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Significant differences in the cloud droplet effective radius between nonprecipitating and precipitating clouds
Author(s) -
Kobayashi Takahisa
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl029606
Subject(s) - effective radius , precipitation , radius , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , liquid water content , cloud computing , cloud physics , meteorology , physics , astrophysics , computer security , galaxy , computer science , operating system
We examined the cloud‐precipitation interaction by a combined use of radar and a solar/infrared radiometer onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). We found sudden changes in the cloud droplet effective radius in marine water clouds, and significant differences in the effective radius between nonprecipitating clouds and precipitating clouds in which clouds and precipitation coexist. The largest radius was limited to between 15 and 20 μ m for nonprecipitating clouds, whereas it increased discontinuously to 30 μ m for precipitating clouds. Detailed analysis suggests that the differences are likely due to the rapid growth of cloud drops into raindrops. The radius in nonprecipitating clouds indicates that threshold sizes exist below which precipitation hardly forms. This study revealed that the threshold sizes are clearly observed and are consistent on a global scale, which improves our understanding of the second indirect effects of aerosols.