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Sachin Patade

Postdoctoral fellow

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The Role of Ice Splintering on Microphysics of Deep Convective Clouds Forming Under Different Aerosol Conditions : Simulations Using the Model With Spectral Bin Microphysics

Author

  • Yi Qu
  • Alexander Khain
  • Vaughan Phillips
  • Eyal Ilotoviz
  • Jacob Shpund
  • Sachin Patade
  • Baojun Chen

Summary, in English

Observations during the Ice in Clouds Experiment-Tropical (ICE-T) field experiment show that the ice particles concentration in a developing deep convective clouds at the level of T = −15 °C reached about 500 L−1, that is, many orders higher than that of ice-nucleating particle. To simulate microphysics of these clouds, the 2-D Hebrew University Cloud model (HUCM) with spectral bin microphysics was used in which two main types of ice multiplication mechanisms were included in addition to the Hallet-Mossop mechanism. In the first ice multiplication mechanism ice splinters form by drop freezing and drop-ice collisions. Ice multiplication of this type dominates during developing stage of cloud evolution, when liquid water content is significant. At later stage when clouds become nearly glaciated, ice crystals are produced largely by ice splintering during ice-ice collisions (the second ice multiplication mechanism). Simulations show that droplet size distributions, as well as size distributions of ice particles, agree well with the measurements during ICE-T. Simulations with different cloud condensation nuclei concentrations show the existence of the “optimum” cloud condensation nuclei concentration (or droplet concentration), at which concentration of ice splinters reaches maximum. In these simulations ice nucleation caused by the direct formation of ice crystals upon ice-nucleating particles, as well as the Hallett-Mossop process, has a negligible contribution to the ice crystal concentration.

Department/s

  • Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
  • MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system

Publishing year

2020-02-16

Language

English

Publication/Series

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

Volume

125

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

Keywords

  • mixed-phase clouds ice multiplication aerosol effects

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2169-8996