Microphysical Effects of Cloud Seeding in Supercooled Stratiform Clouds Observed from NOAA Satellite

Based on the satellite retrieval methodology, the spectral characteristics and cloud microphysical properties were analyzed that included brightness temperatures of Channels 4 and 5, and their brightness temperature difference (BTD), the particle effective radius of seeded cloud track caused by an operational cloud seeding and the microphysical effects of cloud seeding were revealed by the comparisons of their differences inside and outside the seeded track. The cloud track was actually a cloud channel reaching 1.5-km deep and 14-km wide lasting for more than 80 min. The effective radius of ambient clouds was 10-15μm, while that within the cloud track ranged from 15 to 26μm. The ambient clouds were composed of supercooled droplets, and the composition of the cloud within the seeding track was ice. With respect to the rather stable reflectance of two ambient sides around the track, the visible spectral reflectance in the cloud track varied at least 10%, and reached a maximum of 35%, the reflectance of 3.7μm in the seeded track relatively decreased at least 10%. As cloud seeding advanced, the width and depth were gradually increased. Simultaneously the cloud top temperature within the track became progressively warmer with respect to the ambient clouds, and the maximum temperature differences reached 4.2 and 3.9℃at the first seeding position for Channels 4 and 5. In addition, the BTD in the track also increased steadily to a maximum of 1.4℃, compared with 0.2-0.4℃of the ambient clouds. The evidence that the seeded cloud became thinner comes from the visible image showing a channel, the warming of the cloud tops, and the increase of BTD in the seeded track. The seeded cloud became thinner mainly because the cloud top descended and it lost water to precipitation throughout its depth. For this cloud seeding case, the glaciation became apparent at cloud tops about 22 min after seeding. The formation of a cloud track in the supercooled stratiform clouds was mainly because that the seeded cloud volume glaciated into ice hydrometeors that precipitated and so lowered cloud top height. A thin line of new water clouds formed in the middle of the seeded track between 38 and 63 min after seeding, probably as a result of rising motion induced by the released latent heat of freezing. These clouds disappeared in the earlier segments of the seeded track, which suggested that the maturation of the seeding track was associated with its narrowing and eventual dissipation due to expansion of the tops of the ambient clouds from the sides inward.     

Heterogeneities in the Microstructure and Composition of Aircraft Engine Combustor Soot: Impact on the Water Uptake

Size, morphology, microstructure, chemical composition and hygroscopic properties of aircraft engine combustor (AEC) soot particles are studied by using a combination of several methods, namely atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, gravimetry, ionic chromatography analysis and wetting observations. From the microstructure and the composition of soot agglomerates, we find that we can separate AEC soot in two fractions having quite different physico-chemical properties: a main fraction of particles containing essentially amorphous carbon with small amounts of oxygen, sulfur and iron and a fraction of impurities characterized by various structures and a large amount of impurities. These properties of aircraft engine combustor soot are compared to those of soot obtained by burning TC1 aviation kerosene in a laboratory burner. It is shown that TC1 soot can be a good surrogate of the AEC main fraction. Such a finding allows us to perform water uptake measurements and to conclude that the AEC main fraction is rather hydrophobic whereas the AEC fraction of impurities is highly hydrophilic The ability of the two fractions of aircraft engine combustor soot to act as cloud condensation nuclei is discussed with respect to their implication in contrail and cirrus formation.Associated to Université de la Méditerranée (Aix-Marseille II) and to Université Paul Cézanne (Aix-Marseille III)     

祁连山夏季地形云结构和云微物理过程的模拟研究(II):云微物理过程和地形影响

本文是祁连山夏季地形云结构和微物理过程模拟的第II部分。文中利用第I部分中祁连山夏季两个地形云降水个例的模拟结果,详细分析了地形云及其降水发展期间云微物理过程的特征及变化,并通过与平坦地面条件下模拟结果的对比,研究了云发展过程中的地形影响。研究表明,地形云中微物理过程的发展受地形影响很大,冰相微物理过程明显增强;地形影响下云的主要降水机制也受到影响甚至被改变。     

北京地区暖季对流天气的气候特征

对北京地区最近12年暖季(5—9月)雷暴、冰雹、暴雨和大风等各种对流天气进行了气候统计和分析。统计结果表明:北京地区暖季发生对流的概率很高,按日数统计的气候概率达47.77%,大风、暴雨和冰雹气候概率分别为27.29%、10.84%和6.29%。暴雨多发季节为7月中旬到8月上旬。冰雹集中于6月中、下旬。在对流天气的地理分布上,北京西北部、东北部山区及西南部山区多对流天气,中心区和东南部平原地区对流天气较少。暴雨呈西南—东北方向带状分布,东北部山区、中部和东南部平原地区多发生暴雨,而西北部和西南部山区很少发生暴雨。山区冰雹明显多于平原。西北部和东北部山区大风偏多。暴雨有明显的夜发性。冰雹集中发生在午后到傍晚,占冰雹总站次的76.72%。     

Cloud and Radiation Processes Simulated by a Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Model

Using NCC/IAP T63 coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM),two 20-yr integra- tions were processed,and their ability to simulate cloud and radiation was analysed in detail.The results show that the model can simulate the basic distribution of cloud cover,and however,obvious differences still exist compared with ISCCP satellite data and ERA reanalysis data.The simulated cloud cover is less in general,especially the abnormal low values in some regions of ocean.By improving the cloud cover scheme, simulated cloud cover in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic,summer hemisphere's oceans from subtropical to mid-latitude is considerably improved.But in the tropical Indian Ocean and West Pacific the cloud cover difference is still evident,mainly due to the deficiency of high cloud simulation in these regions resulting from deep cumulus convection.In terms of the analysis on radiation and cloud radiative forcing,we find that simulation on long wave radiation is better than short wave radiation.The simulation error of short wave radiation is caused mostly by the simulation difference in short wave radiative forcing,sea ice,and snow cover,and also by not involving aerosol's effect.The simulation error of long wave radiation is mainly resulting from deficiency in simulating cloud cover and underlying surface temperature.Corresponding to improvement of cloud cover,the simulated radiation (especially short wave radiation) in eastern oceans, summer hemisphere's oceans from subtropical to mid-latitude is remarkably improved.This also brings obvious improvement to net radiation in these regions.     

A Statistically-Based Low-Level Cloud Scheme and Its Tentative Application in a General Circulation Model

1. Introduction Clouds are active factors in the climate system, and have significant influences on the global hydrolog- ical and thermal budgets. More and more the climate model developers and researchers have realized the im- portance to appropriately describe the interactions be- tween cloud and radiation in the atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). It is well known that cloud is one of the contributing factors to the uncertainties in the simulation of climate by AGCM. Especiall…     

Single Particle Analysis of Aerosols, Observed in the Marine Boundary Layer during the Monterey Area Ship Tracks Experiment (MAST), with Respect to Cloud Droplet Formation

The chemical composition of individual particles >0.2 m sampled duringthe MAST-experiment wereanalysed by SEM-EDX, in combination with multivariatetechniques. The objective of this experiment was toidentify the mechanisms responsible for themodification of marine stratocumulus clouds byemissions from ships and in a wider sense to provideinformation on the global processes involved inatmospheric modification of cloud albedo. Aerosolswere examined under different MBL pollution levels(clean, intermediately polluted and moderatelypolluted) in five different reservoirs: backgroundbelow-cloud and above-cloud aerosol; background clouddroplet residual particles; below-cloud ship plumeaerosol and ship track cloud droplet residualparticles.In this study a relation was provided between theaerosol emitted from the ship's stack to an effect incloud. Additionally, a large fraction of the ambientaerosol was found to be composed of organic materialor other compounds, consisting of low Z-elements,associated with chlorine. Their number fraction waslargest in clean marine boundary layers, and decreasedwith increasing pollution levels. The fraction of`transformed sea salt' (Na, Cl, S), on the other hand,increased with the pollution level in the MBL. Only20% of the particles fell within the detectable rangeof the analysis.     

Scavenging Efficiency of ‘Aerosol Carbon’ and Sulfate in Supercooled Clouds at Mt. Sonnblick (3106 m a.s.l., Austria)

Cloud water and interstitial aerosol samples collected at Mt. Sonnblick (SBO) were analyzed for sulfate and aerosol carbon to calculate in-cloud scavenging efficiencies. Scavenging efficiencies for sulfate (_SO) ranged from 0.52 to 0.99 with an average of 0.80. Aerosol carbon was scavenged less efficiently with an average value (_AC) of 0.45 and minimum and maximum values of 0.14 and 0.81, respectively. Both _SO and _AC showed a marked, but slightly different, dependence on the liquid water content (LWC) of the cloud. At low LWC, _SO increased with rising LWC until it reached a relatively constant value of 0.83 above an LWC of 0.3 g/m³. In the case of aerosol carbon, we obtained a more gradual increase of _AC up to an LWC of 0.5 g/m³. At higher LWCs, _{_} remained relatively constant at 0.60. As the differences between _SO and _A varied across the LWC range observed at SBO, we assume that part of the aerosol carbon was incorporated into the cloud droplets independently from sulfate. This hypothesis is supported by size classified aerosol measurements. The differences in the size distributions of sulfate and total carbon point to a partially external mixture. Thus, the different chemical nature and the differences in the size and mixing state of the aerosol particles are the most likely candidates for the differences in the scavenging behavior.     

强对流云新概念在积云人工增雨作业中的运用

在对强对流(积云)增雨作业中,引用防雹新概念方法是利用多普勒雷达不同仰角的反射率(R)图及反射率剖面(RCS)图、径向速度剖面(VCS)图等资料,对强对流云流场特征进行定性分析,判定其主位置,通过主入流区位置和态势,确定“0”线的类型,给出增雨作业的时机和部位。用这一新概念,结合天津地区积云增雨的实际情况,在2003~2005年期间进行了应用。当流场、温度场和水凝物粒子场适当配置时,会形成大量降水粒子的集中累积,产生阵性暴雨。     

A bin-microphysics cloud model with high-order, positive-definite advection

An axisymmetric, anelastic model of a convective cloud is described. The model comprises prognostic equations for the azimuthal vorticity, the perturbation potential temperature, the perturbation water vapor mixing ratio, 44 categories of cloud condensation nuclei, and 100 categories of liquid-phase hydrometeors. Results from a control simulation show that the model is capable to reproduce realistically the life cycle of a convective cloud including the production of warm rain.A discussion of the role of advection in bin-microphysics models is presented and sensitivity tests were performed regarding the order of advection. The results show that, although the global characteristics of all simulated clouds were similar, significant differences occur with respect to their microstructure, particularly close to the cloud edges, when the order of the advective scheme changes. The conclusion is that intermediate-order advection schemes can indeed be used in cloud-resolving simulations, as far only as the gross characteristics of the cloud/cloud system are being investigated, but not poor, low-order schemes. On the other hand, the sensitivity with respect to the advection suggests that the evaluation of cloud phenomena that occur in fine-scales, such as entrainment and certain microphysical and radiational processes, must require the use of accurate, higher-order schemes.