Activation of cloud droplets in bin-microphysics simulation of shallow convection

Andrzej A. Wyszogrodzki, Wojciech W. Grabowski, Lian Ping Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper describes implementation of the warm-rain bin microphysics in a LES model based on the EULAG fluid flow solver. The binmicrophysics EULAG is applied to the case of shallow nonprecipitating tropical convection to investigate the impact of the secondary activation of cloud droplets above the cloud base. In a previous study applying the EULAG model with the double-moment bulk warm-rain microphysics scheme, the in-cloud activation was shown to have significant implications for the mean microphysical and optical characteristics of the cloud field. By contrasting the simulations with and without in-cloud activation as in the previous study, we show that the in-cloud activation has qualitatively similar but quantitatively smaller effect. In particular, the concentration of cloud droplets in the bin simulation without in-cloud activation decreases with height not as strongly as in corresponding simulations applying the double-moment bulk scheme.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1168-1183
Number of pages16
JournalActa Geophysica
Volume59
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • bin microphysics
  • cloud physics
  • droplet activation
  • shallow convection

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