PPT-Class #4: Stability, cloud development, and precipitation

Chapters 6 and 7 1 Class 4 Monday July 12 2010 Stability amp Cloud development Chapter 6 2 Class 4 Monday July 12 2010 Fig 6CO p 140 Fig 61 p 142 Importance of Clouds Release heat to atmosphere. . Graduate student, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences . University of Colorado at Boulder. Is losing our sea ice affecting our clouds? A story about stability in a warming Arctic. Motivating questions. VOCALS RF07: Over broken clouds and very thin Stratus clouds at south end of POC region, by Tony Clarke. Coalescence scavenging: . the importance of cloud-driven aerosol sinks. Robert Wood. ,. . University of Washington. Robert Wood, University of Washington. w. ith Ryan Eastman, Daniel McCoy, Daniel Grosvenor (University of Washington); Matt . Lebsock. (JPL). “Background” (minimum imposed) cloud droplet concentration influences aerosol indirect effects. . Photograph: Tony Clarke, VOCALS . REx. flight RF07. Robert Wood. University of Washington. with Rhea George, Chris . Terai. , Dave Leon, Jeff Snider. or. . Control of cloud droplet concentration in marine stratocumulus clouds. ACE is presently in pre-formulation and will be realized in some form in the early to mid . ’. 20s. . ACE is a response to the . The extreme sensitivity of the climate system to hydrological processes especially clouds and precipitation. “continental” – polluted, aerosol laden. “maritime” – clean, pristine. Polluted concentrations are 1-2 orders of magnitude greater than clean maritime. Preindustrial continental was only up to 2 times greater than maritime. . Photograph: Tony Clarke, VOCALS . REx. flight RF07. Robert Wood. University of Washington. Dave Leon and Jeff Snider, University of Wyoming. Radiative. impact of cloud droplet concentration variations. mesoscale. structure and cloudiness transitions. Robert Wood,. . University of Washington. with help and data from Louise Leahy (UW), Matt . Lebsock. (JPL), Irina . Sandu. (ECMWF). Photo: . Mingxi. marine boundary . layer . cloud campaigns?. Robert Wood. University of Washington. Artist: Christine . Hella. -Thompson. Themes. Precipitation. More of it than we previously thought. A principal organizing force. Observations. Brian A. Colle. 1. . and Aaron Naeger. 2. 1. School . of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony . Brook, NY. 2. University of Alabama at Huntsville. This work is supported by NASA PMM #. about 1000 m/48 hrs. Thus, they usually evaporate quickly upon leaving the cloud mass. . For it to fall as a raindrop the cloud droplet must get bigger. One raindrop = about 1 million cloud droplets, . Artificial rain making.. Process of Precipitation:. Precipitation is caused by condensation of water . vapours. of the air mass. . The ascending air mass with sufficient amount of water . vapours. becomes saturated due to adiabatic cooling. Condensation of water . Gabriele Rau, . Martin Piringer. Outline. Motivation. Stability. . classes. . from. human . cloud. . cover. . observations. Stability. . classes. . from. . ceilometer. . using. . cloud. . base. of . low clouds . to . aerosols. Robert . Wood, Atmospheric . Sciences,. University of Washington. Motivation. Aerosol impacts on clouds are not simply explained by . Twomey’s. arguments. Changes in .