Advanced Cloud Physics
Meteorology 6510
Spring 2008

Time: TuTh 2 - 3:30 in WBB 820
Instructor: Tim Garrett

WBB 819
 801 581-5768

tgarrett@met.utah.edu

Course Strategy

How is rain produced? What are characteristic sizes of ice crystals in clouds? What governs how clouds evolve? A great deal remains very uncertain in cloud physics. Perhaps in contrast to such atmospheric fields as dynamics and radiation, there is a surprisingly small ``core'' of generally accepted principles. With this in mind, this course will have three principle components. First, I will ``chalk and talk'' a survey through some fundamentals of cloud physics. Second, you will work through some of these fundamentals in assignments. Since this is a non-core graduate course, you will provide a portion of the teaching yourselves through regular review in class of a number of important papers. The idea here is to explore both old and new thinking in the field. 

Grading

Topics

  1. Observed properties of clouds
  2. Review of Cloud Thermodynamics
  3. Particle Nucleation of Water and Ice in Clouds
  4. Diffusional Growth
  5. Warm Rain Production
  6. Riming and Hail Production
  7. Mixed Phased Clouds
  8. Cloud-Aerosol Interactions 
  9. Radiation in Clouds
  10. Cumulus Cloud Dynamics
  11. Stratiform Cloud Dynamics

Referenced Materials

  1. Recommended Papers
  2. Prupaccher and Klett Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation
  3. Rogers and Yau A Short Course in Cloud Physics, 3rd Ed.
  4. Emmanuel Atmospheric Convection
  5. Houze Cloud Dynamics
  6. Turner Buoyancy Effects in Fluids
  7. M. Baker Cloud Physics Notes

Assignments

  1. Analysis of California Stratocumulus
  2. The Kelvin Equation
  3. Aerosol activity and homogeneous nucleation
  4. Haze aerosol and the Kohler curve
  5. Growth by vapor diffusion
  6. Preciptation Growth
  7. Boussinesq solutions to cloud entrainment
  8. Entraining thermals
  9. Mixed layer models
  10. Take Home Final

Papers

Facchini et al. 1999, Nature
Koop et al., 2000, Nature
Baker and Baker, 2004, Geophys. Res. Lett.
Hobbs and Rangno, JAS, 1985
Rosenfeld et al., PNAS, 2001
Choi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett, 2005
Korolev and Mazin, 2003, JAS
Khain et al., 2007, Atmos. Res.
Bretherton, 1997, In The Physics and Parameterization of Moist Atmospheric Convection, R. K. Smith, ed., Kluwer Publishers, 211-230

Randall, 1980