Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Effects of Wind Shear and Aerosol Conditions on the Organization of Precipitating Marine Stratocumulus Clouds

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023jd039081· OSTI ID:2274740
 [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering University of California Los Angeles CA USA; Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
  2. Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering University of California Los Angeles CA USA; Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA; Department of Meteorology Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA USA
+ Show Author Affiliations
AbstractThis study examines how wind shear affects precipitating marine stratocumulus clouds under different cloud droplet number concentrations (Nd). We performed a series of large eddy simulations (LES) of nocturnal marine stratocumulus clouds using Cloud Model 1 (CM1). The simulations show that Nd is the dominant factor for cloud cellular organization in this cloud regime rather than wind shear. Low Nd characterizes the open cellular structure with a high in‐cloud liquid water path (LWP). When wind shear is increased, the cloud fraction tends to decrease along with LWP, suggesting the cloud top region is significantly influenced by the entrainment and mixing of dry air from the free troposphere. We also examine cold pools in open and closed cellular clouds. Open‐cell clouds produce larger and deeper cold pools compared to closed‐cell clouds. Interestingly, cold pools can exist without surface precipitation and are produced by evaporation of light precipitation (drizzle) below the cloud base with weak downdrafts. The evaporation of raindrops and drizzle play an important role in initiating new convection, particularly where colliding outflows occur downstream of the cloud. This secondary convection contributes to the development and maintenance of the cloud cellular organization and formation.
Research Organization:
ARM Data Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
DOE Contract Number:
SC0020332; AC02-05CH11231; SC0022992
OSTI ID:
2274740
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres Journal Issue: 24 Vol. 128; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union; Wiley
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (73)

The Influence of Entrainment and Mixing Assumption on Aerosol–Cloud Interactions in Marine Stratocumulus journal May 2009
Aerosol impact on the dynamics and microphysics of deep convective clouds journal October 2005
A New Cloud Physics Parameterization in a Large-Eddy Simulation Model of Marine Stratocumulus journal January 2000
Entrainment in stratocumulus-topped mixed layers journal October 2002
Physics of Stratocumulus Top (POST): turbulence characteristics journal January 2016
A physically based estimate of radiative forcing by anthropogenic sulfate aerosol journal March 2001
Large-Eddy Simulation of the Stratocumulus-Capped Boundary Layer with Explicit Filtering and Reconstruction Turbulence Modeling journal February 2018
Drizzle in Stratiform Boundary Layer Clouds. Part I: Vertical and Horizontal Structure journal September 2005
A PDF-Based Model for Boundary Layer Clouds. Part I: Method and Model Description journal December 2002
Evaluation of Large-Eddy Simulations via Observations of Nocturnal Marine Stratocumulus journal June 2005
A New Double-Moment Microphysics Parameterization for Application in Cloud and Climate Models. Part I: Description journal June 2005
Atmospheric Convection book February 1994
On the diurnal cycle and susceptibility to aerosol concentration in a stratocumulus-topped mixed layer journal April 2005
Stratocumulus Clouds journal August 2012
Physics of Stratocumulus Top (POST): turbulent mixing across capping inversion journal January 2013
Long-term impacts of aerosols on the vertical development of clouds and precipitation journal November 2011
Modeling Mesoscale Cellular Structures and Drizzle in Marine Stratocumulus. Part I: Impact of Drizzle on the Formation and Evolution of Open Cells journal November 2009
A Benchmark Simulation for Moist Nonhydrostatic Numerical Models journal December 2002
Large-eddy simulation of organized precipitating trade wind cumulus clouds journal January 2013
The Structure and Mesoscale Organization of Precipitating Stratocumulus journal May 2008
Mechanisms of convective cloud organization by cold pools over tropical warm ocean during the AMIE/DYNAMO field campaign journal April 2015
Effects of wind shear and radiative cooling on the stratocumulus-topped boundary layer: Wind Shear and Radiative Cooling Effects on STBL
  • Kopec, Marta K.; Malinowski, Szymon P.; Piotrowski, Zbigniew P.
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 142, Issue 701 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2903
journal October 2016
How Wind Shear Affects Trade‐wind Cumulus Convection journal November 2020
Observations of a Squall Line and Its Near Environment Using High-Frequency Rawinsonde Launches during VORTEX2 journal November 2010
The Influence of Shear on Deep Convection Initiation. Part II: Simulations journal June 2022
Drizzle in Stratiform Boundary Layer Clouds. Part II: Microphysical Aspects journal September 2005
An observational study of drizzle formation in stratocumulus clouds for general circulation model (GCM) parameterizations journal January 2003
Cloud Patterns in the Trades Have Four Interpretable Dimensions journal February 2021
Evolution of Droplet Size Distributions During the Transition of an Ultraclean Stratocumulus Cloud System to Open Cell Structure: An LES Investigation Using Lagrangian Microphysics journal September 2022
A New Two-Moment Bulk Stratiform Cloud Microphysics Scheme in the Community Atmosphere Model, Version 3 (CAM3). Part I: Description and Numerical Tests journal August 2008
Dominant role by vertical wind shear in regulating aerosol effects on deep convective clouds journal January 2009
Stratocumulus to Cumulus Transition by Drizzle: STRATOCUMULUS TO CUMULUS BY DRIZZLE journal October 2017
Time-Splitting Methods for Elastic Models Using Forward Time Schemes journal August 2002
Organization of Tropical Convection in Low Vertical Wind Shears: The Role of Cold Pools journal July 2001
Influences of drizzle on stratocumulus cloudiness and organization: Influences of Drizzle on Stratocumulus journal July 2017
100 Years of Research on Mesoscale Convective Systems journal January 2018
Cloud droplet sedimentation, entrainment efficiency, and subtropical stratocumulus albedo journal January 2007
Observations of the Structure of Heavily Precipitating Marine Stratocumulus journal December 2005
Sugar, gravel, fish and flowers: Mesoscale cloud patterns in the trade winds
  • Stevens, Bjorn; Bony, Sandrine; Brogniez, Hélène
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 146, Issue 726 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3662
journal November 2019
A Survey of Precipitation-Induced Atmospheric Cold Pools over Oceans and Their Interactions with the Larger-Scale Environment journal November 2017
Impact of Cloud Microphysics on the Development of Trailing Stratiform Precipitation in a Simulated Squall Line: Comparison of One- and Two-Moment Schemes journal March 2009
Relative influence of meteorological conditions and aerosols on the lifetime of mesoscale convective systems journal June 2016
Impact of the Cold Pool on Mesoscale Convective System–Produced Extreme Rainfall over Southeastern South Korea: 7 July 2009 journal October 2016
Stratocumulus-capped mixed layers derived from a three-dimensional model journal June 1980
New approaches to quantifying aerosol influence on the cloud radiative effect journal February 2016
Precipitation-generated oscillations in open cellular cloud fields journal August 2010
On the Use of Earth Radiation Budget Statistics for Studies of Clouds and Climate journal June 1980
Aerosol‐Cloud Interactions in Trade Wind Cumulus Clouds and the Role of Vertical Wind Shear journal November 2019
A climatology of trade-wind cumulus cold pools and their link to mesoscale cloud organization journal November 2021
Distinct Dynamical and Structural Properties of Marine Stratocumulus and Shallow Cumulus Clouds in the Eastern North Atlantic journal September 2022
Untangling aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation in a buffered system journal October 2009
Characteristics of mesoscale-convective-system-produced extreme rainfall over southeastern South Korea: 7 July 2009 journal April 2016
Cold Pools and Their Influence on the Tropical Marine Boundary Layer journal April 2017
Improving our fundamental understanding of the role of aerosol−cloud interactions in the climate system journal May 2016
Entrainment Rate, Cloud Fraction, and Liquid Water Path of PBL Stratocumulus Clouds journal November 2000
Spatial Variability of Liquid Water Path in Marine Low Cloud: The Importance of Mesoscale Cellular Convection journal May 2006
A Combined Eddy-Diffusivity Mass-Flux Approach for the Convective Boundary Layer journal April 2007
Shallow-to-Deep Transition of Continental Moist Convection: Cold Pools, Surface Fluxes, and Mesoscale Organization journal December 2018
Climate goals and computing the future of clouds journal January 2017
On the reversibility of transitions between closed and open cellular convection journal January 2015
The impact of humidity above stratiform clouds on indirect aerosol climate forcing journal December 2004
Marine boundary layer clouds at the heart of tropical cloud feedback uncertainties in climate models journal January 2005
ARM’s Aerosol–Cloud–Precipitation Research (Aerosol Indirect Effects) journal April 2016
On the relationship between open cellular convective cloud patterns and the spatial distribution of precipitation journal January 2015
Large-Eddy Simulation: How Large is Large Enough? journal February 2004
Large-Eddy Simulations of a Drizzling, Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer journal March 2009
Large-Eddy Simulations of Trade Wind Cumuli: Investigation of Aerosol Indirect Effects journal June 2006
Effects of Surface and Top Wind Shear on the Spatial Organization of Marine Stratocumulus‐Topped Boundary Layers journal May 2021
Aerosol Effects on Clouds, Precipitation, and the Organization of Shallow Cumulus Convection journal February 2008
Modeling Mesoscale Cellular Structures and Drizzle in Marine Stratocumulus. Part II: The Microphysics and Dynamics of the Boundary Region between Open and Closed Cells journal November 2009
Effect of aerosol on warm convective clouds: Aerosol-cloud-surface flux feedbacks in a new coupled large eddy model journal January 2006
Network approach to patterns in stratocumulus clouds journal September 2017
The Simulation of Three-Dimensional Convective Storm Dynamics journal June 1978

Similar Records

Effects of Wind Shear and Aerosol Conditions on the Organization of Precipitating Marine Stratocumulus Clouds
Journal Article · 2023 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres · OSTI ID:2352249
Influences of drizzle on stratocumulus cloudiness and organization [Influences of drizzle on cloudiness and stratocumulus organization]
Journal Article · 2017 · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres · OSTI ID:1405931

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES