Vertical variation of turbulent entrainment mixing processes in marine stratocumulus clouds using high resolution digital holography
Abstract
Marine stratocumulus clouds contribute significantly to the Earth's radiation budget due to their extensive coverage and high albedo. Yet, subgrid variability in cloud properties, such as aerosol concentration, droplet number, and precipitation rates, lead to considerable errors in global climate models. While these clouds usually have small vertical extent, turbulent entrainment-mixing and precipitation can generate significant variations in droplet number, size, and relative dispersion with altitude. In this study, we analyze turbulent entrainment-mixing processes and the variability in cloud microphysical properties as a function of height within a warm marine stratocumulus cloud layer over the Eastern North Atlantic. We use high-resolution airborne holographic measurements and compare them with local turbulence measurements. We find that entrainment-mixing is primarily inhomogeneous near cloud top and homogeneous near cloud base. Further analysis of Damköhler number and transition scale number are able to explain the mixing mechanisms at different cloud heights using phase relaxation but not droplet evaporation as the microphysical time scale. A modified droplet evaporation time scale that considers local saturation deficit using a simple linear mixing model is developed, and it is able to reliably explain the observed mixing mechanisms. This study reinforces the importance of turbulent mixing and the use ofmore »
- Authors:
-
[1];
[1];
[2];
[3];
[4];
[4]
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States)
- Nanjing Univ. of Information Science and Technology (China)
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1770731
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1772901; OSTI ID: 1786809
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-221130-2021-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 2169-897X
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0020053; SC00112704; 33504; 41822504; DESC00112704; DESC0020053
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 126; Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-897X
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; turbulence; microphysics; entrainment; holography; boundary layer; clouds; 54 Environmental Sciences
Citation Formats
Desai, Neel, Liu, Yangang, Glienke, Susanne, Shaw, Raymond A., Lu, Chunsong, Wang, Jian, and Gao, Sinan. Vertical variation of turbulent entrainment mixing processes in marine stratocumulus clouds using high resolution digital holography. United States: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1029/2020jd033527.
Desai, Neel, Liu, Yangang, Glienke, Susanne, Shaw, Raymond A., Lu, Chunsong, Wang, Jian, & Gao, Sinan. Vertical variation of turbulent entrainment mixing processes in marine stratocumulus clouds using high resolution digital holography. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jd033527
Desai, Neel, Liu, Yangang, Glienke, Susanne, Shaw, Raymond A., Lu, Chunsong, Wang, Jian, and Gao, Sinan. Sat .
"Vertical variation of turbulent entrainment mixing processes in marine stratocumulus clouds using high resolution digital holography". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jd033527. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1770731.
@article{osti_1770731,
title = {Vertical variation of turbulent entrainment mixing processes in marine stratocumulus clouds using high resolution digital holography},
author = {Desai, Neel and Liu, Yangang and Glienke, Susanne and Shaw, Raymond A. and Lu, Chunsong and Wang, Jian and Gao, Sinan},
abstractNote = {Marine stratocumulus clouds contribute significantly to the Earth's radiation budget due to their extensive coverage and high albedo. Yet, subgrid variability in cloud properties, such as aerosol concentration, droplet number, and precipitation rates, lead to considerable errors in global climate models. While these clouds usually have small vertical extent, turbulent entrainment-mixing and precipitation can generate significant variations in droplet number, size, and relative dispersion with altitude. In this study, we analyze turbulent entrainment-mixing processes and the variability in cloud microphysical properties as a function of height within a warm marine stratocumulus cloud layer over the Eastern North Atlantic. We use high-resolution airborne holographic measurements and compare them with local turbulence measurements. We find that entrainment-mixing is primarily inhomogeneous near cloud top and homogeneous near cloud base. Further analysis of Damköhler number and transition scale number are able to explain the mixing mechanisms at different cloud heights using phase relaxation but not droplet evaporation as the microphysical time scale. A modified droplet evaporation time scale that considers local saturation deficit using a simple linear mixing model is developed, and it is able to reliably explain the observed mixing mechanisms. This study reinforces the importance of turbulent mixing and the use of appropriate microphysical time scales in determining cloud microphysical processes.},
doi = {10.1029/2020jd033527},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres},
number = 7,
volume = 126,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Mar 20 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Sat Mar 20 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}
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