Ultragiant Aerosol Research Articles

A study on the use of radar and lidar for characterizing ultragiant aerosol

AbstractFrom 19 April to 19 May 2010, volcanic aerosol layers originating from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano were observed at the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis of the National Research Council of Italy Atmospheric Observatory, named CIAO (40.60°N, 15.72°E, 760 m above sea level), in Southern Italy with a multiwavelength Raman lidar. During this period, ultragiant aerosols were also observed at CIAO using a colocated 8.45 mm wavelength Doppler radar. The Ka‐band radar signatures observed in four separate days (19 April and 7, 10, and 13 May) are consistent with the observation of nonspherical ultragiant aerosols characterized by values of linear depolarization ratio (LDR) higher than –4 dB. Air mass back trajectory analysis suggests a volcanic origin of the ultragiant aerosols observed by the radar. The observed values of the radar reflectivity (Ze) are consistent with a particle effective radius (r) larger than 50–75 µm. Scattering simulations based on the T‐matrix approach show that the high LDR values can be explained if the observed particles have an absolute aspect ratio larger than 3.0 and consist of an internal aerosol core and external ice shell, with a variable radius ratio ranging between 0.2 and 0.7 depending on the shape and aspect ratio. Comparisons between daytime vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter coefficient (β) as measured by lidar and radar LDR reveal a decrease of β where ultragiant particles are observed. Scattering simulations based on Mie theory show how the lidar capability in typing ultragiant aerosols could be limited by low number concentrations or by the presence of an external ice shell covering the aerosol particles. Preferential vertical alignment of the particles is discussed as another possible reason for the decrease of β.

The production of warm rain in shallow maritime cumulus clouds

AbstractThe problem of the production of warm rain by collision and coalescence has been studied for over half a century and several processes have been suggested to explain the observed production, which is more rapid than generally possible with models. A straightforward scenario in relatively shallow maritime cumulus clouds is one where cloud drops simply grow by condensation and coalescence, with no appeal to enhancement due to entrainment or turbulence or indeed the presence of giant and ultragiant aerosols that may exist in the boundary layer. However, it is difficult in a field experiment to measure the concentrations of aerosols and the time evolution of the droplet size distribution or reflectivity in individual clouds. The Rain in Cumulus Over the Ocean (RICO) field experiment overcame some of these difficulties due to the abundance of clouds and the statistical sampling strategy at all significant altitudes. In this article, we present the results of the rate of increase in the radar reflectivity in a couple of cases. Comparisons with a cloud model strongly suggest that the development of warm rain can be explained using the observed aerosol distribution alone. Sensitivity studies suggested that giant and ultragiant aerosols were unimportant for the production of rain in these clouds. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society

Observation of non‐spherical ultragiant aerosol using a microwave radar

Observations of ultragiant aerosol particles performed at the CNR‐IMAA Atmospheric Observatory using a Ka‐Band Doppler radar in four different periods from 19 April to 13 May 2010 are presented. In the reported cases, the aerosol radar signatures are characterized by a similar scenario. In particular, the linear depolarization ratio shows values higher than −4 dB probably related to the effect of bulk density and to the non‐sphericity of the ultragiant particles. During the same period, volcanic aerosol layers coming from Eyjafjallajökull volcano were observed over most of European countries, including Southern Italy, using lidar technique. The observation of volcanic layers over Potenza by multi‐wavelength Raman lidar measurements suggests a volcanic origin of the ultragiant aerosol particles observed by the radar, revealing that these particles might travel in the atmosphere for more than 4000 km after their injection in the atmosphere.

Giant Sea-Salt Aerosols and Warm Rain Formation in Marine Stratocumulus

Abstract The concentrations and sizes of smaller aerosols (radius smaller than 0.5 μm) in the marine atmosphere vary owing to natural and anthropogenic factors. The concentrations and sizes of giant and ultragiant aerosols vary primarily due to wind-speed-dependent wave breaking. In climate models the formation of warm rain from marine stratocumulus clouds is usually parameterized based on the drops that form on the smaller aerosols. The present process study, using a stochastic Monte Carlo cloud model, shows that the variability of giant sea-salt aerosols and the variability of smaller aerosol cloud condensation nuclei are equally important in determining precipitation flux in marine stratocumulus. This strongly suggests that the effects of giant sea-salt aerosols should be included in the parameterization of warm rain formation in climate and other large-scale models. The above results are based on highly detailed calculations of droplet growth in an idealized marine stratocumulus cloud; the authors believe that other marine stratus cloud conditions may change the calculated rain rates but that the conclusions regarding the relative importance of small and giant aerosols are robust.

Aspects of Precipitation Development in Trade Wind Cumulus Revealed by Differential Reflectivity at S Band

Abstract Early radar echo development in trade wind cumulus clouds is studied using the equivalent reflectivity factor Ze combined with the differential reflectivity Zdr. The clouds studied are among the largest of trade wind cumulus, developing significantly positive values of Zdr and attaining at least about a 30-dBZ equivalent reflectivity factor. The measures used for analysis are values calculated for entire constant–elevation angle sweeps through the clouds and entire volume scans—not maximum single-pulse-volume values. The radar echo evolution follows fairly closely the Marshall–Palmer distribution with scatter toward higher values of Zdr especially in the earliest stages of echo intensification, where some of the scatter in the whole-sweep values is caused by size sorting. The data provide no evidence for an important role of ultragiant aerosols (UGA) in initiating coalescence. They are in strong contrast with similar data from a cloud over northern Alabama that do suggest a major role for UGA in producing several-mm-diameter raindrops that dominate its weak, early radar echo.

Giant and Ultragiant Aerosol Particle Variability over the Eastern Great Lakes Region

Abstract Numerous studies have indicated the potential for giant and ultragiant aerosol particles to expedite the warm-rain process as a result of their extreme sizes. The central question regarding their importance is, Are they present in large enough numbers to influence the microphysics of the clouds significantly? Thus, quantification of these particles and their variability is paramount. New observations collected during the second Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS II) are presented as evidence of the presence and variability of giant and ultragiant aerosol particles over a continental region—in this case, within the eastern Great Lakes region and parts of the midwestern United States and Canada during one month in winter 2003. Sources and factors contributing to the amount of these particles observed in the lower atmosphere were difficult to identify separately; future studies incorporating high-resolution weather modeling are likely needed.

First Radar Echoes and the EarlyZDRHistory of Florida Cumulus

Abstract The early histories of radar echo and polarization differential reflectivity (ZDR) from growing cumulus clouds observed in Florida with a 10-cm-wavelength radar are reported in detail. Raindrops 1 to several millimeters in diameter are present at about cloud-base level in most cases as soon as any identifiable precipitation echo is seen within cloud (distinct from Bragg scattering and echo from cloud droplets). This is in most cases by the time of the first 10-dBZ radar echo aloft. The very early occurrence of large drops is consistent with origination directly from coalescence on ultragiant aerosol. However, they appear to exist so early and so low in the clouds as to be unexpected if the cumulus were single, vigorous thermals. The explanation may lie in the presence of a more gradual, very early cloud stage that is generally not observed in any detail. Simultaneous Ze and ZDR measurements in the early stages of developing, warm cumulus will provide a powerful test of understanding the onset of ...

Measurements of Ultragiant Aerosol Particles in the Atmosphere from the Small Cumulus Microphysics Study

Abstract Ultragiant aerosol particles (UGA) are potentially important for warm rain formation because of their ability to initiate coalescence immediately upon entering a cloud, so it is desirable to obtain local estimates during any field campaign that studies warm rain. Estimates of UGA in clear air from a one-dimensional optical array probe averaged over long time periods from the Small Cumulus Microphysics Study have been published in the literature, but further analysis and comparisons to other probes, presented here, show that the data on which these estimates were based were probably contaminated by noise. A possible explanation for the noise in the probe is given, as are new upper limits, based on few or no particles detected by a two-dimensional optical array probe.

Early Radar Echoes from Ultragiant Aerosol in a Cumulus Congestus: Modeling and Observations

Abstract The growth of ultragiant aerosol (UGA) in a Lagrangian framework within a simulated three-dimensional cloud is analyzed and compared with radar and aircraft observations of a cumulus congestus collected during the Small Cumulus Microphysics Study (SCMS). UGA are ingested into the simulated cloud and grow by continuous collection; the resulting radar reflectivity factor and raindrop concentrations are evaluated at 1-min intervals. The calculations produce a substantial echo (>30 dBZ) within a short time (18 min), containing few raindrops (0.3 L−1). The calculated radar echo is very sensitive to the amount of UGA ingested into the modeled cloud and its liquid water content. The modeled radar echo and raindrop concentrations are consistent with the observations in that the differences fall within the modeling and measurement limitations and uncertainties.

The Role of Giant and Ultragiant Aerosol Particles in Warm Rain Initiation

Abstract Giant and ultragiant aerosol particles can play an important role in warm rain initiation. Recent aerosol measurements have established that particles as large as 100 μm are a regular part of the atmospheric aerosol. When ingested in growing clouds, these particles will produce a tail of large drops on the upper end of the cloud-droplet distribution. In a series of numerical computations, this tail of large drops was found to be a significant destabilizing factor which can speed precipitation development.

Ultragiant Urban Aerosol Particles

Measurements taken 300 meters above ground level show surprisingly high concentrations of ultragiant aerosol particles both upwind and downwind of the St. Louis, Missouri, urban area. Assuming an average particle density of 2.0 grams per cubic centimeter, concentrations of particles with diameters between 5 and 55 micrometers sampled on 11 different days averaged 31 micrograms per cubic meter upwind and 55 micrograms per cubic meter downwind of the city.