Abstract
Aerosol particles can serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) to influence orographic clouds. Autoconversion, which describes the initial formation of raindrops from the collision of cloud droplets, is an important process for aerosol-cloud-precipitation systems. In this study, seven autoconversion schemes are used to investigate the impact of CCN on orographic warm-phase clouds. As the initial cloud droplet concentration is increased from 100 cm−3 to 1000 cm−3 (to represent an increase in CCN), the cloud water increases and then the rainwater is suppressed due to a decrease in the autoconversion rate, leading to a spatial shift in surface precipitation. Intercomparison of the results from the autoconversion schemes show that the sensitivity of cloud water, rainwater, and surface precipitation to a change in the concentration of CCN is different from scheme to scheme. In particular, the decrease in orographic precipitation due to increasing CCN is found to range from −87% to −10% depending on the autoconversion scheme. Moreover, the surface precipitation distribution also changes significantly by scheme or CCN concentration, and the increase in the spillover (ratio of precipitation on the leeward side to total precipitation) induced by increased CCN ranges from 10% to 55% under different autoconversion schemes. The simulations suggest that autoconversion parameterization schemes should not be ignored in the interaction of aerosol and orographic cloud.
摘 要
气溶胶可以作为云凝结核影响地形云的微物理结构, 进而影响降水. 在此过程中, 云雨自动转化是用于描述云滴通过碰并形成初始雨滴的过程, 是气溶胶-云-降水相互作用中重要的过程之一. 本文采用七种云雨自动转化方案研究气溶胶作为云凝结核对地形云的影响, 当初始云滴数浓度从100cm-3变化至 1000cm-3 (表征云气溶胶的变化) 时, 云雨自动转化率逐渐降低, 云中云水含量增加, 雨水含量减少, 地面降水总量减少且向下游方向移动. 通过对比不同云雨自动转化方案得到, 在不同方案下云凝结核浓度变化对云水、 雨水和地面降水的影响也不同, 尤其是, 地面降水的变化幅度在-87%至-10%之间. 同时, 地面降水分布对云凝结核的响应也与云雨自动转化方案选取有关, 地形背风坡的降水量占总降水量的比例在 10%-55%之间变化. 因此, 在讨论气溶胶与地形云相互作用时云雨自动转化方案的评估是必不可少.
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Acknowledgements
This study was jointly sponsored by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFC1505702), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41705120, 41590873, 41975138), Weather Modification Ability Construction Project of Northwest China (Grant No. ZQC-R18211), and a Guangdong Province Science and Technology Project (Grant No. 2017B020244002). All simulations in this paper were performed using the computational resources of the Guangzhou Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology. The model data in this study are available upon request from the authors via xh_8646@163.com or xiaoh@gd121.cn.
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Article Highlights
• The impact of aerosol on orographic precipitation is different under different autoconversion schemes.
• Orographic rainfall is reduced by increased CCN, but the degree depends on the scheme.
• The distribution of orographic precipitation changes significantly with scheme and CCN concentration.
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Xiao, H., Yin, Y., Zhao, P. et al. Effect of Aerosol Particles on Orographic Clouds: Sensitivity to Autoconversion Schemes. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 37, 229–238 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-019-9037-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-019-9037-6