Generating a stratocumulus-like cloud top in a convection-cloud chamber

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wang, Aaron; Yang, Fan; Ovchinnikov, Mikhail; Krueger, Steven K.; Shaw, Raymond A.
• 署名单位: United States Department of Energy (DOE); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE); Brookhaven National Laboratory; Utah System of Higher Education; University of Utah; Michigan Technological University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2519791123
• 发表日期: 2026-03-17
• 页码: e2519791123
• 关键词: entrainment; stratocumulus cloud; cloud chamber; Numerical simulation; PLANETARY BOUNDARY-LAYER; LARGE-EDDY-SIMULATION; DROPLET SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS; MARINE STRATOCUMULUS; LABORATORY MODEL; water-vapor; entrainment; glaciation; driven; scheme

摘要

Stratocumulus-topped boundary layers play a crucial role in influencing daily weather and earth energy balance. Entrainment at the stratocumulus cloud top affects the cloud's lifetime, precipitation, and radiative properties, but our understanding remains limited due to the lack of resolution in both field observations and numerical simulations. A recently proposed convection-cloud chamber with detailed control of sidewall temperatures can provide a unique opportunity to explore this mechanism in a laboratory setting. In this work, we use numerical simulations to demonstrate that this design can produce a cloud top that mimics the entrainment interfacial layer in a stratocumulus cloud. Our results show that a steady-state cloud can be formed by cooling the lower portions of the sidewalls and warming the bottom surface, while a temperature inversion at the cloud top can be generated by keeping the upper sidewalls and top surface warmer than the bottom. The turbulent kinetic energy profile and budget are similar to those found in a convective boundary layer, and inhomogeneous mixing near the cloud top can be observed. These findings significantly enhance the scientific value of constructing the tall convection-cloud chamber.