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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Fine-Scale Droplet Clustering In Atmospheric Clouds: 3d Radial Distribution Function From Airborne Digital Holography, Michael L. Larsen, Raymond Shaw, Alexander Kostinski, Susanne Glienke
Fine-Scale Droplet Clustering In Atmospheric Clouds: 3d Radial Distribution Function From Airborne Digital Holography, Michael L. Larsen, Raymond Shaw, Alexander Kostinski, Susanne Glienke
Department of Physics Publications
The extent of droplet clustering in turbulent clouds has remained largely unquantified, and yet is of possible relevance to precipitation formation and radiative transfer. To that end, data gathered by an airborne holographic instrument are used to explore the three-dimensional spatial statistics of cloud droplet positions in homogeneous stratiform boundary-layer clouds. The three-dimensional radial distribution functions g(r) reveal unambiguous evidence of droplet clustering. Three key theoretical predictions are observed: the existence of positive correlations, onset of correlation in the turbulence dissipation range, and monotonic increase of g(r) with decreasing r. This implies that current theory captures the essential processes contributing …
Turbulence Induced Cloud Voids: Observation And Interpretation, Katarzyna Karpinska, Jonathan F. E. Bodenschatz, Szymon P. Malinowski, Jakub L. Nowak, Steffen Risius, Tina Schmeissner, Raymond Shaw, Holger Siebert, Hengdong Xi, Haitao Xu, Eberhard Bodenschatz
Turbulence Induced Cloud Voids: Observation And Interpretation, Katarzyna Karpinska, Jonathan F. E. Bodenschatz, Szymon P. Malinowski, Jakub L. Nowak, Steffen Risius, Tina Schmeissner, Raymond Shaw, Holger Siebert, Hengdong Xi, Haitao Xu, Eberhard Bodenschatz
Department of Physics Publications
The phenomenon of cloud voids, i.e., elongated volumes inside a cloud that are devoid of droplets, was observed with laser sheet photography in clouds at a mountain-top station. Two experimental cases, similar in turbulence conditions yet with diverse droplet size distributions and cloud void prevalence, are reported. A theoretical explanation is proposed based on the study of heavy inertial sedimenting particles inside a Burgers vortex. A general conclusion regarding void appearance is drawn from theoretical analysis. Numerical simulations of polydisperse droplet motion with realistic vortex parameters and Mie scattering visual effects accounted for can explain the presence of voids with …
Dispersion Aerosol Indirect Effect In Turbulent Clouds: Laboratory Measurements Of Effective Radius, K. K. Chandrakar, Will Cantrell, A. Kostinski, Raymond Shaw
Dispersion Aerosol Indirect Effect In Turbulent Clouds: Laboratory Measurements Of Effective Radius, K. K. Chandrakar, Will Cantrell, A. Kostinski, Raymond Shaw
Department of Physics Publications
Cloud optical properties are determined not only by the number density nd and mean radius ṝ of cloud droplets but also by the shape of the droplet size distribution. The change in cloud optical depth with changing nd, due to the change in distribution shape, is known as the dispersion effect. Droplet relative dispersion is defined as d=σr / ṝ . For the first time, a commonly used effective radius parameterization is tested in a controlled laboratory environment by creating a turbulent cloud. Stochastic condensation growth suggests d independent of nd for a nonprecipitating cloud, …
Observation Of A Link Between Energy Dissipation Rate And Oscillation Frequency Of The Large-Scale Circulation In Dry And Moist Rayleigh-Bénard Turbulence, Dennis Niedermeier, Kelken Chang, Will Cantrell, Kamal Kant Chandrakar, David Ciochetto, Raymond Shaw
Observation Of A Link Between Energy Dissipation Rate And Oscillation Frequency Of The Large-Scale Circulation In Dry And Moist Rayleigh-Bénard Turbulence, Dennis Niedermeier, Kelken Chang, Will Cantrell, Kamal Kant Chandrakar, David Ciochetto, Raymond Shaw
Department of Physics Publications
In this study both the small- and large-scale flow properties of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection are investigated. Experiments are carried out using the Π chamber (aspect ratio Γ=2) for Rayleigh number range Ra∼108–109 and Prandtl number Pr≈0.7. Furthermore, experiments are run for dry and wet conditions, i.e., top and bottom surfaces of the chamber are dry and wet, respectively. For wet conditions we further distinguish between conditions with and without the presence of sodium chloride aerosol particles which, if supersaturated conditions are achieved, lead to cloud droplet formation. We therefore refer to these conditions as moist and cloudy, …
A Laboratory Facility To Study Gas-Aerosol-Cloud Interactions In A Turbulent Environment: The Π Chamber, K. Chang, J. Bench, M. Brege, Will Cantrell, K. Chandrakar, David Ciochetto, Claudio Mazzoleni, Lynn Mazzoleni, Dennis Niedermeier, R. A. Shaw
A Laboratory Facility To Study Gas-Aerosol-Cloud Interactions In A Turbulent Environment: The Π Chamber, K. Chang, J. Bench, M. Brege, Will Cantrell, K. Chandrakar, David Ciochetto, Claudio Mazzoleni, Lynn Mazzoleni, Dennis Niedermeier, R. A. Shaw
Department of Physics Publications
A detailed understanding of interactions of aerosols, cloud droplets/ice crystals, and trace gases within the atmosphere is of prime importance for an accurate understanding of Earth’s weather and climate. One aspect that remains especially vexing is that clouds are ubiquitously turbulent, and therefore thermodynamic and compositional variables, such as water vapor supersaturation, fluctuate in space and time. With these problems in mind, a multiphase, turbulent reaction chamber—called the Π chamber because of the internal volume of 3.14 m3 with the cylindrical insert installed—has been developed. It is capable of pressures ranging from 1,000 to –60 hPa and can sustain …