Observational Relationship between Entrainment Rate and Environmental Relative Humidity and Implications for Convection Parameterization

Lu, Chunsong; Sun, Cheng; Liu, Yangang; Zhang, Guang J.; Lin, Yanluan; Gao, Wenhua; Niu, Shengjie; Yin, Yan; Qiu, Yujun; Jin, Lianji

doi:10.1029/2018GL080264

Title: Observational Relationship between Entrainment Rate and Environmental Relative Humidity and Implications for Convection Parameterization

Journal Article · 25 November 2018 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080264 · OSTI ID:1483556

^[1]; Sun, Cheng ^[1];

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^[5]; Niu, Shengjie ^[1]; Yin, Yan ^[1]; Qiu, Yujun ^[1];

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Nanjing Univ. of Information Science and Technology (China)
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography
Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)
Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing (China)

Entrainment rate is a critical but highly uncertain quantity in convective parameterizations; especially, the effects of environmental relative humidity on entrainment rate are controversial, or even opposite, in different studies. Analysis of aircraft observations of cumuli from the RACORO and RICO field campaigns shows that entrainment rate is positively correlated with relative humidity. Physical analysis shows that higher relative humidity promotes entrainment by reducing buoyancy in the cloud cores and by weakening downdrafts near the cloud cores. The reduced buoyancy in the cloud cores and weakened downdrafts surrounding the cores further reduce updrafts in the cloud cores; the cloud cores with smaller updrafts are more significantly affected by their environment, resulting in larger entrainment rate. The relationship between entrainment rate and relative humidity is consistent with the buoyancy sorting concept widely used in convection parameterizations. The results provide reliable in situ observations to improve parameterizations of entrainment rate.

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

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704

OSTI ID:: 1483556

Report Number(s):: BNL--209495-2018-JAAM

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 24 Vol. 45; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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