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On the droplet distribution near the base of cumulus clouds
Author(s) -
Manton M. J.,
Warner J.
Publication year - 1982
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.49710845811
Subject(s) - entrainment (biomusicology) , mechanics , atmospheric sciences , cloud base , environmental science , meteorology , distribution (mathematics) , relative humidity , materials science , physics , cloud computing , mathematics , mathematical analysis , rhythm , acoustics , computer science , operating system
Lateral entrainment in cumulus clouds is usually assumed to occur continuously as a cloud parcel rises. Computations of the droplet distribution using that assumption are compared with those in which entrainment occurs intermittently, and little difference is found. The width of the droplet distribution is shown to increase as the relative humidity of the entrained air is reduced. The inclusion of the effects of molecular accommodation at the surface of droplets also leads to substantial broadening of the droplet distribution.