Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus Clouds
Abstract Drizzle is frequently observed in marine stratocumulus clouds and plays a crucial role in cloud lifetime and the radiation budget. Most drizzling stratocumulus clouds form drizzle virga below cloud base, where subcloud scavenging and evaporative cooling are important. We use unique ground‐b...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2018-04-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077145 |
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| author | Fan Yang Edward P. Luke Pavlos Kollias Alex B. Kostinski Andrew M. Vogelmann |
| author_facet | Fan Yang Edward P. Luke Pavlos Kollias Alex B. Kostinski Andrew M. Vogelmann |
| author_sort | Fan Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Drizzle is frequently observed in marine stratocumulus clouds and plays a crucial role in cloud lifetime and the radiation budget. Most drizzling stratocumulus clouds form drizzle virga below cloud base, where subcloud scavenging and evaporative cooling are important. We use unique ground‐based cloud radar observations (1) to examine the statistical properties of drizzle frequency and virga depth and (2) to test a simple analytical relationship derived between drizzle virga thickness (Hv) and cloud thickness (Hc). Observations show that 83% of marine stratocumulus clouds are drizzling although only 31% generate surface precipitation. The analytical expression for Hv is derived as a function of Hc and subcloud relative humidity considering in‐cloud accretion and subcloud evaporation of drizzle drops. The derived third‐order power law relationship, Hv∼Hc3, shows good agreement with long‐term observational data. Our formula provides a simple parameterization for drizzle virga of stratocumulus clouds suitable for use in models. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-edd4ac43294a456cb93a9f54affe6e9e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-edd4ac43294a456cb93a9f54affe6e9e2025-08-20T02:25:28ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072018-04-014583746375310.1029/2018GL077145Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus CloudsFan Yang0Edward P. Luke1Pavlos Kollias2Alex B. Kostinski3Andrew M. Vogelmann4Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY USABrookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY USABrookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY USAAtmospheric Sciences Program, Department of Physics Michigan Technological University Houghton MI USABrookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY USAAbstract Drizzle is frequently observed in marine stratocumulus clouds and plays a crucial role in cloud lifetime and the radiation budget. Most drizzling stratocumulus clouds form drizzle virga below cloud base, where subcloud scavenging and evaporative cooling are important. We use unique ground‐based cloud radar observations (1) to examine the statistical properties of drizzle frequency and virga depth and (2) to test a simple analytical relationship derived between drizzle virga thickness (Hv) and cloud thickness (Hc). Observations show that 83% of marine stratocumulus clouds are drizzling although only 31% generate surface precipitation. The analytical expression for Hv is derived as a function of Hc and subcloud relative humidity considering in‐cloud accretion and subcloud evaporation of drizzle drops. The derived third‐order power law relationship, Hv∼Hc3, shows good agreement with long‐term observational data. Our formula provides a simple parameterization for drizzle virga of stratocumulus clouds suitable for use in models.https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077145marine stratocumulus clouddrizzledrizzle virga thicknesscloud thickness |
| spellingShingle | Fan Yang Edward P. Luke Pavlos Kollias Alex B. Kostinski Andrew M. Vogelmann Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus Clouds Geophysical Research Letters marine stratocumulus cloud drizzle drizzle virga thickness cloud thickness |
| title | Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus Clouds |
| title_full | Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus Clouds |
| title_fullStr | Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus Clouds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus Clouds |
| title_short | Scaling of Drizzle Virga Depth With Cloud Thickness for Marine Stratocumulus Clouds |
| title_sort | scaling of drizzle virga depth with cloud thickness for marine stratocumulus clouds |
| topic | marine stratocumulus cloud drizzle drizzle virga thickness cloud thickness |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077145 |
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