Articles | Volume 18, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14253-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14253-2018
Research article
 | 
09 Oct 2018
Research article |  | 09 Oct 2018

The role of droplet sedimentation in the evolution of low-level clouds over southern West Africa

Christopher Dearden, Adrian Hill, Hugh Coe, and Tom Choularton

Related authors

Evaluation of natural aerosols in CRESCENDO Earth system models (ESMs): mineral dust
Ramiro Checa-Garcia, Yves Balkanski, Samuel Albani, Tommi Bergman, Ken Carslaw, Anne Cozic, Chris Dearden, Beatrice Marticorena, Martine Michou, Twan van Noije, Pierre Nabat, Fiona M. O'Connor, Dirk Olivié, Joseph M. Prospero, Philippe Le Sager, Michael Schulz, and Catherine Scott
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10295–10335, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10295-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10295-2021, 2021
Short summary
A model intercomparison of CCN-limited tenuous clouds in the high Arctic
Robin G. Stevens, Katharina Loewe, Christopher Dearden, Antonios Dimitrelos, Anna Possner, Gesa K. Eirund, Tomi Raatikainen, Adrian A. Hill, Benjamin J. Shipway, Jonathan Wilkinson, Sami Romakkaniemi, Juha Tonttila, Ari Laaksonen, Hannele Korhonen, Paul Connolly, Ulrike Lohmann, Corinna Hoose, Annica M. L. Ekman, Ken S. Carslaw, and Paul R. Field
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11041–11071, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11041-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11041-2018, 2018
Short summary
Relating large-scale subsidence to convection development in Arctic mixed-phase marine stratocumulus
Gillian Young, Paul J. Connolly, Christopher Dearden, and Thomas W. Choularton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1475–1494, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1475-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1475-2018, 2018
Short summary
Comparing model and measured ice crystal concentrations in orographic clouds during the INUPIAQ campaign
Robert J. Farrington, Paul J. Connolly, Gary Lloyd, Keith N. Bower, Michael J. Flynn, Martin W. Gallagher, Paul R. Field, Chris Dearden, and Thomas W. Choularton
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4945–4966, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4945-2016,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4945-2016, 2016
Short summary
Modelling the effects of gravity waves on stratocumulus clouds observed during VOCALS-UK
P. J. Connolly, G. Vaughan, P. Cook, G. Allen, H. Coe, T. W. Choularton, C. Dearden, and A. Hill
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 7133–7152, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7133-2013,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7133-2013, 2013

Related subject area

Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
High ice water content in tropical mesoscale convective systems (a conceptual model)
Alexei Korolev, Zhipeng Qu, Jason Milbrandt, Ivan Heckman, Mélissa Cholette, Mengistu Wolde, Cuong Nguyen, Greg M. McFarquhar, Paul Lawson, and Ann M. Fridlind
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11849–11881, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11849-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11849-2024, 2024
Short summary
Evolution of cloud droplet temperature and lifetime in spatiotemporally varying subsaturated environments with implications for ice nucleation at cloud edges
Puja Roy, Robert M. Rauber, and Larry Di Girolamo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11653–11678, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11653-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11653-2024, 2024
Short summary
Effect of secondary ice production processes on the simulation of ice pellets using the Predicted Particle Properties microphysics scheme
Mathieu Lachapelle, Mélissa Cholette, and Julie M. Thériault
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11285–11304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11285-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11285-2024, 2024
Short summary
Simulated particle evolution within a winter storm: contributions of riming to radar moments and precipitation fallout
Andrew DeLaFrance, Lynn A. McMurdie, Angela K. Rowe, and Andrew J. Heymsfield
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11191–11206, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11191-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11191-2024, 2024
Short summary
A thermal-driven graupel generation process to explain dry-season convective vigor over the Amazon
Toshi Matsui, Daniel Hernandez-Deckers, Scott E. Giangrande, Thiago S. Biscaro, Ann Fridlind, and Scott Braun
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10793–10814, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10793-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10793-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Abdou, K., Parker, D. J., Brooks, B., Kalthoff, N., and Lebel, T.: The diurnal cycle of lower boundary-layer wind in the West African monsoon, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 136, 66–76, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.536, 2010.
Abdul-Razzak, H., Ghan, S. J., and Rivera-Carpio, C.: A parameterization of aerosol activation – 1. Single aerosol type, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 103, 6123–6131, 1998.
Ackerman, A., Kirkpatrick, M. P., Stevens, D. E., and Toon, O. B.: The impact of humidity above stratiform clouds on indirect aerosol climate forcing, Nature, 432, 1014–1017, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03174, 2004.
Adler, B., Kalthoff, N., and Gantner, L.: Nocturnal low-level clouds over southern West Africa analysed using high-resolution simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 899–910, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-899-2017, 2017.
Bain, C. L., Parker, D. J., Taylor, C. M., Kergoat, L., and Guichard, F.: Observations of the Nocturnal Boundary Layer Associated with the West African Monsoon, Mon. Weather Rev., 138, 3142–3156, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010MWR3287.1, 2010.
Download
Short summary
We perform computer simulations of the life cycle of low-lying clouds over southern West Africa during the monsoon season. Such clouds tend not to produce much precipitation, but they do affect the regional climate by modifying the amount of sunlight reaching the surface. The aim of this work is to understand the factors that influence the growth and break-up of these clouds. We show that the number of water droplets contained within the clouds affects how quickly they dissipate.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint