Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud Response
Abstract Cloud responses to surface‐based sources of aerosol perturbation partially depend on how turbulent transport of the aerosol to cloud base affects the spatial and temporal distribution of aerosol. Here, scenarios of plume injection below a marine stratocumulus cloud are modeled using large e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004546 |
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| author | Chandru Dhandapani Colleen M. Kaul Kyle G. Pressel Peter N. Blossey Robert Wood Gourihar Kulkarni |
| author_facet | Chandru Dhandapani Colleen M. Kaul Kyle G. Pressel Peter N. Blossey Robert Wood Gourihar Kulkarni |
| author_sort | Chandru Dhandapani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cloud responses to surface‐based sources of aerosol perturbation partially depend on how turbulent transport of the aerosol to cloud base affects the spatial and temporal distribution of aerosol. Here, scenarios of plume injection below a marine stratocumulus cloud are modeled using large eddy simulations coupled to a prognostic bulk aerosol and cloud microphysics scheme. Both passive plumes, consisting of an inert tracer, and active plumes are investigated, where the latter are representative of saltwater droplet plumes such as have been proposed for marine cloud brightening. Passive plume scenarios show higher in‐plume cloud brightness (relative to out‐of‐plume) due to the predominant transport of the passive plume tracer from the near‐surface to the cloud layer within updrafts. These updrafts rise into brighter areas within the cloud deck, even in the absence of an aerosol perturbation associated with an active plume. Comparing albedo at in‐plume to out‐of‐plume locations associates the inert plume with the brightest cloud locations, without any causal effect of the plume on the cloud. Numerical sensitivities are first assessed to establish a suitable model configuration. Then sensitivity to particle injection rate is investigated. Trade‐offs are identified between the number of injected particles and the suppressive effect of droplet evaporation on plume loft and spread. Furthermore, as the near‐field in‐plume brightening effect does not depend significantly on injection rate given a suitable definition of perturbed versus unperturbed regions of the flow, plume area is a key controlling factor on the overall cloud brightening effect of an aerosol perturbation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6edc0a770e5244a891a99b0e5e1bcd19 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1942-2466 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
| spelling | doaj-art-6edc0a770e5244a891a99b0e5e1bcd192025-08-20T02:16:06ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems1942-24662025-02-01172n/an/a10.1029/2024MS004546Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud ResponseChandru Dhandapani0Colleen M. Kaul1Kyle G. Pressel2Peter N. Blossey3Robert Wood4Gourihar Kulkarni5Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland WA USAPacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland WA USAPacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland WA USADepartment of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USADepartment of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USAPacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland WA USAAbstract Cloud responses to surface‐based sources of aerosol perturbation partially depend on how turbulent transport of the aerosol to cloud base affects the spatial and temporal distribution of aerosol. Here, scenarios of plume injection below a marine stratocumulus cloud are modeled using large eddy simulations coupled to a prognostic bulk aerosol and cloud microphysics scheme. Both passive plumes, consisting of an inert tracer, and active plumes are investigated, where the latter are representative of saltwater droplet plumes such as have been proposed for marine cloud brightening. Passive plume scenarios show higher in‐plume cloud brightness (relative to out‐of‐plume) due to the predominant transport of the passive plume tracer from the near‐surface to the cloud layer within updrafts. These updrafts rise into brighter areas within the cloud deck, even in the absence of an aerosol perturbation associated with an active plume. Comparing albedo at in‐plume to out‐of‐plume locations associates the inert plume with the brightest cloud locations, without any causal effect of the plume on the cloud. Numerical sensitivities are first assessed to establish a suitable model configuration. Then sensitivity to particle injection rate is investigated. Trade‐offs are identified between the number of injected particles and the suppressive effect of droplet evaporation on plume loft and spread. Furthermore, as the near‐field in‐plume brightening effect does not depend significantly on injection rate given a suitable definition of perturbed versus unperturbed regions of the flow, plume area is a key controlling factor on the overall cloud brightening effect of an aerosol perturbation.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004546large eddy simulationsaerosol cloud interactionscloud microphysicsmarine cloud brighteningplume transportnumerical sensitivities |
| spellingShingle | Chandru Dhandapani Colleen M. Kaul Kyle G. Pressel Peter N. Blossey Robert Wood Gourihar Kulkarni Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud Response Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems large eddy simulations aerosol cloud interactions cloud microphysics marine cloud brightening plume transport numerical sensitivities |
| title | Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud Response |
| title_full | Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud Response |
| title_fullStr | Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud Response |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud Response |
| title_short | Sensitivities of Large Eddy Simulations of Aerosol Plume Transport and Cloud Response |
| title_sort | sensitivities of large eddy simulations of aerosol plume transport and cloud response |
| topic | large eddy simulations aerosol cloud interactions cloud microphysics marine cloud brightening plume transport numerical sensitivities |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024MS004546 |
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