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Aerosol and cloud microphysical characteristics of rifts and gradients in maritime stratocumulus clouds
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Van Reken, Timothy Minnis, Patrick Seinfeld, John Flagan, Rick Sharon, Tarah M. Jonsson, Haflidi H. Albrecht, Bruce A. Khaiyer, Mandana M. |
| Copyright Year | 2008 |
| Description | A cloud rift is characterized as a large-scale, persistent area of broken, low reflectivity stratocumulus clouds usually surrounded by a solid deck of stratocumulus. A rift observed off the coast of Monterey Bay, California on 16 July 1999 was studied to compare the aerosol and cloud microphysical properties in the rift with those of the surrounding solid stratus deck. Variables measured from an instrumented aircraft included temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid water. These measurements characterized the thermodynamic properties of the solid deck and rift areas. Microphysical measurements made included aerosol, cloud drop and drizzle drop concentrations and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations. The microphysical characteristics in a solid stratus deck differ substantially from those of a broken, cellular rift where cloud droplet concentrations are a factor of 2 lower than those in the solid cloud. Further, CCN concentrations were found to be about 3 times greater in the solid cloud area compared with those in the rift and aerosol concentrations showed a similar difference as well. Although drizzle was observed near cloud top in parts of the solid stratus cloud, the largest drizzle rates were associated with the broken clouds within the rift area. In addition to marked differences in particle concentrations, evidence of a mesoscale circulation near the solid cloud rift boundary is presented. This mesoscale circulation provides a mechanism for maintaining a rift, but further study is required to understand the initiation of a rift and the conditions that may cause it to fill. |
| File Size | 1027886 |
| Page Count | 66 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20080014210 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t39073k8s |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2008-01-31 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Meteorology And Climatology Climatology Stratus Clouds Condensation Nuclei Stratocumulus Clouds Water Vapor Drops Liquids Geological Faults Cloud Physics Aerosols Monterey Bay Ca Mesoscale Phenomena Thermodynamic Properties Reflectance Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
