How hydrometeors fit into the broader class of particles

Importance of clouds

• Clouds consist of cloud droplets and/or ice crystals of

different sizes.

• Clouds are a major factor in the Earth's radiation budget,

reflecting sunlight back to space and trapping infrared radiation
emitted by the Earth's surface.

• Clouds deliver water from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface

as rain or snow -> hydrological cycle

• Clouds scavenge gaseous and particulate materials and return them

to the surface (wet deposition).

• Clouds provide a medium for aqueous-phase chemical reactions and

production of secondary species.

• Updrafts and downdrafts associated with clouds largely determine

the vertical redistribution of trace species, temperature and
moisture.
An important part of what makes a cloud are its radiative
properties, its propensity to scatter visible radiation and
absorb and emit infrared radiation.

The scattering of visible radiation depends both on the

amount of suspended water mass, and the size of the
suspended particles, while the efficacy of clouds in
absorbing and emitting infrared radiation depends
primarily on the suspended water mass.

While the suspended water mass, sometimes called the

liquid water path, is a cloud macroscopic parameter,
largely controlled by dynamical processes. The
characteristic drop size is a microphysical parameter and
can be strongly influenced by cloud microphysical
processes.
Clouds and the energy cycle
High Clouds Low Clouds
Deep Convective Clouds
Why are we interested in clouds?

1. Clouds couple to the radiative balance because they

interact strongly with both short and long-wave radiation.
2. Clouds couple to the water cycle because they are the
vessels in which precipitation develops.

It is important to note that the role microphysical processes

play in the water cycle is less clear.
Radiation is also an important reason for studying clouds.

• Clouds reflect significant amounts of solar radiation. As

much as 50 Wm-2 on an annual and global average.

• This is a large number, more than a factor of ten larger

than the radiative forcing associated with a doubling of
CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.

• This tendency of clouds to reflect solar radiation cools

the planet, and is called the ‘albedo effect’ or the
shortwave cloud radiative effect, or sometimes simply
“shortwave cloud forcing.”
• This strong tendency of clouds to cool the surface is
partially compensated by their greenhouse effect.

• By absorbing thermal radiation emitted at high

temperatures (characteristic of the surface) and re-
emitting it at colder temperatures (characteristic of the
clouds) the net amount of thermal radiation emitted to
space is reduced, thus acting to reduce the planet’s
ability to cool itself.

• This is a warming, or greenhouse, effect, but can also

be called the longwave cloud radiative effect, or longwave
cloud radiative forcing.

• Globally and annually averaged, the effect is about 30

Wm-2, thereby offsetting by about half the effect of
cooling due to the cloud albedo effect.
10
11
13
Vertical profiles of cloud droplet size distribution observed
in continental and maritime clouds

15
A stratocumulus cloud photographed from above during the DYCOMS field study which
took place over the northeast Pacific in July 2001. Here the corrugated patterning of the
stratiform cloud sheet reflects the underlying convective motions that result from the
radiative cooling of the cloud top. This photo was taken by Gabor Vali from the cockpit of
the NCAR-NSF C130 research aircraft.
 4000
June 15
3500
June 16
3000 June 22
Height above CB (m)

2500

2000

1500

1000

500
(d)
0
0 5 10 15
Reff (m)
 A cloud with a greater
number of small droplets
has more reflective surface
area than a cloud of the
same volume with fewer
large droplets.
 Therefore, aerosols
increase the reflective
surface area of the cloud
by acting as condensation
nuclei.
 This is the first indirect
effect, or Twomey Effect.
Same volume, more surface
area
 Clouds precipitate when
droplets collide and
coalesce.
 If droplet size is smaller
because of increased
aerosols, then the clouds
will not precipitate as much.
 If the cloud does not
precipitate, then it retains
its water, lasts longer, and
becomes larger and more
reflective.
 This is the second indirect
effect, or Albrecht Effect.
21
 Detecting and Quantifying AIE
Cloud Aerosol

(CDNC, LWC, re ff ) (number conc., CCN)

At constant LWC

Changes in cloud parameters (CDNC, reff ) as a function of

changes in CCN and its proxies

_ d ln re d ln Nc
d ln Na d ln Na

CCN proxies
 7000

6000 Cloud droplet Reff,

5000
Size distribution, LWC
Height, m

4000 H
3000
HW(g/m3)
CDP_LWC[g/m3]

2000
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5

HW (gm )
2.0
-3
2.5 3.0 3.5
Updraft

3.5 Aerosol, CCN Cycle

3.0
below cloud base
8000

2.5 June 16, 2009

7000
Hyderabad
CDP LWC (g/m )
-3

2.0 6000

5000
1.5 Altitude, m

4000

1.0 3000

2000
0.5 CDP LWC=1.06*HW LWC+0.03
R=0.92, N=515, P<0.0001 1000
0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0
-3
0 500 1000 1500 2000 23
HW LWC (gm ) -3
PCASP Conc (cm )
23
6 July 2009 09:48:10 near Anantapur, 10,000’. Enhanced
 CDP

CIP CCN Counter

25
Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe (PCASP) Hot Wire sensor measures liquid water content (LWC) from
measures aerosol particles in the range from 0.1 to 3 µm. 0.05 to 3 g/m3

AIMMS probe senses air speed, direction,altitude, angle-of-attack, side-slip, ambient temperature and relative humidity
Why adding more CCN decreases average droplet size and
increases cloud lifetime
Form cloud That grow until Some grow to
Low droplets in environment is raindrops that
concentration supersaturated no longer fall out and cloud
of CCN environment supersaturated dissipates
Why adding more CCN decreases average droplet size and
increases cloud lifetime

Form cloud That grow much

droplets in slower as they
supersaturated compete for No rain forms,
High
environment available vapor cloud lasts
concentration
of CCN longer
High-Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory (HACPL), Mahabaleshwar
 Experimental Facilities at HACPL
Aerosol/CCN Precipitation
Cloud
• SMPS/APS • CCP probe
• Optical/Impact/
• CCN counter • Radiometer profiler Video Disdrometers
•Nephelometer • Whole sky imager • Micro rain radar
• Ice Nuclei Counter
• Aethalometer •Ka-band radar
• X-band radar
• MFRSR • Rain Gauge
• Sun/skyradiometer
•ACSM + GPS radiosonde

Recent additions
PILS IC– for aerosol chemistry
HTDMA – for hygroscopic growth factor
PTRMS - VOC measurements
CCN Aerosol
Aerosol-CCN variation CCN Activation fraction

• Lower activation fraction during the day: Smaller

particles from biogenic and anthropogenic sources,
Complex chemical composition
Diurnal variation of Aerosol chemical composition (June 2015)
Source apportionment of organic aerosols
CCN closure for different aerosol chemistry scenarios

I- Inorganics
IO-Inorganics and Organics
IOOA-Inorganics and Oxygenated
Organic Aerosols
Aerosol indirect effect estimates
Discrepancies in AIE CCN vs Relative Dispersion

39
Cloud radar