in a simple semi-logarithmic equation. The variation of the dust quantity G, as a function of the height z, can also be expressed in a semi-logarithmic form but the correlation is higher when a power equation is used. The ratio of fine silt to coarse silt seems to vary parabolically with height. One can only speak of an optimal transport height in the case of particles > 16 μm. For finer particles, the turbulence of a normal air stream is usually high enough to carry the particles anywhere in the dust cloud, so that one can no longer speak of an optimal transport height. The granulometrical border between aeolian transport in saltation and aeolian transport in suspension lies, according to the results of the experiment, at a diameter of about 63 μm.     

A simple model of a building cumulus cloud

Summary A model of a building cumulus structure is described. The one-stage model published in[1] was used to describe ascent of two cloudy parcels that a cloud is supposed to be formed of. The other ascent is assumed to take place after the first cloud element sinks back as a result of evaporative cooling. The numerical results and their evaluation are given for various rates of mixing at the cloud top level of the first cloud volume.     

Inertial stratification of a dispersing multicomponent gas cloud

The possibility of the spatial stratification of the components of an expanding gas ball at the inertial stage of dispersion is considered. Based on numerical investigations into the dispersion of a gas cloud consisting of hydrogen and aluminum, it is shown that, starting from certain dispersion radii, the force of collisional interaction is incapable of providing identical velocities of the components and their radial stratification occurs. The time behavior of the forces of internal pressure and friction is analyzed, and it is demonstrated that the light-component front is far ahead of the heavy-component front as time elapses. This effect is confirmed by experimental data of explosion experiments carried out in the upper layers of the ionosphere.     

On the propagation of streamers through a large population of neutral droplets

Streamers were injected into a large population of small droplets, of radii about 20 m, confined to a given region of pre-determined shape on a photographic film, and situated in a gap between which a variable electric field can be applied. Results showed that the droplet region behaves like a dipole discharging from both ends if its inclination to the electric field is less than 45° and the field is not less than –230 kV/m at atmospheric pressure.We deduced that streamer intensification will occur at relatively low fields if there exists pockets of large number density of small droplets.     

Measurement of the deposition of submicron particles in gradients of vapour pressure and of the efficiency of this mechanism in the capture of particulate matter by cloud droplets in nature

When diffusion of a vapour in a gaseous medium occurs, any particles suspended in this gaseous mixture will move along the vapour pressure gradient because of the force exerted on them by the diffusing vapour molecules. This effect was first demonstrated by Facy (¹) for particulate matter near growing and evaporating water drops. In this paper, quantitative measurements of the velocity, imposed on radioactively marked sub-micron particles (0.03 to 0.1 μ radius), in controlled gradients of water vapour pressure are described. The particle velocity is shown to be a linear function of the vapour pressure gradient over the range measured, such that:

$$V_p = 2 \times 10^{ - 4} \frac{{dh}}{{dx}}$$     

Cumulus cloud energetics as revealed in a numerical model of cloud dynamics: Part II. Computational results

A numerical model of atmospheric convection is used to investigate the effects of the birth, growth, and death of a cumulus cloud on the temporal and spatial characteristics of atmospheric energy content. Energy in the forms of latent and thermal enthalpy of water vapor, thermal enthalpy of dry air and of condensed liquid, and potential and kinetic energy is computed. Changes in the energy content and the vertical flux of energy are mapped in the vertical plane passing through the cloud axis and are summed horizontally and vertically over the domain to show the rearrangements.It is found that the relative importance of different forms of energy is a function of position with respect to the cloud. Energy related to the presence of water vapor accounts for most of the changes in the vicinity of the cloud. Convection tends to decrease the potential instability of the atmosphere, the amount of decrease being determined by the total energy released during condensation regardless of whether it falls as rain. The time for the departure from neutral stability to be reduced by 10 percent of its initial value is estimated to be about one hour.     

Numerical solution of micro-physical equations in a model of a convective cloud

Summary The procedure for computation and the numerical results of the first testing of the so-called Mi-operation, which is a construction unit of the model of a convective cloud[1] and represents the formulation of microphysical phenomena occurring in a convective cloud, are described. In this paper the Mi-operation is applied to the case of the liquid stage, restricted to condensation and drop evaporation. The solution of the corresponding system of kinetic equations serves the purpose of an initial test of the applicability of the integration method to the type of equations mentioned.     

日侧极光弧的发光强度与沉降电子能谱的相关关系

本文利用中国北极黄河站多波段全天空极光观测数据,选取稳定的日侧极光弧,统计研究了极光强度比I_557.7/I_630.0与极光发光强度I_557.7的相关关系.发现I_557.7在午前暖点和午后热点区附近出现极大值,分别为2.2 kR和2.9 kR;而I_630.0在磁正午出现极大值,为1.5 kR.当I_557.7从0.1 kR增加到10 kR时,极光强度比I_557.7/I_630.0也由0.2增加到9.结合DMSP卫星探测的沉降粒子能谱数据,找到17个DMSP卫星穿越黄河站上空极光弧的事件,共穿越40条极光弧.得到了沉降电子的平均能量正比于极光强度比I_557.7/I_630.0,沉降电子的总能通量正相关于极光强度I_557.7的关系式.利用该关系式反演所有极光弧的电子能谱,发现在午前和午后扇区,产生极光弧的沉降电子主要来源于等离子体片边界层;在高纬出现强度较弱的弧,对应等离子体幔区域.在磁正午附近,沉降电子的平均能量较低,极光弧处于低纬一侧,粒子源区主要是低纬边界层.