Precipitation enhancement in stratocumulus clouds through airborne seeding: sensitivity analysis by UCLALES-SALSA
-
Published:2021-01-26
Issue:2
Volume:21
Page:1035-1048
-
ISSN:1680-7324
-
Container-title:Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
-
language:en
-
Short-container-title:Atmos. Chem. Phys.
Author:
Tonttila Juha, Afzalifar AliORCID, Kokkola HarriORCID, Raatikainen TomiORCID, Korhonen HanneleORCID, Romakkaniemi SamiORCID
Abstract
Abstract. Artificial enhancement of precipitation via hygroscopic cloud seeding is investigated with a numerical large-eddy simulation model
coupled with a spectral aerosol–cloud microphysics module. We focus our investigation on marine stratocumulus clouds and evaluate
our model results by comparing them with recently published results from field observations. Creating multiple realizations of a single
cloud event with the model provides a robust method to detect and attribute the seeding effects, which reinforces the analysis based
on experimental data. Owing to the detailed representation of aerosol–cloud interactions, our model successfully reproduces the
microphysical signatures attributed to the seeding, which were also seen in the observations. Moreover, the model simulations show up to a
2–3-fold increase in the precipitation flux due to the seeding, depending on the seeding rate and injection strategy. However, our
simulations suggest that a relatively high seeding particle emission rate is needed for a substantial increase in the precipitation
yield, compared with the estimated seeding concentrations from the field campaign. In practical applications, the seeding aerosol
is often produced by flare burning. It is speculated that the required number of large seeding particles suggested by our results
could pose a technical challenge to the flare-based approach.
Funder
European Research Council
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Subject
Atmospheric Science
Reference28 articles.
1. Ackerman, A. S., van Zanten, M. C., Stevens, B., Savic-Jovcic, V., Bretherton, C. S., Chlond, A., Golaz, J.-C., Jiang, H., Khairoutdinov, M.,
Krueger, S. K., Lewellen, D. C., Lock, A., Moeng,C.-H., Nakamura, K., Petters, M. D., Snider, J. R., Weinbrecht, S., and Zulauf, M.:
Large-Eddy Simulations of a Drizzling, Stratocumulus-Topped Marine Boundary Layer, Mon. Weather Rev., 137, 1083–1110, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008MWR2582.1, 2009. a, b 2. Bian, H., Froyd, K., Murphy, D. M., Dibb, J., Darmenov, A., Chin, M., Colarco, P. R., da Silva, A., Kucsera, T. L., Schill, G., Yu, H., Bui, P., Dollner, M., Weinzierl, B., and Smirnov, A.: Observationally constrained analysis of sea salt aerosol in the marine atmosphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10773–10785, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10773-2019, 2019. a, b 3. Bigg, E. K.: An independent evaluation of a South African hygroscopic cloud seeding experiment, 1991–1995, Atmos. Res., 43, 111–127, 1997. a 4. Boutle, I., Price, J., Kudzotsa, I., Kokkola, H., and Romakkaniemi, S.: Aerosol–fog interaction and the transition to well-mixed radiation fog, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7827–7840, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7827-2018, 2018. a 5. Bruintjes, R. T.: A Review of Cloud Seeding Experiments to Enhance Precipitation and Some New Prospects, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 80,
805–820, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1999)080<0805:AROCSE>2.0.CO;2, 1999. a
Cited by
9 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
|
|