Generation of available buoyant energy by cloud glaciation

Abstract

The available buoyant energy (ABE, energy from the environment which becomes available to a parcel for buoyant accelerations) arising from glaciation is computed by integrating upward the differences in temperature between a parcel that undergoes instantaneous and isenthalpic freezing followed by an ice-saturation ascent, and one that experiences only a water-saturation ascent from the same initial cloud base conditions. This quantity is computed for three initial cloud base conditions representative of tropical, High Plains summertime, and Great Lakes wintertime cumuli. Substantial increases in parcel updraft speed are realized for all clouds if the ABE arising from glaciation is completely converted to parcel kinetic energy. Variations of the three components of parcel heating involved in the glaciation process (i.e., (1) release of latent heat of fusion from freezing of liquid water, (2) cooling or warming from sublimation or deposition as vapor pressure adjusts from water saturation to ice saturation at the post glaciation temperature, and (3) the additional warming or cooling relative to the intial water-saturation adiabat as the parcel follows an icesaturation ascent to a specified upper reference level) are also determined as functions of glaciation temperature. It is found that sublimation substantially counteracts the parcel warming arising from the freezing of liquid water in the case of warm moist cumuli. In addition, it is found that in some instances ice-saturation ascent following glaciation can produce cooling relative to the initial departure from the water saturation adiabat. This was indicated for Great Lakes wintertime cumuli and also for warm moist cumuli with glaciations at very cold temperatures. The effect upon the buoyancy force, of the change in the mass of condensate during glaciation, is small and can usually be neglected.