The characteristics of cloud macro-parameters caused by the seeder–feeder process inside clouds measured by millimeter-wave cloud radar in Xi'an, China

Abstract

Abstract. The seeding effect of upper clouds on lower clouds affects the evolution of clouds, especially the seeding from upper ice clouds on lower stratiform clouds or convective clouds, which can stimulate the precipitation of lower clouds and even produce extreme precipitation. When seeders of the seeding cloud enter the feeding cloud, the interaction between cloud particles results in the change in macro- and micro-parameters of the feeding cloud. Based on the observation data of a ground-based Ka-band millimeter-wave cloud radar (MMCR) and microwave radiometer (MWR) in spring and autumn from 2021 to 2022, the seeder–feeder phenomenon among double-layer clouds in Xi'an, China, is studied. The study on 11 cases of seeder–feeder processes shows that the processes can be divided into three types by defining the height difference (HD) between the seeding cloud base and the feeding cloud top and the effective seeding depth (ESD). Through analysis of the reflectivity factor (Z) and the radial velocity (Vr) of cloud particles detected by the MMCR and on the retrieved cloud dynamics parameters (vertical velocity of airflow, Va, and terminal velocity of cloud particles, Vf), it is shown that the reflectivity factor and particle terminal velocity in the cloud are significantly enhanced during the seeder–feeder period for the three types of processes. But the enhancement magnitudes of the three seeder–feeder processes are different. The results also show that the impact of seeding on the feeding cloud is limited. The lower the height and thinner the thickness of the HD, the lower the height and thicker the thickness of the ESD. On the contrary, the higher the height and the thicker the thickness of the HD, the higher the height and the thinner the thickness of the ESD.