edu.ucar.opensky::articles:7238 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-26T15:44:04.182976 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7639q1k Observations of the width of cloud droplet spectra in stratocumulus 2006-10-07T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7639q1k https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026841 Pawloska, H. author Grabowski, Wojciech author Brenguier, J. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher This paper discusses in-situ aircraft observations of cloud microphysics in eight cases of marine stratocumulus investigated during the Second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE2) in the eastern subtropical Atlantic. The emphasis is on the spectral width of cloud droplet spectra, an important parameter affecting radiative properties of clouds and the development of drizzle and rain. For a given flight (i.e., for given characteristics of the cloud condensation nuclei, CCN), local droplet concentration varies considerably. The standard deviation of the cloud droplet spectra, σ, is typically in the range of 1 to 2 μm. It does not vary systematically between maritime and polluted clouds, and shows a surprisingly small difference between near-adiabatic and diluted cloud samples. The relative dispersion d, the ratio between σ and the mean radius inline equation is between 0.1 and 0.4. In agreement with previous studies, larger values are typically associated with polluted clouds, mostly because such clouds have smaller droplets. For all flights, d either decreases with height or does not change significantly. Based on these observations, a simple parameterization of the relative dispersion d is proposed. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2006 American Geophysical Union. None eng geoscientificInformation