Showing papers in "Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences in 2002"

Variability of Absorption and Optical Properties of Key Aerosol Types Observed in Worldwide Locations

Abstract: Aerosol radiative forcing is a critical, though variable and uncertain, component of the global climate. Yet climate models rely on sparse information of the aerosol optical properties. In situ measurements, though important in many respects, seldom provide measurements of the undisturbed aerosol in the entire atmospheric column. Here, 8 yr of worldwide distributed data from the AERONET network of ground-based radiometers were used to remotely sense the aerosol absorption and other optical properties in several key locations. Established procedures for maintaining and calibrating the global network of radiometers, cloud screening, and inversion techniques allow for a consistent retrieval of the optical properties of aerosol in locations with varying emission sources and conditions. The multiyear, multi-instrument observations show robust differentiation in both the magnitude and spectral dependence of the absorption—a property driving aerosol climate forcing, for desert dust, biomass burning, urban‐industrial, and marine aerosols. Moreover, significant variability of the absorption for the same aerosol type appearing due to different meteorological and source characteristics as well as different emission characteristics are observed. It is expected that this aerosol characterization will help refine aerosol optical models and reduce uncertainties in satellite observations of the global aerosol and in modeling aerosol impacts on climate.

Tropospheric Aerosol Optical Thickness from the GOCART Model and Comparisons with Satellite and Sun Photometer Measurements

Abstract: The Georgia Institute of Technology‐Goddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model is used to simulate the aerosol optical thickness t for major types of tropospheric aerosols including sulfate, dust, organic carbon (OC), black carbon (BC), and sea salt The GOCART model uses a dust emission algorithm that quantifies the dust source as a function of the degree of topographic depression, and a biomass burning emission source that includes seasonal and interannual variability based on satellite observations Results presented here show that on global average, dust aerosol has the highest t at 500 nm (0051), followed by sulfate (0040), sea salt (0027), OC (0017), and BC (0007) There are large geographical and seasonal variations of t, controlled mainly by emission, transport, and hygroscopic properties of aerosols The model calculated total ts at 500 nm have been compared with the satellite retrieval products from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) over both land and ocean and from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) over the ocean The model reproduces most of the prominent features in the satellite data, with an overall agreement within a factor of 2 over the aerosol source areas and outflow regions While there are clear differences among the satellite products, a major discrepancy between the model and the satellite data is that the model shows a stronger variation of t from source to remote regions Quantitative comparison of model and satellite data is still difficult, due to the large uncertainties involved in deriving the t values by both the model and satellite retrieval, and by the inconsistency in physical and optical parameters used between the model and the satellite retrieval The comparison of monthly averaged model results with the sun photometer network [Aerosol Robotics Network (AERONET)] measurements shows that the model reproduces the seasonal variations at most of the sites, especially the places where biomass burning or dust aerosol dominates

New perspectives on the Northern Hemisphere winter storm tracks

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the use of both an Eulerian and system-centered method of storm track diagnosis applied to a wide range of meteorological fields at multiple levels to provide a range of perspectives on the Northern Hemisphere winter transient motions and to give new insight into the storm track organization and behavior. The data used are primarily from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalyses project extended with operational analyses to the period 1979–2000. This is supplemented by data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and Goddard Earth Observing System 1 reanalyses. The range of fields explored include the usual mean sea level pressure and the lower- and upper-tropospheric height, meridional wind, vorticity, and temperature, as well as the potential vorticity (PV) on a 330-K isentropic surface (PV330) and potential temperature on a PV = 2 PVU surface (θPV2). As well as reporting the primary analysis based on feature tracking, t...

A Long-Term Record of Aerosol Optical Depth from TOMS Observations and Comparison to AERONET Measurements

Abstract: Observations of backscattered near-ultraviolet radiation from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on board the Nimbus-7 (1979‐92) and the Earth Probe (mid-1996 to present) satellites have been used to derive a long-term record of aerosol optical depth over oceans and continents. The retrieval technique applied to the TOMS data makes use of two unique advantages of near-UV remote sensing not available in the visible or nearIR: 1) low reflectivity of all land surface types (including the normally bright deserts in the visible), which makes possible aerosol retrieval over the continents; and 2) large sensitivity to aerosol types that absorb in the UV, allowing the clear separation of carbonaceous and mineral aerosols from purely scattering particles such as sulfate and sea salt aerosols. The near-UV method of aerosol characterization is validated by comparison with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) ground-based observations. TOMS retrievals of aerosol optical depth over land areas (1996‐2000) are shown to agree reasonably well with AERONET sun photometer observations for a variety of environments characterized by different aerosol types, such as carbonaceous aerosols from biomass burning, desert dust aerosols, and sulfate aerosols. In most cases the TOMS-derived optical depths of UV-absorbing aerosols are within 30% of the AERONET observations, while nonabsorbing optical depths agree to within 20%. The results presented here constitute the first long-term nearly global climatology of aerosol optical depth over both land and water surfaces, extending the observations of aerosol optical depth to regions and times (1979 to present) not accessible to ground-based observations.

Inferences of Predictability Associated with Warm Season Precipitation Episodes

Abstract: Herein preliminary findings are reported from a radar-based climatology of warm season precipitation ‘‘episodes.’’ Episodes are defined as time‐space clusters of heavy precipitation that often result from sequences of organized convection such as squall lines, mesoscale convective systems, and mesoscale convective complexes. Episodes exhibit coherent rainfall patterns, characteristic of propagating events, under a broad range of atmospheric conditions. Such rainfall patterns are most frequent under ‘‘weakly forced’’ conditions in midsummer. The longevity of episodes, up to 60 h, suggests an intrinsic predictability of warm season rainfall that significantly exceeds the lifetime of individual convective systems. Episodes are initiated primarily in response to diurnal and semidiurnal forcings. Diurnal forcing is dominant near the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains, whereas semidiurnal forcing is dominant between these cordilleras. A most common longitude of origin is at or near the east slope of the Continental Divide (1058W). These observations are consistent with a condition of continual thermal forcing, widespread hydrodynamic instability, and the existence of other processes that routinely excite, maintain, and regenerate organized convection. The propagation speed of major episodes is often in excess of rates that are easily attributable either to the phase speeds of large-scale forcing or to advection from low- to midlevel ‘‘steering’’ winds. It is speculated that wavelike mechanisms, in the free troposphere and/or the planetary boundary layer, may contribute to the rates of motion observed. Once understood, the representation of such mechanisms in forecast models offers the opportunity for improved predictions of warm season rainfall.

A PDF-Based Model for Boundary Layer Clouds. Part I: Method and Model Description

Abstract: A new cloudy boundary layer single-column model is presented. It is designed to be flexible enough to represent a variety of cloudiness regimes—such as cumulus, stratocumulus, and clear regimes—without the need for case-specific adjustments. The methodology behind the model is the so-called assumed probability density function (PDF) method. The parameterization differs from higher-order closure or mass-flux schemes in that it achieves closure by the use of a relatively sophisticated joint PDF of vertical velocity, temperature, and moisture. A family of PDFs is chosen that is flexible enough to represent various cloudiness regimes. A double Gaussian family proposed by previous works is used. Predictive equations for grid box means and a number of higherorder turbulent moments are advanced in time. These moments are in turn used to select a particular member from the family of PDFs, for each time step and grid box. Once a PDF member has been selected, the scheme integrates over the PDF to close higher-order moments, buoyancy terms, and diagnose cloud fraction and liquid water. Since all the diagnosed moments for a given grid box and time step are derived from the same unique joint PDF, they are guaranteed to be consistent with one another. A companion paper presents simulations produced by the single-column model.

A Prognostic Parameterization for the Subgrid-Scale Variability of Water Vapor and Clouds in Large-Scale Models and Its Use to Diagnose Cloud Cover

Abstract: A parameterization for the horizontal subgrid-scale variability of water vapor and cloud condensate is introduced, which is used to diagnose cloud fraction in the spirit of statistically based cloud cover parameterizations. High-resolution cloud-resolving model data from tropical deep convective scenarios were used to justify the choice of probability density function (PDF). The PDF selected has the advantage of being bounded above and below, avoiding the complications of negative or infinite water mixing ratios, and can give both negatively and positively skewed functions as well as symmetric Gaussian-like bell-shaped curves, without discrete transitions, and is mathematically straightforward to implement. A development from previous statistical parameterizations is that the new scheme is prognostic, with processes such as deep convection, turbulence, and microphysics directly affecting the distribution of higher-order moments of variance and skewness. The scheme is able to represent the growth and decay of cirrus cloud decks and also the creation of cloud in clear sky or breakup of an overcast cloud deck by boundary layer turbulence. After introducing the mathematical framework, results using the parameterization in a climate model are shown to illustrate its behavior. The parameterization is shown to reduce cloud cover biases almost globally, with a marked improvement in the stratocumulus regions in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation: Relationship between Northward and Eastward Movement of Convection

Abstract: The summertime intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) is an important component of the south Asian monsoon. Lagged regressions of intraseasonally filtered (25‐80 days) outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) reveal that centers of convection move both northward and eastward from the central equatorial Indian Ocean subsequent to the initiation of an ISO. Eastward movement of convection is also seen at Indian subcontinent latitudes (10 8‐208N). Based on the regression results, the summertime ISO convection signal appears as a band tilting northwestward with latitude and stretching from the equator to about 208N. Viewed along any meridian, convection appears to propagate northward while equatorial convection propagates to the east. To examine the robustness of the connection between eastward and northward movement, individual ISOs are categorized and composited relative to the strength of the large-scale eastward component of convection in the central equatorial Indian Ocean. It is found that the majority of ISOs that exhibit northward movement onto the Indian subcontinent (42 out of 54 ISOs, or 78%) also exhibit eastward movement into the western Pacific Ocean. It is also found that when convection in the central Indian Ocean is not followed within 10‐20 days by convection in the western Pacific Ocean (12 out of 54 ISOs, or 22%), the independent northward movement of convection in the Indian Ocean region is somewhat stunted. The link between the eastward and northward movement of convection is consistent with an interpretation of the summertime ISO in terms of propagating equatorial modes. The northward moving portion of convection is forced by surface frictional convergence into the low pressure center of the Rossby cell that is excited by equatorial ISO convection. A similar convergence pattern is seen for the northern winter ISO, but it does not generate poleward movement due to relatively cool SSTs underlying the surface convergence.

Optical Properties of Atmospheric Aerosol in Maritime Environments

Abstract: Systematic characterization of aerosol over the oceans is needed to understand the aerosol effect on climate and on transport of pollutants between continents. Reported are the results of a comprehensive optical and physical characterization of ambient aerosol in five key island locations of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) of sun and sky radiometers, spanning over 2‐5 yr. The results are compared with aerosol optical depths and size distributions reported in the literature over the last 30 yr. Aerosol found over the tropical Pacific Ocean (at three sites between 208S and 208N) still resembles mostly clean background conditions dominated by maritime aerosol. The optical thickness is remarkably stable with mean value of ta(500 nm) 5 0.07, mode value at tam

Wavelength Dependence of the Absorption of Black Carbon Particles: Predictions and Results from the TARFOX Experiment and Implications for the Aerosol Single Scattering Albedo

Abstract: Measurements are presented of the wavelength dependence of the aerosol absorption coefficient taken during the Tropical Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX) over the northern Atlantic. The data show an approximate lamda(exp -1) variation between 0.40 and 1.0 micrometers. The theoretical basis of the wavelength variation of the absorption of solar radiation by elemental carbon [or black carbon (BC)] is explored. For a wavelength independent refractive index the small particle absorption limit simplifies to a lambda(exp -1) variation in relatively good agreement with the data. This result implies that the refractive indices of BC were relatively constant in this wavelength region, in agreement with much of the data on refractive indices of BC. However, the result does not indicate the magnitude of the refractive indices. The implications of the wavelength dependence of BC absorption for the spectral behavior of the aerosol single scattering albedo are discussed. It is shown that the single scattering albedo for a mixture of BC and nonabsorbing material decreases with wavelength in the solar spectrum (i.e., the percentage amount of absorption increases). This decease in the single scattering albedo with wavelength for black carbon mixtures is different from the increase in single scattering allied for most mineral aerosols (dusts). This indicates that, if generally true, the spectral variation of the single- scattering albedo can be used to distinguish aerosol types. It also highlights the importance of measurements of the spectral variation of the aerosol absorption coefficient and single scattering albedo.

Observations and Parameterizations of Particle Size Distributions in Deep Tropical Cirrus and Stratiform Precipitating Clouds: Results from In Situ Observations in TRMM Field Campaigns

Abstract: In this study, we report on the evolution of particle size distributions (PSDs) and habits as measured during slow, Lagrangian-type spiral descents through deep subtropical and tropical cloud layers in Florida, Brazil, and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, most of which were precipitating. The objective of the flight patterns was to learn more about how the PSDs evolved in the vertical and to obtain information of the vertical structure of microphysical properties. New instrumentation yielding better information on the concentrations of particles in the size (D) range between 0.2 and 2 cm, as well as improved particle imagery, produced more comprehensive observations for tropical stratiform precipitation regions and anvils than have been available previously. Collocated radar observations provided additional information on the vertical structure of the cloud layers sampled. Most of the spirals began at cloud top, with temperatures (T) as low as -50 C, and ended at cloud base or below the melting layer (ML). The PSDs broadened from cloud top towards cloud base, with the largest particles increasing in size from several millimeters at cloud top to one centimeter or larger towards cloud base. Some continued growth was noted in the upper part of the ML. Concentrations of particles less than 1 mm in size decreased with decreasing height. The result was a consistent change in the PSDs in the vertical. Similarly, systematic changes in the size dependence of the particle cross-sectional area was noted with decreasing height. Aggregation-as ascertained from both the changes in the PSDs and evolution of particle habits as observed in high detail with the cloud particle imager (CPI) probe-was responsible for these trends. The PSDs were generally well-represented by gamma distributions of the form N = N0 gamma D microns e- lambda gamma D that were fitted to the PSDs over 1-km horizontal intervals throughout the spirals. The intercept (N0 gamma), slope (lambda gamma), and dispersion (microns) values were derived for each PSD. Exponential curves (N = N0e- lambdaD; micron = 0) were also fitted to the distributions. The lambda gamma values for given spirals varied systematically with temperature as did the values of lambda (exponential), and the data generally conformed to values found in previous studies involving exponential fits to size distributions in mid-latitude frontal and cirrus layers. Considerable variability often noted in the PSD properties during the loops of individual spirals was manifested primarily in large changes in N0 gamma and N0, but micron, lambda gamma and lambda remained fairly stable. Temperature is not found to be the sole factor controlling lambda gamma or lambda but is a primary one. Direct relationships were found between lambda gamma and N0 gamma or lambda gamma and micron for the gamma distributions and lambda and N0 for the exponential. The latter relationship was not found as distinctly in earlier studies; observed PSDs in this study had better fidelity with less scatter. The micron values changed monotonically with T over the range of temperatures and were directly related to N0 gamma or lambda gamma, thereby reducing the number of variables in the PSD functional equation to two. In the upper part of the ML, N0 and lambda continued to decrease, and in the lower part these values began to increase as the largest particles melted. We developed general expressions relating various bulk microphysical, radar, and radiative transfer-related variables to N0 gamma and lambda gamma, useful for both tropical and mid-latitude clouds. These relationships facilitate the specification of a number of bulk properties in cloud and climate models. The results presented in this paper apply best to temperatures between 0 and -40 C, for which the measured radar reflectivities fall in the range of 0 to 25 dBZe.

Observations of a Convectively Coupled Kelvin Wave in the Eastern Pacific ITCZ

Abstract: A case study of a convectively coupled Kelvin wave in the eastern Pacific intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is presented, as observed during the 1997 Pan American Climate Studies (PACS) Tropical Eastern Pacific Process Study (TEPPS). The large-scale convective envelope associated with this disturbance, with a zonal scale of approximately 1000–2000 km, propagates eastward at 15 m s−1 along the mean convective axis of the ITCZ. This envelope consists of many smaller-scale, westward-moving convective elements, with zonal scales on the order of 100–500 km. As the convectively coupled Kelvin wave disturbance propagates eastward, it exerts a strong control on local convection. Radar and vertical profiler data collected aboard the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown during the wave passage show that convection deepens rapidly as the Kelvin wave approaches from the west, progressing from isolated, shallow cumuli to organized deep convective features within just 12 h. Initially, rainfall in the vicinity of the s...

Measuring Dynamical Prediction Utility Using Relative Entropy

Abstract: A new parameter of dynamical system predictability is introduced that measures the potential utility of predictions. It is shown that this parameter satisfies a generalized second law of thermodynamics in that for Markov processes utility declines monotonically to zero at very long forecast times. Expressions for the new parameter in the case of Gaussian prediction ensembles are derived and a useful decomposition of utility into dispersion (roughly equivalent to ensemble spread) and signal components is introduced. Earlier measures of predictability have usually considered only the dispersion component of utility. A variety of simple dynamical systems with relevance to climate and weather prediction is introduced, and the behavior of their potential utility is analyzed in detail. For the climate systems examined here, the signal component is at least as important as the dispersion in determining the utility of a particular set of initial conditions. The simple ‘‘weather’’ system examined (the Lorenz system) exhibited different behavior with the dispersion being more important than the signal at short prediction lags. For longer lags there appeared no relation between utility and either signal or dispersion. On the other hand, there was a very strong relation at all lags between utility and the location of the initial conditions on the attractor.

Variability of Aerosol Optical Properties at Four North American Surface Monitoring Sites

Abstract: Aerosol optical properties measured over several years at surface monitoring stations located at Bondville, Illinois (BND); Lamont, Oklahoma (SGP); Sable Island, Nova Scotia (WSA); and Barrow, Alaska (BRW), have been analyzed to determine the importance of the variability in aerosol optical properties to direct aerosol radiative forcing calculations. The amount of aerosol present is of primary importance and the aerosol optical properties are of secondary importance to direct aerosol radiative forcing calculations. The mean aerosol light absorption coefficient (σap) is 10 times larger and the mean aerosol scattering coefficient (σsp) is 5 times larger at the anthropogenically influenced site at BND than at BRW. The aerosol optical properties of single scattering albedo (ωo) and hemispheric backscatter fraction (b) have variability of approximately ± 3% and ± 8%, respectively, in mean values among the four stations. To assess the importance of the variability in ωo and b on top of the atmosphere a...

An Improved Model for the Turbulent PBL

Abstract: Second order turbulence models of the Mellor and Yamada type have been widely used to simulate the PBL. It is however known that these models have several deficiencies. For example, they all predict a critical Richardson number which is about four times smaller than the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) data, they are unable to match the surface data, and they predict a boundary layer height lower than expected. In the present model, we show that these difficulties are all overcome by a single new physical input: the use of the most complete expression for both the pressure-velocity and the pressure-temperature correlations presently available. Each of the new terms represents a physical process that, was not accounted for by previous models. The new model is presented in three different levels according to Mellor and Yamada's terminology, with new, ready-to-use expressions for the turbulent, moments. We show that the new model reproduces several experimental and LES data better than previous models. As far as the PBL is concerned, we show that the model reproduces both the Kansas data as analyzed by Businger et al. in the context of Monin-Obukhov similarity theory for smaller Richardson numbers, as well as the LES and laboratory data up to Richardson numbers of order unity. We also show that the model yields a higher PBL height than the previous models.

GCM Simulations of the Aerosol Indirect Effect: Sensitivity to Cloud Parameterization and Aerosol Burden

Abstract: We describe the coupling of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM) to an online sulfur chemistry model and source models for organic matter and sea-salt that is used to estimate the aerosol indirect effect. The cloud droplet number concentration is diagnosed empirically from field experiment datasets over land and ocean that observe droplet number and all three aerosol types simultaneously; corrections are made for implied variations in cloud turbulence levels. The resulting cloud droplet number is used to calculate variations in droplet effective radius, which in turn allows us to predict aerosol effects on cloud optical thickness and microphysical process rates. We calculate the aerosol indirect effect by differencing the top-of-the-atmosphere net cloud radiative forcing for simulations with present-day vs. pre-industrial emissions. Both the first (radiative) and second (microphysical) indirect effects are explored. We test the sensitivity of our results to cloud parameterization assumptions that control the vertical distribution of cloud occurrence, the autoconversion rate, and the aerosol scavenging rate, each of which feeds back significantly on the model aerosol burden. The global mean aerosol indirect effect for all three aerosol types ranges from -1.55 to -4.36 W m(exp -2) in our simulations. The results are quite sensitive to the pre-industrial background aerosol burden, with low pre-industrial burdens giving strong indirect effects, and to a lesser extent to the anthropogenic aerosol burden, with large burdens giving somewhat larger indirect effects. Because of this dependence on the background aerosol, model diagnostics such as albedo-particle size correlations and column cloud susceptibility, for which satellite validation products are available, are not good predictors of the resulting indirect effect.

Observations of Flow and Turbulence in the Nocturnal Boundary Layer over a Slope

Abstract: Measurements were conducted on an eastern slope of the Salt Lake Basin (SLB) as a part of the Vertical Transport and Mixing Experiment (VTMX) conducted in October 2000. Of interest was the nocturnal boundary layer on a slope (in particular, katabatic flows) in the absence of significant synoptic influence. Extensive measurements of mean flow, turbulence, temperature, and solar radiation were made, from which circulation patterns on the slope and the nature of stratified turbulence in katabatic winds were inferred. The results show that near the surface (,25‐50 m) the nocturnal flow is highly stratified and directed downslope, but at higher levels winds strongly vary in magnitude and direction with height and time, implying the domination of upper levels by air intrusions. These intrusions may peel off from different slopes surrounding the SLB, have different densities, and flow at their equilibrium density levels. The turbulence was generally weak and continuous, but sudden increases of turbulence levels were detected as the mean gradient Richardson number ( ) dropped to Rig about unity. With a short timescale fluctuated on the order of a few tens of seconds while modulating with Rig a longer (along-slope internal waves sloshing) timescale of about half an hour. The mixing efficiency (or the flux Richardson number) of the flow was found to be a strong function of , similar to that found in laboratory Rig experiments with inhomogeneous stratified shear flows. The eddy diffusivities of momentum and heat were evaluated, and they showed a systematic variation with when scaled with the shear length scale and the rms Rig vertical velocity of turbulence.

A general approach for deriving the properties of cirrus and stratiform ice cloud particles

Abstract: A new approach is described for calculating the mass (m) and terminal velocity (Vt) of ice particles from airborne and balloon-borne imaging probe data as well as its applications for remote sensing and modeling studies. Unlike past studies that derived these parameters from the maximum (projected) dimension (D) and habit alone, the ‘‘two-parameter approach’’ uses D and the particle’s projected cross-sectional area ( A). Expressions were developed that relate the area ratio ( Ar; the projected area of an ice particle normalized by the area of a circle with diameter D) to its effective density ( re) and to Vt. Habit-dependent, power-law relationships between re and Ar were developed using analytic representations of the geometry of various types of planar and spatial ice crystals. Relationships were also derived from new or reanalyzed data for single ice particles and aggregates observed in clouds and at the ground. The mass relationships were evaluated by comparing calculations to direct measurements of ice water content (IWC). The calculations were from Particle Measuring Systems (PMS) 2D-C and 2D-P probes of particle size distributions in ice cloud layers on 3 days during an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) field campaign in Oklahoma; the direct measurements were from counterflow virtual impactor (CVI) observations in ice cloud layers during the field campaign. Agreement was generally to within 20%, whereas using previous mass‐ dimension relationship approaches usually produced larger differences. Comparison of ground-based measurements of radar reflectivity with calculations from collocated balloon-borne ice crystal measurements also showed that the new method accurately captured the vertical reflectivity structure. Improvements in the accuracy of the estimates from the earlier mass‐dimension relationships were achieved by converting them to the new form. A new, more accurate mass‐dimension relationship for spatial, cirrus-type crystals was deduced from the comparison. The relationship between Vt and Ar was derived from a combination of theory and observations. A new expression accounting for the drag coefficients of large aggregates was developed from observational data. Explicit relationships for calculating Vt as a function of D for aggregates with a variety of component crystals were developed.

Vortex Rossby Waves in a Numerically Simulated Tropical Cyclone. Part II: The Role in Tropical Cyclone Structure and Intensity Changes

Abstract: In Part I, the author analyzed the asymmetric structure in the inner core of a numerically simulated tropical cyclone and found that the asymmetry near the eyewall in the mid–lower troposphere is dominated by wavenumber-1 and -2 vortex Rossby waves. These waves are found to be well coupled with asymmetries in eyewall convection and thus may play an important role in the life cycle of a tropical cyclone. In this paper, analyses are extended to include the role of these vortex Rossby waves in tropical cyclone structure and intensity changes. The waves are found to transport angular momentum from the eyewall to the eye, accelerating tangential winds in the eye at the expense of decelerating the tangential wind in the eyewall, and thus they play an important role in the inner core dynamics of the tropical cyclone. Convection in the eyewall is enhanced between the downstream trough and upstream ridge in the vortex Rossby waves but suppressed between the downstream ridge and upstream trough. This close...

Vortex Rossby waves in a numerically simulated tropical cyclone. Part I: Overall structure, potential vorticity, and kinetic energy budgets

Abstract: The asymmetric structure in the inner core of a numerically simulated tropical cyclone is analyzed in this study. The simulated tropical cyclone is found to be highly asymmetric in the inner core. In the mid–lower troposphere, the asymmetry in the core is dominated by azimuthal wavenumber-1 and wavenumber-2 vortex Rossby waves. These waves propagate azimuthally upwind against the azimuthal mean cyclonic tangential flow around the eyewall, and thus have a much longer cyclonic rotation period (by a factor of 2) than the period of a parcel moving with the cyclonic mean tangential flow around the circumference. They also propagate outward against the boundary layer inflow of the azimuthal mean cyclone. The waves are only visible within a radius of about 60 km from the cyclone center. Beyond this distance, the radial gradient of potential vorticity (PV) of the azimuthal mean cyclone is too weak to support the vortex Rossby waves. Although the divergent motion remains strong, the geopotential height an...

The Dynamics of Mountain-Wave-Induced Rotors

Abstract: The development of rotor flow associated with mountain lee waves is investigated through a series of high-resolution simulations with the nonhydrostatic Coupled Ocean–Atmospheric Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) model using free-slip and no-slip lower boundary conditions. Kinematic considerations suggest that boundary layer separation is a prerequisite for rotor formation. The numerical simulations demonstrate that boundary layer separation is greatly facilitated by the adverse pressure gradients associated with trapped mountain lee waves and that boundary layer processes and lee-wave-induced perturbations interact synergistically to produce low-level rotors. Pairs of otherwise identical free-slip and no-slip simulations show a strong correlation between the strength of the lee-wave-induced pressure gradients in the free-slip simulation and the strength of the reversed flow in the corresponding no-slip simulation. Mechanical shear in the planetary boundary layer is the primary source of a she...

Relation between kinematic boundaries, stirring, and barriers for the Antarctic polar vortex

Abstract: Maximum stretching lines in the lower stratosphere around the Antarctic polar vortex are diagnosed using a method based on finite-size Lyapunov exponents. By analogy with the mathematical results known for simple dynamical systems, these curves are identified as stable and unstable manifolds of the underlying hyperbolic structure of the flow. For the first time, the exchange mechanism associated with lobe dynamics is characterized using atmospheric analyzed winds. The tangling manifolds form a stochastic layer around the vortex. It is found that fluid is not only expelled from this layer toward the surf zone but also is injected inward from the surf zone, through a process similar to the turnstile mechanism in lobe dynamics. The vortex edge, defined as the location of the maximum gradient in potential vorticity or tracer, is found to be the southward (poleward) envelope of this stochastic layer. Exchanges with the inside of the vortex are therefore largely decoupled from those, possibly intense, exchanges between the stochastic layer and the surf zone. It is stressed that using the kinematic boundary defined by the hyperbolic points and the manifolds as an operational definition of vortex boundary is not only unpractical but also leads to spurious estimates of exchanges. The authors anticipate that more accurate dynamical systems tools are needed to analyze stratospheric transport in terms of lobe dynamics.

Atmospheric Aerosol Optical Properties in the Persian Gulf

Abstract: Aerosol optical depth measurements over Bahrain acquired through the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) are analyzed. Optical depths obtained from ground-based sun/sky radiometers showed a pronounced temporal trend, with a maximum dust aerosol loading observed during the March-July period. The aerosol optical depth probability distribution is rather narrow with a modal value of about 0.25. The Angstrom parameter frequency distribution has two peaks. One peak around 0.7 characterizes a situation when dust aerosol is more dominant, the second peak around 1.2 corresponds to relatively dust-free cases. The correlation between aerosol optical depth and water vapor content in the total atmospheric column is strong (correlation coefficient of 0.82) when dust aerosol is almost absent (Angstrom parameter is greater than 0.7), suggesting possible hygroscopic growth of fine mode particles or source region correlation, and much weaker (correlation coefficient of 0.45) in the presence of dust (Angstrom parameter is less than 0.7). Diurnal variations of the aerosol optical depth and precipitable water were insignificant. Angstrom parameter diurnal variability (;20%-25%) is evident during the April-May period, when dust dominated the atmospheric optical conditions. Variations in the aerosol volume size distributions retrieved from spectral sun and sky radiance data are mainly associated with the changes in the concentration of the coarse aerosol fraction (variation coefficient of 61%). Geometric mean radii for the fine and coarse aerosol fractions are 0.14 mm (std dev 5 0.02) and 2.57 mm (std dev 5 0.27), respectively. The geometric standard deviation of each fraction is 0.41 and 0.73, respectively. In dust-free conditions the single scattering albedo (SSA) decreases with wavelength, while in the presence of dust the SSA either stays neutral or increases slightly with wavelength. The changes in the Angstrom parameter derived from a ground-based nephelometer and a collocated sun photometer during the initial checkout period were quite similar.

Entropy Budget of an Atmosphere in Radiative–Convective Equilibrium. Part I: Maximum Work and Frictional Dissipation

Abstract: The entropy budget of an atmosphere in radiative–convective equilibrium is analyzed here. The differential heating of the atmosphere, resulting from surface heat fluxes and tropospheric radiative cooling, corresponds to a net entropy sink. In statistical equilibrium, this entropy sink is balanced by the entropy production due to various irreversible processes such as frictional dissipation, diffusion of heat, diffusion of water vapor, and irreversible phase changes. Determining the relative contribution of each individual irreversible process to the entropy budget can provide important information on the behavior of convection. The entropy budget of numerical simulations with a cloud ensemble model is discussed. In these simulations, it is found that the dominant irreversible entropy source is associated with irreversible phase changes and diffusion of water vapor. In addition, a large fraction of the frictional dissipation results from falling precipitation, and turbulent dissipation accounts fo...

Analysis of the Influence of Film-Forming Compounds on Droplet Growth: Implications for Cloud Microphysical Processes and Climate

Abstract: Decades of cloud microphysical research have not provided conclusive understanding of the physical processes responsible for droplet spectral broadening. Numerous mechanisms have been proposed—for example, entrainment mixing, vortex shedding, giant cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), chemical processing of CCN, and radiative cooling—all of which are likely candidates under select conditions. In this paper it is suggested that variability in the composition of CCN, and in particular, the existence of condensation inhibiting compounds, is another possible candidate. The inferred potential abundance of these amphiphilic film-forming compounds (FFCs) suggests that their effect may be important. Using a cloud parcel model with a simplified treatment of the effect of FFCs, it is shown that modest concentrations of FFCs (on the order of 5% of the total aerosol mass) can have a marked effect on drop growth and can cause significant increases in spectral dispersions. Moreover, it is shown that FFCs may, in s...

Mixed Rossby–Gravity Waves and Western Pacific Tropical Cyclogenesis. Part I: Synoptic Evolution

Abstract: A large-amplitude mixed Rossby–gravity wave packet is identified in the western Pacific using 6–10-day bandpass-filtered winds. Individual disturbances of 2300–3000-km wavelength propagated westward as the packet moved slowly eastward. The packet first appeared, and subsequently amplified, within a region of active convection associated with the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), which was isolated by low-pass-filtered outgoing longwave radiation. The packet lasted about 5 weeks, then rapidly dispersed as the active MJO moved away from it to the east. West of 150°E, individual disturbances within the packet turned northwestward away from the equator, indicating an apparent transition from mixed Rossby–gravity waves to off-equatorial tropical depression (TD)-type disturbances. Cyclones filled with cloud and anticyclones cleared during the transition. Nevertheless, convective structure consistent with mixed Rossby–gravity waves remained outside the circulation centers, and three tropical cyclones for...

Small-Scale and Mesoscale Variability in Cloudy Boundary Layers: Joint Probability Density Functions

Abstract: The joint probability density function (PDF) of vertical velocity and conserved scalars is important for at least two reasons. First, the shape of the joint PDF determines the buoyancy flux in partly cloudy layers. Second, the PDF provides a wealth of information about subgrid variability and hence can serve as the foundation of a boundary layer cloud and turbulence parameterization. This paper analyzes PDFs of stratocumulus, cumulus, and clear boundary layers obtained from both aircraft observations and large eddy simulations. The data are used to fit five families of PDFs: a double delta function, a single Gaussian, and three PDF families based on the sum of two Gaussians. Overall, the double Gaussian, that is binormal, PDFs perform better than the single Gaussian or double delta function PDFs. In cumulus layers with low cloud fraction, the improvement occurs because typical PDFs are highly skewed, and it is crucial to accurately represent the tail of the distribution, which is where cloud occurs. Since the double delta function has been shown in prior work to be the PDF underlying mass-flux schemes, the data analysis herein hints that mass-flux simulations may be improved upon by using a parameterization built upon a more realistic PDF.

A Pacific Aerosol Survey. Part I: A Decade of Data on Particle Production, Transport, Evolution, and Mixing in the Troposphere*

Abstract: Integration of extensive aerosol data collected during the past decade around the Pacific basin provides a preliminary assessment of aerosol microphysics for this region and cycling of aerosol in the troposphere. These include aircraft-based data collected as part of numerous field experiments supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [Global Backscatter Experiment (GLOBE), First Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-1), Pacific Exploratory Mission (PEM)-Tropics A and B]. Although these experiments had diverse goals, most included extensive data on aerosol size distributions, optical properties (light scattering and light absorption), and chemistry. Vertical profiles of aerosol concentration, size distribution, and light scattering were used to characterize vertical structure from 70°S to 70°N. The in situ data are placed in the context of meteorological regimes ov...

Estimation of Raindrop Size Distribution Parameters from Polarimetric Radar Measurements

Abstract: Estimation of raindrop size distribution over large spatial and temporal scales has been a long-standing goal of polarimetric radar. Algorithms to estimate the parameters of a gamma raindrop size distribution model from polarimetric radar observations of reflectivity, differential reflectivity, and specific differential phase are developed. Differential reflectivity is the most closely related measurement to a parameter of the drop size distribution, namely, the drop median diameter (D0). The estimator for D0 as well as other parameters are evaluated in the presence of radar measurement errors. It is shown that the drop median diameter can be estimated to an accuracy of 10%, whereas the equivalent intercept parameter can be estimated to an accuracy of 6% in the logarithmic scale. The estimators for the raindrop size distribution parameters are also evaluated using disdrometer data based simulations. The disdrometer based evaluations confirm the accuracy of the algorithms developed herein.

Impact of Future Climate and Emission Changes on Stratospheric Aerosols and Ozone

Abstract: Global climatological distributions of key aerosol quantities (extinction, optical depth, mass, and surface area density) are shown in comparison with results from a three-dimensional global model including stratospheric and tropospheric aerosol components. It is shown that future trends in global and regional anthropogenic emissions of sulfur dioxide may induce substantial changes in the lower stratospheric budget of sulfate aerosols: with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emission Scenarios' (SRES) upper limit, “A2” scenario, the integrated stratospheric sulfate mass is predicted to increase from 0.15 Tg-S to 0.20 Tg-S in the year 2030, and the 1.02-μm average optical depth from 1.5 × 10−3 to 2.2 × 10−3 with a 50% increase in shortwave radiative forcing. The latter, in turn, is found to be about 23% of the total forcing by sulfate aerosols (tropospheric + stratospheric). Convective upward transport of sulfur dioxide to the tropical tropopause is found to be ...