Evolution of Stratocumulus Over Land: Comparison of Ground and Aircraft Observations with Numerical Weather Prediction Simulations

Forecasting of low cloud continues to challenge numerical weather prediction. With this in mind, surface and airborne observations were made over East Anglia, UK, during March 2011 to investigate stratus and stratocumulus advecting from the sea over land. Four surface sites were deployed at various distances inland aligned approximately along the flow. In situ data include cloud-droplet measurements from an aircraft operating off the coast and a tethered balloon 100 km inland. Comparisons of thermodynamic and cloud properties are made with Met Office operational model simulations at horizontal resolutions of 4 and 1.5 km. The clouds contained droplet concentrations up to 600 cm \(^{-3}\) within polluted outflow off Europe. These measurements were compared to three different model schemes for predicting droplet concentration: two of them perform well at low to moderate concentrations but asymptote to 375 cm \(^{-3}\) . Microwave radiometers at the ground sites retrieved liquid water paths that reduced with distance inland and were generally below 200 g m \(^{-2}\) . The modelled water path performs well upstream but more erratically far inland. Comparisons of thermodynamic profiles are made within both Lagrangian and Eulerian frameworks and show the model predicted changes in equivalent potential temperature generally within 1 K, with occasional errors of 2 K or more. The modelled cloud-top temperatures were in good agreement with the observations down to \(-\) 7  \(^{\circ }\) C, but the magnitude of the temperature inversion, although good at times, was too small by on average 1.6 K. The different simulations produced different cloud-top water contents due to a combination of resolution and scientific upgrades to the model, but they generally underestimate the amount of cloud water. Major changes, such as the mesoscale temporary cloud breaks on 2 March 2011 and the complete clearance on 4 March, were seemingly predicted by the model for the correct reasons.     

Sensitivity study of the influence of cloud droplet concentration on hail suppression effectiveness

A cloud-resolving mesoscale model with a two-moment microphysical scheme has been used. The software package for cloud seeding and two categories of precipitation elements (graupel and frozen raindrops) are incorporated in the model. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of cloud droplet concentration on hail suppression effectiveness. The concentration level of cloud droplets is prescribed in the model. We performed sensitivity tests of precipitation amounts (rain and hail) on the cloud droplet concentration in unseeded and seeded cases. We demonstrated for the unseeded case that increasing the concentration of cloud droplets created a reduction in rain accumulation, while the amount of hail accumulation increased. It is necessary to understand whether natural diversity in the cloud droplet concentration can affect the effectiveness of hail suppression. For operational cloud seeding activities, it would be helpful to determine whether it is possible to suppress hail if we know the optimal level of concentration for cloud droplets. Our study showed that hail suppression effectiveness had the greatest influence on lowering cloud droplet concentration levels; suppression effectiveness decreased as the cloud droplet concentration increased.     

Bulk Mixing and Decoupling of the Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer Characterized Using a Ubiquitous Natural Tracer

Vertical mixing of the nocturnal stable boundary layer (SBL) over a complex land surface is investigated for a range of stabilities, using a decoupling index ( $0 < D_{rb} < 1$ ) based on the 2–50 m bulk gradient of the ubiquitous natural trace gas radon-222. The relationship between $D_{rb}$ and the bulk Richardson number ( $R_{ib}$ ) exhibits three broad regions: (1) a well-mixed region ( $D_{rb} \approx 0.05$ ) in weakly stable conditions ( $R_{ib} < 0.03$ ); (2) a steeply increasing region ( $0.05 < D_{rb} < 0.9$ ) for “transitional” stabilities ( $0.03 < R_{ib} < 1$ ); and (3) a decoupled region ( $D_{rb} \approx 0.9$ –1.0) in very stable conditions ( $R_{ib} > 1$ ). $D_{rb}$ exhibits a large variability within individual $R_{ib}$ bins, however, due to a range of competing processes influencing bulk mixing under different conditions. To explore these processes in $R_{ib}$ – $D_{rb}$ space, we perform a bivariate analysis of the bulk thermodynamic gradients, various indicators of external influences, and key turbulence quantities at 10 and 50 m. Strong and consistent patterns are found, and five distinct regions in $R_{ib}$ – $D_{rb}$ space are identified and associated with archetypal stable boundary-layer regimes. Results demonstrate that the introduction of a scalar decoupling index yields valuable information about turbulent mixing in the SBL that cannot be gained directly from a single bulk thermodynamic stability parameter. A significant part of the high variability observed in turbulence statistics during very stable conditions is attributable to changes in the degree of decoupling of the SBL from the residual layer above. When examined in $R_{ib}$ – $D_{rb}$ space, it is seen that very different turbulence regimes can occur for the same value of $R_{ib}$ , depending on the particular combination of values for the bulk temperature gradient and wind shear, together with external factors. Extremely low turbulent variances and fluxes are found at 50 m height when $R_{ib} > 1$ and $D_{rb} \approx 1$ (fully decoupled). These “quiescent” cases tend to occur when geostrophic forcing is very weak and subsidence is present, but are not associated with the largest bulk temperature gradients. Humidity and net radiation data indicate the presence of low cloud, patchy fog or dew, any of which may aid decoupling in these cases by preventing temperature gradients from increasing sufficiently to favour gravity wave activity. The largest temperature gradients in our dataset are actually associated with smaller values of the decoupling index ( $D_{rb} < 0.7$ ), indicating the presence of mixing. Strong evidence is seen from enhanced turbulence levels, fluxes and submeso activity at 50 m, as well as high temperature variances and heat flux intermittencies at 10 m, suggesting this region of the $R_{ib}$ – $D_{rb}$ distribution can be identified as a top-down mixing regime. This may indicate an important role for gravity waves and other wave-like phenomena in providing the energy required for sporadic mixing at this complex terrain site.     

伊宁春季层状云和混合云降水的雨滴谱统计特征分析

利用设在伊宁的激光雨滴谱仪获取的2013年4月的降水资料,对层状云和混合云降水粒子谱的微物理参量平均值和Gamma函数拟合结果以及Z-I关系进行对比分析。计算结果表明,伊宁地区春季降水的微物理参量普遍偏小,小滴对降水浓度的贡献达到92%以上,即降水主要以小滴为主。层状云降水的雨强、雨滴数浓度、雨滴的各类微物理特征参量的平均值均大于混合云降水。函数拟合结果表明,混合云降水的雨滴谱宽大于层状云降水的雨滴谱宽,层状云和混合云降水的雨滴谱都比较符合Gamma分布,在小滴段Gamma分布对实际谱都有一定的低估,在大于1 mm的粒径段,拟合结果有一定的偏差。还讨论了雨滴大小因子Λ和形状因子μ之间的关系以及Z-I关系,Λ-μ关系与粒子尺度有关,根据拟合的二项式得到层状云降水粒子的平均直径大于混合云降水的平均直径。     

Application of a Bivariate Gamma Distribution for a Chemically Reacting Plume in the Atmosphere

The joint concentration probability density function of two reactive chemical species is modelled using a bivariate Gamma distribution coupled with a three-dimensional fluctuating plume model able to simulate the diffusion and mixing of turbulent plumes. A wind-tunnel experiment (Brown and Bilger, J Fluid Mech 312:373–407, 1996), carried out in homogeneous unbounded turbulence, in which nitrogen oxide is released from a point source in an ozone doped background and the chemical reactions take place in non-equilibrium conditions, is considered as a test case. The model is based on a stochastic Langevin equation reproducing the barycentre position distribution through a proper low-pass filter for the turbulence length scales. While the meandering large-scale motion of the plume is directly simulated, the internal mixing relative to the centroid is reproduced using a bivariate Gamma density function. The effect of turbulence on the chemical reaction (segregation), which in this case has not yet attained equilibrium, is directly evaluated through the covariance of the tracer concentration fields. The computed mean concentrations and the O₃–NO concentration covariance are also compared with those obtained by the Alessandrini and Ferrero Lagrangian single particle model (Alessandrini and Ferrero, Physica A 388:1375–1387, 2009) that entails an ad hoc parametrization for the segregation coefficient.     

气溶胶浓度对暖云不同生长阶段物理特征影响的模拟研究

基于云微物理过程完善的TAU2D分档云模式, 模拟研究了用热泡扰动生成的暖云在不同气溶胶数浓度(Na)背景条件下各演变阶段云微物理量的变化特征。结果表明: 在暖云的发展过程中Na越高, 云滴尺度变小, 云滴间的碰并增长发动较晚, 云滴谱因碰并增长而实现的滴谱拓宽变弱, 云滴谱相对较窄, 云滴谱标准差较小, 因此云体发展越缓慢, 云体生命周期越长, 形成降水就越晚; 反之, 云滴尺度越大, 碰并增长发动越早, 云滴谱拓宽更明显, 云滴谱标准差越大, 云体生命周期相对更短, 降水开始时刻越早。高Na背景下, 碰并阶段云滴谱较凝结阶段更宽, 沉降阶段因云体下沉蒸发导致小尺度云滴减少, 使其滴谱较碰并阶段略有拓宽。在凝结阶段, 低气溶胶背景下云滴数浓度(N)和离散度(ε)间呈现正相关关系, 而高气溶胶背景下两者为负相关关系。在碰并阶段, N与ε的相关性关系为负相关, 且随着气溶胶数浓度的增加, 负相关程度降低。在沉降阶段, N和ε间为负相关关系。     

云滴数浓度影响混合型层状云降水的数值模拟

使用耦合了Morrison双参数微物理方案的中尺度WRF模式V2．2,对2008年1月25-29日发生在我国南方的冰雪天气过程进行了数值试验。在模式准确再现了此次天气过程形势演变特点的基础上,对模式微物理方案中云滴数浓度影响累积降水量的情况进行了敏感性试验,发现云滴数浓度对降水量的影响是复杂和非线性的。对此次天气过程中的微物理量进行了详细的分析,并从各种水成物粒子的发展演变上,讨论了云滴数浓度的增加在暖云和冷云两种降水机制上对降水产生的不同影响。结果表明,云滴数浓度越大,云水混合比就越大,云滴的尺度越小。雨滴对不同云滴数浓度的响应与云滴的情况相反,随着云滴数浓度的增加,雨滴数浓度减小,雨水也减少,暖云降水过程受到了抑制;冰晶和雪晶的数浓度的演变过程没有明显变化,而冰晶和雪晶的混合比是相应增加的,冷云降水过程得到了一定程度的增强。从本文模拟的个例来看,设置不同云滴数浓度所得到的总累计降水量的差异在1％以内。总的来说,增加云滴数浓度,降水量会减少。从比例上来看,增加云滴数浓度对暖云降水过程的抑制作用比对冷云降水过程的增强作用更为显著,但是在本文模拟的个例中,冷云降水过程占主导地位,减少的降水和增加的降水的绝对值在同一个量级上并且数值相近,它们相互抵消后得到的结果是降水量变化的绝对值大大减小了,这解释了增加云滴数浓度后模拟的总累积降水量变化不明显的原因。     

Estimating a Lagrangian Length Scale Using Measurements of CO2 in a Plant Canopy

Analytical Lagrangian equations capable of predicting concentration profiles from known source distributions offer the opportunity to calculate source/sink distributions through inverted forms of these equations. Inverse analytical Lagrangian equations provide a practical means of estimating source profiles using concentration and turbulence measurements. Uncertainty concerning estimates of the essentially immeasurable Lagrangian length scale ( ${\mathcal{L}}$ ), a key input, impedes the operational practicality of this method. The present study evaluates ${\mathcal{L}}$ within a corn canopy by using field measurements to constrain an analytical Lagrangian equation. Measurements of net CO₂ flux, soil-to-atmosphere CO₂ flux, and in-canopy profiles of CO₂ concentration provided the information required to solve for ${\mathcal{L}}$ in a global optimization algorithm for 30-min time intervals. For days when the canopy was a strong CO₂ sink, the optimization frequently located ${\mathcal{L}}$ profiles that follow a convex shape. A constrained optimization then fit the profile shape to a smooth sigmoidal equation. Inputting the optimized ${\mathcal{L}}$ profiles in the forward and inverse Lagrangian equations leads to strong correlations between measured and calculated concentrations and fluxes. Coefficients of the sigmoidal equation were specific to each 30-min period and did not scale with any measured variable. Plausible looking ${\mathcal{L}}$ profiles were associated with negative bulk Richardson number values. Once the canopy senesced, a simple eddy diffusivity profile sufficed to relate concentrations and sources in the analytical Lagrangian equations.     

Microphysical characteristics of precipitating cumulus cloud based on airborne Ka-band cloud radar and droplet measurements

在积云中,大多数云粒子的直径在7到10微米之间,而在层云中,大多数云粒子的直径不超过2微米.云滴有效半径与云中行星边界层(PBL)及PBL上层的气溶胶数浓度(Na)呈负相关.在1500米以上的高液态水含量区域,云滴浓度(Nc)变化不大,Na含量降低.高雷达反射率对应于大的FCDP云粒子浓度和小的气溶胶粒子浓度.积云中的...     

The Importance of the Shape Parameter in a Bulk Parameterization Scheme to the Evolution of the Cloud Droplet Spectrum during Condensation

The shape parameter of the Gamma size distribution plays a key role in the evolution of the cloud droplet spectrum in the bulk parameterization schemes. However, due to the inaccurate specification of the shape parameter in the commonly used bulk double-moment schemes, the cloud droplet spectra cannot reasonably be described during the condensation process. Therefore, a newly-developed triple-parameter condensation scheme with the shape parameter diagnosed through the number concentration, cloud...     

Model studies of the impact of chemical inhomogeneity on SO2 oxidation in warm stratiform clouds

A one-dimensional, time-dependent model of the physics and chemistry of a warm stratiform cloud is used to study the possible impact of chemical inhomogeneity among cloud and raindrops on the oxidation of SO₂ in clouds. The effects of chemical inhomogeneity are examined using two contrasting models: In Model 1 a bulk-solution parameterization is adopted which effectively treats all cloud and raindrops as if they are chemically homogeneous; in Model 2 we allow the cloud and raindrops to have a dichotomous distribution. The dichotomous distribution in Model 2 is simulated by assuming that the two groups of cloud droplets nucleate from two chemically distinct populations of condensation nuclei; one being acidic and the other being alkaline. While the two models yield essentially identical results when the ambient levels of H₂O₂ are greater than the ambient levels of SO₂, the rate of conversion of SO₂ to sulfuric acid and the amount of sulfate removed in the precipitation can be significantly enhanced in Model 2 over that of Model 1 under conditions of oxidant limitation (i.e., H₂O₂ < SO₂). This enhancement is critically dependent upon the fraction of alkaline nuclei assumed to be present in Model 2 and arises from the rapid increase in the aqueous-phase reaction between O₃+S_IV at high pH. Our results suggest that cloud models which adopt a bulk-solution parameterization for cloud droplet chemistry, may underestimate the amount of in-cloud SO₂ oxidation under oxidant-limited conditions.     

The influence of precipitation intensity growth on the urban drainage systems designing

For 50 years of long observation period (1960–2009), on a high level of statistical significance (95 %), a decreasing trend of annual precipitation amounts and an increasing trend of the number of rainy days during the year (64 %) were found. For the seasonal changes (V–X), similarly, there was found a statistically significant (94 %) decreasing precipitation amount trend and an increasing trend of the number of rainy days (50 %). As far as the intensity of maximum precipitation is concerned, a very statistically significant increasing trend (95 %) was found. Taking as the basis, the model for a trend, defined for the period of 1960–2009, the increase of weighted average interval values of maximum precipitation amounts (h?≥?0.75?t ^0.5) in the year 2059 was estimated to be about 26 %, in comparison with the starting year 1960. An increasing trend of maximum precipitation frequency in Wroc?aw was also proved. To a safe sewerage systems designing in Wroc?aw according to current standards (EN 752 2008; DWA-A118 2006), the precipitation frequency to the simulations of excessive accumulation occurrences to the land level should be changed.     

Investigation of the Flow Structure in Step-Up Street Canyons—Mean Flow and Turbulence Statistics

A step-up street canyon is a characteristic urban element composed of two buildings in which the height of the upwind building ( $H_\mathrm{u}$ ) is less than the height of the downwind building ( $H_\mathrm{d}$ ). Here, the effect of canyon geometry on the flow structure in isolated step-up street canyons is investigated through isothermal wind-tunnel measurements. The measurements were acquired along the vertical symmetry plane of model buildings using two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV) for normal approach flow. The building-height ratios considered were: $H_\mathrm{d}/ H_\mathrm{u} \approx 3$ , and $H_\mathrm{d}/ H_\mathrm{u} \approx 1.67$ . For each building-height ratio, the along-wind lengths (L) of the upwind and downwind buildings, and the street-canyon width (S) were kept constant, with $L \approx S$ . The cross-wind widths (W) of the upwind and downwind buildings were varied uniformly from $W/S \approx 1$ through $W/S \approx 4$ , in increments of $W/S \approx 1$ . The objective of the work was to characterize the changes in the flow structure in step-up canyons as a function of W/S, for fixed L, S, and $H_\mathrm{d}/H_\mathrm{u}$ values. The results indicate that the in-canyon flow structure does not vary significantly for $H_\mathrm{d}/H_\mathrm{u} \approx 3$ for the W/S values considered. Qualitatively, for $H_\mathrm{d}/H_\mathrm{u} \approx 3$ , the upwind building behaves as an obstacle in the upwind cavity of the downwind building. In contrast, the flow patterns observed for the $H_\mathrm{d}/H_\mathrm{u} \approx 1.67$ configurations are unique and counter-intuitive, and depend strongly on building width (W/S). For $W/S \approx 1$ and $W/S \approx 2$ , the effect of lateral flow into the canyon is so prominent that even the mean flow patterns are highly ambiguous. For $W/S \approx 3$ and 4, the flow along the vertical symmetry plane is more shielded from the lateral flow, and hence a stable counter-rotating vortex pair is observed in the canyon. In addition to these qualitative features, a quantitative analysis of the mean flow field and turbulence stress field is presented.     

Dominant cloud microphysical processes of a torrential rainfall event in Sichuan,China

High-resolution numerical simulation data of a rainstorm triggering debris flow in Sichuan Province of China simulated by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model were used to study the dominant cloud microphysical processes of the torrential rainfall. The results showed that: (1) In the strong precipitation period, particle sizes of all hydrometeors increased, and mean-mass diameters of graupel increased the most significantly, as compared with those in the weak precipitation period; (2) The terminal velocity of raindrops was the strongest among all hydrometeors, followed by graupel’s, which was much smaller than that of raindrops. Differences between various hydrometeors’ terminal velocities in the strong precipitation period were larger than those in the weak precipitation period, which favored relative motion, collection interaction and transformation between the particles. Absolute terminal velocity values of raindrops and graupel were significantly greater than those of air upward velocity, and the stronger the precipitation was, the greater the differences between them were; (3) The orders of magnitudes of the various hydrometeors’ sources and sinks in the strong precipitation period were larger than those in the weak precipitation period, causing a difference in the intensity of precipitation. Water vapor, cloud water, raindrops, graupel and their exchange processes played a major role in the production of the torrential rainfall, and there were two main processes via which raindrops were generated: abundant water vapor condensed into cloud water and, on the one hand, accretion of cloud water by rain water formed rain water, while on the other hand, accretion of cloud water by graupel formed graupel, and then the melting of graupel formed rain water.     

In-cloud and below-cloud scavenging of aerosol ionic species over a tropical rural atmosphere in India

The temporal variation in concentrations of major water soluble ionic species has been studied from several rain events occurred over Gadanki (13.5 °N, 79.2 °E), located in tropical semi arid region in southern India. The contribution from rain-out (in cloud) and wash-out (below cloud) processes to the total removal of ionic species by rain events is also estimated using the pattern of variations of ionic species within an individual event. A number of rain samples were collected from each rain event during June–November in 2006, 2007 and 2008. On average, nearly 20% of the total NH ₄ ⁺ and non-sea SO ₄ ^2? is removed by in-cloud scavenging, suggesting that their removal by “below cloud” washout is relatively dominant. In contrast Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, NO ₃ ^? and sea-SO ₄ ^2? are mainly removed by below-cloud scavenging or wash-out process. A significant variation in the acidity was observed within rain events with successive precipitation showing higher acidity at the final stage of the precipitation due to partial neutralization of non-sea SO ₄ ^2? . Overall, greater influence of both terrestrial and anthropogenic sources is recorded in the rain events compared to that from marine sources.     

江西地区层状暖云微物理结构特征及云雨自动转化阈值函数的研究

本文利用机载云粒子探测设备对2014年11月6日至12月25日期间在江西地区探测获得的7次暖云飞行个例资料,详细分析降水云和非降水云的微物理结构特征。云雨自动转化阈值函数（T）是描述云内碰并强度的重要微物理参量。我们发现T值在云内分布呈现云底较小,随着云内高度的增加T值逐渐增大,并且在云中部和上部达到最大值;研究还发现降水云的T值在0.6以上的频率远大于非降水云,表明降水云中的碰并过程更强,云滴更易通过凝结和碰并过程形成雨滴,符合暖云降水机制。降水云中云滴谱相对离散度（ε）和云滴数浓度（N_c）的负相关程度较非降水云更为显著,随着T的增大,二者的负相关程度增强;相比于云滴平均半径（r_a）的变化,云滴谱标准差（σ）的变化主导ε–N_c负相关程度的增强。     

基于飞机真实轨迹的一次层状云催化的增雨效果及其作用机制的模拟研究

层状云降水效率通常较低,但却具有较高的云水资源开发潜力,是人工增雨作业的重要对象.随着中国南方地区生态改善、水库增蓄、抗旱等社会需求的增加,针对这些地区降水云系的人工增雨研究显得愈发重要.使用三维中尺度冷云催化模式,对2018年10月21日湖北省一次层状云飞机人工增雨作业过程进行了数值模拟研究,并将模拟结果与卫星、降水...     

Relationship between cloud characteristics and radar reflectivity based on aircraft and cloud radar co-observations

Cloud properties were investigated based on aircraft and cloud radar co-observation conducted at Yitong, Jilin, Northeast China. The aircraft provided in situ measurements of cloud droplet size distribution, while the millimeter-wavelength cloud radar vertically scanned the same cloud that the aircraft penetrated. The reflectivity factor calculated from aircraft measurements was compared in detail with simultaneous radar observations. The results showed that the two reflectivities were comparable in warm clouds, but in ice cloud there were more differences, which were probably associated with the occurrence of liquid water. The acceptable agreement between reflectivities obtained in water cloud confirmed that it is feasible to derive cloud properties by using aircraft data, and hence for cloud radar to remotely sense cloud properties. Based on the dataset collected in warm clouds, the threshold of reflectivity to diagnose drizzle and cloud particles was studied by analyses of the probability distribution function of reflectivity from cloud particles and drizzle drops. The relationship between reflectivity factor (Z) and cloud liquid water content (LWC) was also derived from data on both cloud particles and drizzle. In comparison with cloud droplets, the relationship for drizzle was blurred by many scatter points and thus was less evident. However, these scatters could be partly removed by filtering out the drop size distribution with a large ratio of reflectivity and large extinction coefficient but small effective radius. Empirical relationships of Z-LWC for both cloud particles and drizzle could then be derived.     

Validating the turbulence parameterization schemes of a numerical model using eddy dissipation rate and turbulent kinetic energy measurements in terrain-disrupted airflow

A number of turbulence parameterization schemes are available in the latest version (6.0) of the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS). Chan in Meteorol Atmos Phys 103:145–157, (2009), studied the performance of these schemes by simulating the eddy dissipation rate (EDR) distribution in the vicinity of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and comparing with the EDR measurements of remote-sensing instruments at the airport. For the e-l (turbulent kinetic energy ? mixing length) scheme considered in that study, the asymptotic mixing length was assumed to be a constant. This assumption is changed in the present paper, a variable asymptotic mixing length is chosen and simulations of EDR fields are repeated for terrain-disrupted airflow in the vicinity of HKIA. It is found that, with a variable asymptotic mixing length, the performance of the e-l scheme is greatly improved. With suitable choice of the empirical constants in the turbulence closure, the accuracy of the EDR profile (in comparison with LIDAR and wind profiler measurements) is found to be comparable with that predicted by the Deardorff scheme. A study on the sensitivity of the simulation results to these empirical constants has also been performed. Moreover, as a follow-up of the previous study of Chan in Meteorol Atmos Phys 103:145–157, (2009), case studies have been conducted on the following issues of the model simulation of turbulence for aviation application: (a) the effect of vertical gridding on the simulation results, (b) possibility of false alarm (such as over-forecasting of EDR value) in light turbulence cases, and (c) the performance in the simulation of other turbulence intensity metric for aviation purpose, e.g. TKE.