Investigations of Warm-Cloud Precipitation Physics

在地球上产生了多少雨水的问题 没有冰相参与的热带地区 物理学家一段时间。 一项实地调查来研究这个 1985年夏季在夏威夷举行了一次"暖雨"过程。 1985年实地项目的一个意外观察结果是， 存在非常大的雨滴（直径5毫米）， 形成于浅信风积云中。 该观察结果 从两个角度来看都令人惊讶。 首先，这意味着 比以前更有效的沉淀过程 认为可能。 第二，前期的实验室和模型 研究表明，液滴破碎过程不会允许 大雨滴以观测到的最大浓度存在 在这个数据集中。 主要研究人员将继续他们的研究 使用这个丰富的数据集。 将特别强调 评估产生大规模云计算的云环境， 从浅云中提取雨滴，并研究雨滴的演变 在这些云里的光谱。

The question of how large amounts of rain are produced in the tropics without involvement of the ice phase has intrigued cloud physicists for some time. A field investigation to study this "warm rain" process was held in Hawaii in the summer of 1985. An unexpected observation from the 1985 field program was the presence of extremely large raindrops (diameters 5 mm) which formed in shallow trade-wind cumuli. This observation is surprising from two standpoints. First of all, it implies a precipitation process which is more efficient than formerly was thought likely. Secondly, previous laboratory and modelling studies indicate that drop break-up processes would not allow large raindrops to exist in as large concentrations as observed in this data set. The Principal Investigators will continue their research using this rich data set. Special emphasis will be placed on evaluating the cloud-scale environment that produces large raindrops from shallow clouds and to study the evolution of drop spectra within these clouds.