Provides a comprehensive analysis of modern theories of cloud microphysical processes and their representation in numerical cloud models.

This book presents the most comprehensive and systematic description currently available of both classical and novel theories of cloud processes, providing a much-needed link between cloud theory, observation, experimental results, and cloud modeling. This volume shows why and how modern models serve as a major tool of investigation of cloud processes responsible for atmospheric phenomena, including climate change. It systematically describes classical as well as recent advancements in cloud physics, including cloud-aerosol interaction; collisions of particles in turbulent clouds; and the formation of multiphase cloud particles. As the first of its kind to serve as a practical guide for using state-of-the-art numerical cloud models, major emphasis is placed on explaining how microphysical processes are treated in modern numerical cloud resolving models. The book will be a valuable resource for advanced students, researchers and numerical model designers in cloud physics, atmospheric science, meteorology, and environmental science.

Clouds affect our daily weather and play key roles in the global climate. Through their ability to precipitate, clouds provide virtually all of the fresh water on Earth and are a crucial link in the hydrologic cycle. With ever-increasing importance being placed on quantifiable predictions - from forecasting the local weather to anticipating climate change - we must understand how clouds operate in the real atmosphere, where interactions with natural and anthropogenic pollutants are common. This textbook provides students - whether seasoned or new to the atmospheric sciences - with a quantitative yet approachable path to learning the inner workings of clouds. Developed over many years of the authors' teaching at Pennsylvania State University, Physics and Chemistry of Clouds is an invaluable textbook for advanced students in atmospheric science, meteorology, environmental sciences/engineering and atmospheric chemistry. It is also a very useful reference text for researchers and professionals.

Mixed-Phase Clouds: Observations and Modeling presents advanced research topics on mixed-phase clouds. As the societal impacts of extreme weather and its forecasting grow, there is a continuous need to refine atmospheric observations, techniques and numerical models. Understanding the role of clouds in the atmosphere is increasingly vital for current applications, such as prediction and prevention of aircraft icing, weather modification, and the assessment of the effects of cloud phase partition in climate models. This book provides the essential information needed to address these problems with a focus on current observations, simulations and applications. - Provides in-depth knowledge and simulation of mixed-phase clouds over many regions of Earth, explaining their role in weather and climate - Features current research examples and case studies, including those on advanced research methods from authors with experience in both academia and the industry - Discusses the latest advances in this subject area, providing the reader with access to best practices for remote sensing and numerical modeling

New textbook on microphysics, thermodynamics and cloud-scale dynamics of clouds and precipitation, for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, researchers and professionals.

Clouds play a critical role in the Earth's climate, general atmospheric circulation, and global water balance. Clouds are essential elements in mesoscale meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, atmosphericradiation, and weather forecasting, and thus must be understood by any student or researcher in the atmospheric sciences.Cloud Dynamics provides a skillful and comprehensive examination of the nature of clouds--what they look like and why, how scientists observe them, and the basic dynamics and physics that underlie them. The book describes the mechanics governing each type of cloud that occurs in Earth's atmosphere, and the organization of various types of clouds in larger weather systems such as fronts, thunderstorms, and hurricanes.This book is aimed specifically at graduate students, advanced undergraduates, practicing researchers either already in atmospheric science or moving in from a related scientific field, and operational meteorologists. Some prior knowledge of atmospheric dynamics and physics is helpful, but a thorough overview of the necessary prerequisites is supplied. - Provides a complete treatment of clouds integrating the analysis of air motions with cloud structure, microphysics, and precipitation mechanics - Describes and explains the basic types of clouds and cloud systems that occur in the atmosphere-fog, stratus, stratocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, cirrus, thunderstorms, tornadoes, waterspouts, orographically induced clouds, mesoscale convection complexes, hurricanes, fronts, and extratropical cyclones - Presents a photographic guide, presented in the first chapter, linking the examination of each type of cloud with an image to enhance visual retention and understanding - Summarizes the fundamentals, both observational and theoretical, of atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, cloud microphysics, and radar meteorology, allowing each type of cloud to be examined in depth - Integrates the latest field observations, numerical model simulations, and theory - Supplies a theoretical treatment suitable for the advanced undergraduate or graduate level

Clouds and cloud systems and their interactions with larger scales of motion, radiation, and the Earth’s surface are extremely important parts of weather and climate systems. Their treatment in weather forecast and climate models is a significant source of errors and uncertainty. As computer power increases, it is beginning to be possible to explicitly resolve cloud and precipitation processes in these models, presenting opportunities for improving precipitation forecasts and larger-scale phenomena such as tropical cyclones which depend critically on cloud and precipitation physics. This book by Professor Shouting Gao of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Beijing and Xiaofan Li of NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Services (NESDIS) presents an update and review of results of high-resolution, mostly two-dimensional models of clouds and precipitation and their interactions with larger scales of motion and the Earth’s surface. It provides a thorough description of cloud and precipitation physics, including basic governing equations and related physics, such as phase changes of water, radiation and mixing. Model results are compared with observations from the 1992-93 Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) experiment. The importance of the ocean to tropical convective systems is clearly shown here in the numerical results of simulations with their air-sea coupled modeling system. While the focus is on tropical convection, the methodology and applicability can be extended to cloud and precipitation processes elsewhere. The results described in this well-written book form a solid foundation for future high-resolution model weather forecasts and climate simulations that resolve clouds explicitly in three dimensions—a future that has great promise for the understanding and prediction of weather and climate for the great benefit of society.

This book focuses on the development of physical parameterization over the last 2 to 3 decades and provides a roadmap for its future development. It covers important physical processes: convection, clouds, radiation, land-surface, and the orographic effect. The improvement of numerical models for predicting weather and climate at a variety of places and times has progressed globally. However, there are still several challenging areas, which need to be addressed with a better understanding of physical processes based on observations, and to subsequently be taken into account by means of improved parameterization. And this is all the more important since models are increasingly being used at higher horizontal and vertical resolutions. Encouraging debate on the cloud-resolving approach or the hybrid approach with parameterized convection and grid-scale cloud microphysics and its impact on models’ intrinsic predictability, the book offers a motivating reference guide for all researchers whose work involves physical parameterization problems and numerical models.

This is an up-to-date treatment of atmospheric science and the key roles of solar radiation and cloud layers.

An Introduction to Clouds provides a fundamental understanding of clouds, ranging from cloud microphysics to the large-scale impacts of clouds on climate. On the microscale, phase changes and ice nucleation are covered comprehensively, including aerosol particles and thermodynamics relevant for the formation of clouds and precipitation. At larger scales, cloud dynamics, mid-latitude storms and tropical cyclones are discussed leading to the role of clouds on the hydrological cycle and climate. Each chapter ends with problem sets and multiple-choice questions that can be completed online, and important equations are highlighted in boxes for ease of reference. Combining mathematical formulations with qualitative explanations of underlying concepts, this accessible book requires relatively little previous knowledge, making it ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in atmospheric science, environmental sciences and related disciplines.