Abstract
Cloud-to-rain autoconversion process is an important player in aerosol loading, cloud morphology, and precipitation variations because it can modulate cloud microphysical characteristics depending on the participation of aerosols, and affects the spatio-temporal distribution and total amount of precipitation. By applying the Kessler, the Khairoutdinov-Kogan (KK), and the Dispersion autoconversion parameterization schemes in a set of sensitivity experiments, the indirect effects of aerosols on clouds and precipitation are investigated for a deep convective cloud system in Beijing under various aerosol concentration backgrounds from 50 to 10000 cm−3. Numerical experiments show that aerosol-induced precipitation change is strongly dependent on autoconversion parameterization schemes. For the Kessler scheme, the average cumulative precipitation is enhanced slightly with increasing aerosols, whereas surface precipitation is reduced significantly with increasing aerosols for the KK scheme. Moreover, precipitation varies non-monotonically for the Dispersion scheme, increasing with aerosols at lower concentrations and decreasing at higher concentrations. These different trends of aerosol-induced precipitation change are mainly ascribed to differences in rain water content under these three autoconversion parameterization schemes. Therefore, this study suggests that accurate parameterization of cloud microphysical processes, particularly the cloud-to-rain autoconversion process, is needed for improving the scientific understanding of aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Albrecht, B. A., 1989: Aerosols, cloud microphysics and fractional cloudiness. Science, 245, 1227–1230.
Beheng, K. D., 1994: A parameterization of warm cloud microphysical conversion processes. Atmos. Res., 33, 193–206.
Berry, E. X., and R. L. Reinhardt, 1974: An analysis of cloud drop growth by collection. Part II: Single initial distributions. J. Atmos. Sci., 31, 1825–1831.
Boucher, O., H. LeTreut, and M. B. Baker, 1995: Precipitation and radiation modelling in a GCM: Introduction of cloud microphysical processes. J. Geophys. Res., 100, 16395–16414.
Cheng, C.-T., W.-C. Wang, and J.-P. Chen, 2007: A modeling study of aerosol impacts on cloud microphysics and radiative properties. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 133, 283–297, doi: 10.1002/qj.25.
Han, J.-Y., J.-J. Baik, and H. Lee, 2014: Urban impacts on precipitation. Asia-Pac. J. Atmos. Sci., 50, 17–30, doi: 10.1007/s12143-014-0016-7.
Kaufman, Y. J., and T. Nakajima, 1993: Effect of Amazon smoke on cloud microphysics and albedo-analysis from satellite imagery. J. Appl. Meteor., 32, 729–744, doi: 10.1175/1520-0450(1993)032〈0729:EOASOC〉2.0.CO;2.
Kessler, E., 1969: On the distribution and continuity of water substance in atmospheric circulation. Meteor. Monogr., No. 32, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 84 pp.
Khain, A., D. Rosenfeld, and A. Pokrovsky, 2005: Aerosol impact on the dynamics and microphysics of deep convective clouds. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 131, 2639–2663.
Khairoutdinov, M., and Y. Kogan, 2000: A new cloud physics parameterization in a large-eddy simulation model of marine stratocumulus. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 229–243.
Lebo, Z. J., and J. H. Seinfeld, 2011: Theoretical basis for convective invigoration due to increased aerosol concentration. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 5407–5429, doi: 10.5194/acp-11-5407-2011.
Levin, Z., and W. R. Cotton, 2009: Aerosol Pollution Impact on Precipitation: A Scientific Review. Springer Press, 386 pp.
Li, G. H., Y. Wang, and R. Y. Zhang, 2008: Implementation of a two-moment bulk microphysics scheme to the WRF model to investigate aerosol-cloud interaction. J. Geophys. Res., 113, D15211, doi: 10.1029/2007JD009361.
Lim, K.-S., and S.-Y. Hong, 2010: Development of an effective double-moment cloud microphysics scheme with prognostic cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) for weather and climate models. Mon. Wea. Rev., 138, 1587–1612, doi: 10.1175/2009MWR2968.1.
Liu, Y., and P. H. Daum, 2004: Parameterization of the autoconversion process. Part I: Analytical formulation of the Kessler-type parameterizations. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 1539–1548.
Liu, Y. G., P. H. Daum, and R. L. McGraw, 2005: Size truncation effect, threshold behavior, and a new type of autoconversion parameterization. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L11811, doi: 10.1029/2005GL022636.
Lohmann, U., P. Stier, C. Hoose, et al., 2007: Cloud microphysics and aerosol indirect effects in the global climate model ECHAM5-HAM. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 3425–3446.
Martin, G. M., D. W. Johnson, and A. Spice, 1994: The measurement and parameterization of effective radius of droplets in warm stratocumulus clouds. J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 1823–1842.
Morrison, H., 2012: On the robustness of aerosol effects on an idealized supercell storm simulated with a cloud system-resolving model. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 7689–7705, doi: 10.5194/acp-12-7689-2012.
Morrison, H., J. A. Curry, and V. I. Khvorostyanov, 2005: A new double-moment microphysics parameterization for application in cloud and climate models. Part I: Description. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 1665–1677.
Morrison, H., and A. Gettelman, 2008: A new twomoment bulk stratiform cloud microphysics scheme in the community atmosphere model, version 3 (CAM3). Part I: Description and numerical tests. J. Climate, 21, 3642–3659.
Pruppacher, H. R., and J. D. Klett, 1997: Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation. Kluwer Academic, 954 pp.
Ramanathan, V., P. J. Crutzen, J. T. Kiehl, et al., 2001: Aerosols, climate, and the hydrological cycle. Science, 294, 2119–2124, doi: 10.1126/science.1064034.
Rotstayn, L. D., and Y. G. Liu, 2005: A smaller global estimate of the second indirect aerosol effect. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L05708, doi: 10.1029/2004GL021922.
Skamarock, W. C., J. B. Klemp, J. Dudhia, et al., 2005: A description of the Advanced Research WRF Version 2, NCAR Tech. Note NCAR-TN-468+STR, Natl. Cent. for Atmos. Res., Boulder, CO, 113 pp.
Sundqvist, H., E. Berge, and J. E. Kristjansson, 1989: Condensation and cloud parameterization studies with a mesoscale numerical weather prediction model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 117, 1641–1657.
Tao, W.-K., J.-P. Chen, Z. Q. Li, et al., 2012: Impact of aerosols on convective clouds and precipitation. Rev. Geophys., 50, RG2001, doi: 10.1029/2011RG000369.
Van den Heever, S. C., G. G. Carrió, E. R. Cotton, et al., 2006: Impacts of nucleating aerosol on Florida storms. Part I: Mesoscale simulations. J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 1752–1775.
Wang, C., 2005: A modeling study of the response of tropical deep convection to the increase of cloud condensation nuclei concentration: 1. Dynamics and microphysics. J. Geophys. Res., 110, D21211, doi: 10.1029/2004JD005720.
Xie, X. N., and X. D. Liu, 2009: Analytical three-moment autoconversion parameterization based on generalized gamma distribution. J. Geophys. Res., 114, D17201, doi: 10.1029/2008JD011633.
Xie, X. N., and X. D. Liu, 2011: Effects of spectral dispersion on clouds and precipitation in mesoscale convective systems. J. Geophys. Res., 116, D06202, doi: 10.1029/2010JD014598.
Xie, X. N., and X. D. Liu, 2013: Analytical studies of the cloud droplet spectral dispersion influence on the first indirect aerosol effect. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 30, 1313–1319, doi: 10.1007/s00376-012-2141-5.
Xie, X. N., X. D. Liu, Y. R. Peng, et al., 2013: Numerical simulation of clouds and precipitation depending on different relationships between aerosol and cloud droplet spectral dispersion. Tellus B, 65, 19054, doi: 10.3402/tellusb.v65i0.19054.
Zhang Xiaoye, 2007: Aerosol over China and their climate effect. Adv. Earth Sci., 22, 12–16. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supported by the National Basic Research and Development (973) Program of China (2011CB403406), Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA05110101), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41105071 and 41290255).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xie, X., Liu, X. Aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions in WRF model: Sensitivity to autoconversion parameterization. J Meteorol Res 29, 72–81 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-014-4065-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-014-4065-8