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Title: Theoretical analysis of mixing in liquid clouds – Part IV: DSD evolution and mixing diagrams

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
 [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem (Israel). Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences
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Evolution of droplet size distribution (DSD) due to mixing between cloudy and dry volumes is investigated for different values of the cloud fraction and for different initial DSD shapes. The analysis is performed using a diffusion–evaporation model which describes time-dependent processes of turbulent diffusion and droplet evaporation within a mixing volume. Time evolution of the DSD characteristics such as droplet concentration, LWC and mean volume radii is analyzed. The mixing diagrams are plotted for the final mixing stages. It is shown that the difference between the mixing diagrams for homogeneous and inhomogeneous mixing is insignificant and decreases with an increase in the DSD width. The dependencies of the normalized cube of the mean volume radius on the cloud fraction were compared with those on normalized droplet concentration and found to be quite different. If the normalized droplet concentration is used, mixing diagrams do not show any significant dependence on relative humidity in the dry volume. The main conclusion of the study is that traditional mixing diagrams cannot serve as a reliable tool for analysis of mixing type.

Research Organization:
Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem (Israel)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Israel Science Foundation
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0006788; 1393/14; 2027/17
OSTI ID:
1502388
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Vol. 18, Issue 5; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Quantifying the aerosol effect on droplet size distribution at cloud top journal January 2019
Scale Dependence of Cloud Microphysical Response to Turbulent Entrainment and Mixing journal November 2018

Figures / Tables (12)

Figure 1(p. 3)figure Figure 1
Table 1(p. 4)table Table 1
Figure 2(p. 5)figure Figure 2
Figure 3(p. 7)figure Figure 3
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Figure 5(p. 9)figure Figure 5
Figure 6(p. 10)figure Figure 6
Figure 7(p. 11)figure Figure 7
Figure 8(p. 11)figure Figure 8
Figure 10(p. 13)figure Figure 10
Figure 9(p. 13)figure Figure 9
Figure 11(p. 14)figure Figure 11

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