Paper detail

Stratocumulus over SouthEast Pacific: Idealized 2D simulations with the Lagrangian Cloud Model

In this paper a LES model with Lagrangian representation of microphysics is used to simulate stratucumulus clouds in idealized 2D set-up based on the VOCALS observations. The general features of the cloud simulated by the model, such as cloud water mixing ratio and cloud droplet number profile agree well with the observations. The model can capture observed relation between aerosol distribution and concentration measured below the cloud and cloud droplet number. Averaged over the whole cloud droplet spectrum from the numerical model and observed droplet spectrum are similar, with the observations showing a higher concentration of droplets bigger than 25 μm. Much bigger differences are present when comparing modelled and observed droplet spectrum on specific model level. Despite the fact that microphysics is formulated in a Lagrangian framework the standard deviation of the cloud droplet distribution is larger than 1 μm. There is no significant narrowing of the cloud droplet distribution in the up-drafts, but the distribution in the up-drafts is narrower than in the down-drafts. Modelled and observed standard deviation profiles agree well with observations for moderate/high cloud droplet numbers, with much narrower than observed droplet spectrum for low droplet number. Model results show that a significant percentage of droplets containing aerosol bigger than 0.3 μm didn't reach activation radius, yet exceeding 1 μm, what is typically measured as a cloud droplets. Also, the relationship between aerosol sizes and cloud droplet sizes is complex; there is a broad range of possible cloud droplet sizes for a given aerosol size.