Advertisement

Aerosol Effects on the Stratocumulus and Evaluations of Microphysics

  • Yuan WangEmail author
Chapter
First Online:
  • 474 Downloads
Part of the Springer Theses book series (Springer Theses)

Abstract

This study aims at assessing the aerosol effects on the maritime stratocumulus (Sc) clouds and improving the cloud microphysical schemes for more realistic simulations of aerosol and cloud properties in regional and climate models. The double-moment Morrison bulk microphysical scheme presently implemented in the WRF model (Morrison et al. 2005) has been modified by replacing the prescribed aerosols in the original bulk scheme (Bulk-OR) with a prognostic double-moment aerosol representation (Bulk-2M). Furthermore, the impacts of the parameterizations of droplet diffusional growth and autoconversion and the selection of the embryonic raindrop radius on the performance of the bulk microphysical scheme have also been evaluated by the field observations and spectral bin microphysics (SBM) simulations. A maritime Sc system has been investigated over the Southeast Pacific Ocean from an international program, VAMOS Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study (VOCALS), the major goal of which is to advance the scientific understanding of land-ocean-atmosphere coupled system over the Southeast Pacific region. The warm Sc system is selected because the microphysical and dynamical processes are relatively simple to identify the differences between bulk and SBM microphysics and to evaluate the causes and effects of different treatments in the microphysics.

Keywords

Aerosol indirect effect Cloud microphysics Stratocumulus clouds 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Abdul-Razzak H, Ghan SJ, Rivera-Carpio C (1998) A parameterization of aerosol activation-1. Single aerosol type. J Geophys Res 103(D6):6123–6131Google Scholar
  2. Bretherton CS, Wood R, George RC, Leon D, Allen G, Zheng X (2010) Southeast Pacific stratocumulus clouds, precipitation and boundary layer structure sampled along 20° S during VOCALS-REx. Atmos Chem Phys 10(21):10639–10654Google Scholar
  3. Comstock KK, Wood R, Yuter SE, Bretherton CS (2004) Reflectivity and rain rate in and below drizzling stratocumulus. Q J R Meteorol Soc 130(603):2891–2918CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Fan JW, Ovtchinnikov M, Comstock JM, McFarlane SA, Khain A (2009) Ice formation in Arctic mixed-phase clouds: insights from a 3-D cloud-resolving model with size-resolved aerosol and cloud microphysics. J Geophys Res 114. doi: 10.1029/2008JD010782
  5. Franklin CN (2008) A warm rain microphysics parameterization that includes the effect of turbulence. J Atmos Sci 65(6):1795–1816CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Franklin CN, Vaillancourt PA, Yau MK (2007) Statistics and parameterizations of the effect of turbulence on the geometric collision kernel of cloud droplets. J Atmos Sci 64(3):938–954CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Hong S-Y, Noh Y, Dudhia J (2006) A new vertical diffusion package with an explicit treatment of entrainment processes. Mon Weather Rev 134:2318–2341CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Khain AP, Leung LR, Lynn B, Ghan S (2009) Effects of aerosols on the dynamics and microphysics of squall lines simulated by spectral bin and bulk parameterization schemes. J Geophys Res 114:D22Google Scholar
  9. Khairoutdinov M, Kogan Y (2000) A new cloud physics parameterization in a large-eddy simulation model of marine stratocumulus. Mon Weather Rev 128(1):229–243CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. L’Ecuyer TS, Berg W, Haynes J, Lebsock M, Takemura T (2009) Global observations of aerosol impacts on precipitation occurrence in warm maritime clouds. J Geophys Res 114:D9Google Scholar
  11. Lebo ZJ, Morrison H, Seinfeld JH (2012) Are simulated aerosol-induced effects on deep convective clouds strongly dependent on saturation adjustment? Atmos Chem Phys 12(20):9941–9964CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Li G, Wang Y, Zhang R (2008) Implementation of a two-moment bulk microphysics scheme to the WRF model to investigate aerosol-cloud interaction. J Geophys Res 113(D15):D15211CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Li X, Tao W-K, Khain AP, Simpson J, Johnson DE (2009) Sensitivity of a cloud-resolving model to bulk and explicit bin microphysical schemes. Part II: Cloud microphysics and storm dynamics interactions. J Atmos Sci 66(1):22–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Liu YG, Daum PH (2004) Parameterization of the autoconversion process. Part I: Analytical formulation of the Kessler-type parameterizations. J Atmos Sci 61(13):1539–1548Google Scholar
  15. Liu YG, Daum PH, McGraw R (2004) An analytical expression for predicting the critical radius in the autoconversion parameterization. Geophys Res Letts 31(6)Google Scholar
  16. Morrison H, Curry JA, Khvorostyanov VI (2005) A new double-moment microphysics parameterization for application in cloud and climate models. Part I: Description. J Atmos Sci 62(6):1665–1677CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Morrison H et al (2011) Intercomparison of cloud model simulations of Arctic mixed-phase boundary layer clouds observed during SHEBA/FIRE-ACE. J Adv Model Earth Syst 3:M06003. doi: 10.1029/2011MS000066
  18. Seifert A, Beheng KD (2001) A double-moment parameterization for simulating autoconversion, accretion and selfcollection. Atmos Res 59:265–281CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Wang H, Feingold G, Wood R, Kazil J (2010) Modelling microphysical and meteorological controls on precipitation and cloud cellular structures in Southeast Pacific stratocumulus. Atmos Chem Phys 10(13):6347–6362CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Wang Y, Fan J, Zhang R, Leung R, Franklin C (2013) Improving bulk microphysics parameterizations in simulations of aerosol indirect effects. J Geophys Res 118:1–19Google Scholar
  21. Wood R (2012) Stratocumulus clouds. Mon Weather Rev 140(8):2373–2423CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Yang Q, Gustafson JWI, Fast JD, Wang H, Easter RC, Morrison H, Lee YN, Chapman EG, Spak SN, Mena-Carrasco MA (2011) Assessing regional scale predictions of aerosols, marine stratocumulus, and their interactions during VOCALS-REx using WRF-Chem. Atmos Chem Phys 11(23):11951–11975CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Zhao C et al (2006) Aircraft measurements of cloud droplet spectral dispersion and implications for indirect aerosol radiative forcing. Geophys Res Lett 33:L16809CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Zheng X et al (2011) Observations of the boundary layer, cloud, and aerosol variability in the southeast Pacific near-coastal marine stratocumulus during VOCALS-REx. Atmos Chem Phys 11(18):9943–9959CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.California Institute of TechnologyPasadenaUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite chapter

Buy options