Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Science Rendezvous > 2009 Posters
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Modeling Aerosol Effects on the Formation of Pockets of Open Cells in Marine Stratocumulus Using WRF Modeling System

Hailong Wang and Graham Feingold

Satellite imagery shows the recurrence of striking images of cellular structures exhibiting both closed- and open-cell patterns in marine stratocumulus fields. The open-cell regions are referred to as pockets of open cells (POCs) or rifts and manifest themselves as optically thin open regions with dimensions of tens of kilometers, ringed by more reflective clouds. A collection of these cells has dimensions on the order of hundreds of kilometers. Previous observational and modeling studies have suggested that POCs appear to be initiated by precipitation, thus representing a powerful mechanism via which aerosol, through its effect on precipitation, can modify the planetary albedo. To date, modeling of POCs has been limited to domains up to 25 km x 25 km in size, with limited representation of mesoscale forcing that is associated with POCs. In this work we will perform simulations of POCs in a large eddy simulation (LES) version of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with treatment of aerosol-cloud interactions.

The LES will also be embedded within a mesoscale domain so that larger-scale forcing is represented. Aerosol-cloud-precipitation-dynamical feedbacks will be investigated within this modeling framework to study the formation and evolution of POCs.