Vaughan Phillips
Research in the Area of Clouds, Aerosols and Climate
The microphysics of the warm-rain and ice crystal processes of precipitation in simulated continental convective storms
Author
Summary, in English
Precipitation in clouds can form by either warm-rain or ice crystal processes, referred to as warm and cold formation pathways, respectively. Here, we investigate the warm and cold pathway contributions to surface precipitation in simulated continental convective storms. We analyze three contrasting convective storms that are cold-based, slightly warm-based and very warm-based. We apply tracer-tagging techniques in our aerosol-cloud model to determine simulated microphysical pathways that lead to precipitation. We find cold components of graupel and rain mass were higher than warm components in cold- and slightly warm-based clouds. By contrast, in very warm-based clouds nearly 80% of surface precipitation was formed via warm-rain processes. Lowering of cloud base altitude to levels about 10–20 K warmer switched surface precipitation to being mostly warm, due to enhanced moisture content in the planetary boundary layer and larger cloud droplets aloft intensifying raindrop freezing. Our simulations indicate that warm and cold processes co-exist in any storm and the balance between them is determined by cloud base temperature and solute aerosol conditions.
Department/s
- Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
- eSSENCE: The e-Science Collaboration
- BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
Publishing year
2023
Language
English
Publication/Series
Communications Earth and Environment
Volume
4
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Springer Nature
Topic
- Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Status
Published
Project
- Secondary ice production: An empirical formulation and organization of mechanisms among simulated cloud-types
- Secondary ice production: An empirical formulation and organization of mechanisms among simulated cloud-types
- Mechanisms for the Influence from Ice Nucleus Aerosols on Clouds and their Indirect Effects: Cloud Modelling
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 2662-4435