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On the effect of radiative exchange on the growth by condensation of a cloud or fog droplet
Author(s) -
Roach W. T.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49710243207
Subject(s) - radiative transfer , atmospheric sciences , settling , radiative cooling , environmental science , condensation , radiation , radius , radiant heat , physics , mechanics , meteorology , thermodynamics , materials science , optics , computer science , composite material , computer security
The effect of radiative heat transfer on droplet growth is assessed. It is estimated that radiative cooling is the principal agent of droplet growth in radiation fog, and that supersaturations are very small – slight undersaturation may even occur – and may be relatively unimportant for droplet growth in this environment. Gravitational settling is shown to be the principal limiting factor on droplet growth in radiation fog. It is also suggested that radiative transfer may have some relevance to the unexpectedly large numbers of 5μm radius droplets observed in cumulus clouds by Warner (1969).