Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics

Rémillard, J.; Fridlind, A. M.; Ackerman, A. S.; Tselioudis, G.; Kollias, P.; Mechem, D. B.; Chandler, H. E.; Luke, E.; Wood, R.; Witte, M. K.; Chuang, P. Y.; Ayers, J. K.

doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0100.1

Title: Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics

Abstract

Here, a case study of persistent stratocumulus over the Azores is simulated using two independent large-eddy simulation (LES) models with bin microphysics, and forward-simulated cloud radar Doppler moments and spectra are compared with observations. Neither model is able to reproduce the monotonic increase of downward mean Doppler velocity with increasing reflectivity that is observed under a variety of conditions, but for differing reasons. To a varying degree, both models also exhibit a tendency to produce too many of the largest droplets, leading to excessive skewness in Doppler velocity distributions, especially below cloud base. Excessive skewness appears to be associated with an insufficiently sharp reduction in droplet number concentration at diameters larger than ~200 μm, where a pronounced shoulder is found for in situ observations and a sharp reduction in reflectivity size distribution is associated with relatively narrow observed Doppler spectra. Effectively using LES with bin microphysics to study drizzle formation and evolution in cloud Doppler radar data evidently requires reducing numerical diffusivity in the treatment of the stochastic collection equation; if that is accomplished sufficiently to reproduce typical spectra, progress toward understanding drizzle processes is likely.

Authors:

Rémillard, J. ^[1]; Fridlind, A. M. ^[2]; Ackerman, A. S. ^[2]; Tselioudis, G. ^[2]; Kollias, P. ^[3]; Mechem, D. B. ^[4]; Chandler, H. E. ^[4]; Luke, E. ^[5]; Wood, R. ^[6]; Witte, M. K. ^[7]; Chuang, P. Y. ^[7]; Ayers, J. K. ^[8]

Stony Brook University, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York
Stony Brook University, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven, New York
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven, New York
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California
Science Systems and Applications, Inc., and NASA Langley Research Center, Langley, Virginia

Publication Date:: Wed Dec 27 00:00:00 EST 2017

Research Org.:: Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

OSTI Identifier:: 1414992

Alternate Identifier(s):: OSTI ID: 1408700

Report Number(s):: BNL-114437-2017-JA
Journal ID: ISSN 1558-8424

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0006736; SC0006988; SC0013489; SC0016237; SC0012704

Resource Type:: Published Article

Journal Name:: Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Name: Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology Journal Volume: 56 Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 1558-8424

Publisher:: American Meteorological Society

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats


                    Rémillard, J., Fridlind, A. M., Ackerman, A. S., Tselioudis, G., Kollias, P., Mechem, D. B., Chandler, H. E., Luke, E., Wood, R., Witte, M. K., Chuang, P. Y., and Ayers, J. K. Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics.  United States: N. p., 2017. 
Web.  doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0100.1.

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                    Rémillard, J., Fridlind, A. M., Ackerman, A. S., Tselioudis, G., Kollias, P., Mechem, D. B., Chandler, H. E., Luke, E., Wood, R., Witte, M. K., Chuang, P. Y., & Ayers, J. K. Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0100.1

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                    Rémillard, J., Fridlind, A. M., Ackerman, A. S., Tselioudis, G., Kollias, P., Mechem, D. B., Chandler, H. E., Luke, E., Wood, R., Witte, M. K., Chuang, P. Y., and Ayers, J. K. Wed .  
"Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0100.1.

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@article{osti_1414992,

  title        = {Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics},

  author       = {Rémillard, J. and Fridlind, A. M. and Ackerman, A. S. and Tselioudis, G. and Kollias, P. and Mechem, D. B. and Chandler, H. E. and Luke, E. and Wood, R. and Witte, M. K. and Chuang, P. Y. and Ayers, J. K.},

  abstractNote = {Here, a case study of persistent stratocumulus over the Azores is simulated using two independent large-eddy simulation (LES) models with bin microphysics, and forward-simulated cloud radar Doppler moments and spectra are compared with observations. Neither model is able to reproduce the monotonic increase of downward mean Doppler velocity with increasing reflectivity that is observed under a variety of conditions, but for differing reasons. To a varying degree, both models also exhibit a tendency to produce too many of the largest droplets, leading to excessive skewness in Doppler velocity distributions, especially below cloud base. Excessive skewness appears to be associated with an insufficiently sharp reduction in droplet number concentration at diameters larger than ~200 μm, where a pronounced shoulder is found for in situ observations and a sharp reduction in reflectivity size distribution is associated with relatively narrow observed Doppler spectra. Effectively using LES with bin microphysics to study drizzle formation and evolution in cloud Doppler radar data evidently requires reducing numerical diffusivity in the treatment of the stochastic collection equation; if that is accomplished sufficiently to reproduce typical spectra, progress toward understanding drizzle processes is likely.},

  doi          = {10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0100.1},

  journal      = {Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology},

  number       = 12,

  volume       = 56,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Wed Dec 27 00:00:00 EST 2017},

  month        = {Wed Dec 27 00:00:00 EST 2017}

}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Estimates of entrainment in closed cellular marine stratocumulus clouds from the MAGIC field campaign
journal, March 2019

Ghate, Virendra P.; Mechem, David B.; Cadeddu, Maria P.
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 145, Issue 721
DOI: 10.1002/qj.3514

Non-Monotonic Dependencies of Cloud Microphysics and Precipitation on Aerosol Loading in Deep Convective Clouds: A Case Study Using the WRF Model with Bin Microphysics
journal, November 2018

Jeon, Ye-Lim; Moon, Sungju; Lee, Hyunho
Atmosphere, Vol. 9, Issue 11
DOI: 10.3390/atmos9110434

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Title: Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics

Abstract

Citation Formats

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