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Title: Combined Effect of the Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen Mechanism and Large Eddies on Microphysics of Mixed-Phase Stratiform Clouds

Journal Article · · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
 [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. a Institute of Earth Sciences, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
  2. b Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Abstract The process of glaciation in mixed-phase stratiform clouds was investigated by a novel Lagrangian–Eulerian model (LEM) in which thousands of adjoining Lagrangian parcels moved within a turbulent-like velocity field with statistical parameters typical of the Arctic boundary layer. We used detailed bin microphysics to describe the condensation/evaporation processes in each parcel, in which droplets, aerosols, and ice particles were described using size distributions of 500 mass bins. The model also calculated aerosol mass inside droplets and ice particles. Gravitational sedimentation of droplets and ice particles was also accounted for. Assuming that droplet freezing is the primary source of ice particles, the Arctic clouds observed in Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) were successfully simulated. The model showed that at a low ice particle concentration typical of ISDAC, large vortices (eddies) led to a quasi-stationary regime, in which mixed-phase St existed for a long time. The large eddies controlled the water partitioning in the mixed-phase clouds. Droplets formed and grew in updrafts, typically reaching the cloud top, and evaporated in downdrafts. Ice particles grew in updrafts and downdrafts. The Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen (WBF) mechanism was efficient in downdrafts and some parts of updrafts, depending on ice concentration and vertical velocity. At low ice concentrations, the effect of ice on the phase partitioning was negligible. In this regime, liquid droplets were found near the cloud top, whereas ice particles precipitated through the cloud base. When ice concentration exceeded about 10 L −1 , the WBF mechanism led to glaciation of almost the entire cloud, with the exception of narrow cloud regions associated with strong updrafts. At ice particle concentrations of a few tens per liter, the oscillatory regime took place due to the ice–liquid interaction. The microphysical structure of mixed-phase St forms as a combined effect of cloud dynamics (large eddies) and the WBF mechanism.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); Israel Science Foundation
Grant/Contract Number:
964SC0008811; SC0008811; 2027/17; 2635/20
OSTI ID:
1841804
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1980911
Journal Information:
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Journal Name: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences Vol. 79 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 0022-4928
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Cloud microphysics
Stratiform clouds
Freezing precipitation
Glaciation
Ice crystals
Large eddy simulations