Category: Spectral Dispersion

This is the fourth article in the spectral dispersion series. I’ll be summarizing / reviewing the 2006 paper by Lu and Seinfeld in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Effect of aerosol number concentration on cloud droplet dispersion: A large-eddy simulation study and implications for aerosol indirect forcing. Abstract: Through three-dimensional large-eddy simulations of marine stratocumulus we…

This is the third in a series of articles on spectral dispersion. This paper is a little off-topic, but it’s important for understanding the next post. Lu and Seinfeld in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Study of the Aerosol Indirect Effect by Large-Eddy Simulation of Marine Stratocumulus [PDF]. Abbreviated Abstract: A total of 98 three-dimensional large-eddy…

This is the second in a series of posts on the effects of cloud droplet spectral dispersion. Today we’ll look at a 2000 paper by Liu and Daum in Geophysical Research Letters, Spectral dispersion of cloud droplet size distributions and the parameterization of cloud droplet effective radius. Abstract: Parameterization of effective radius (re) as proportional to the…

In the next couple days, I’ll be summarizing / reviewing a few papers that deal with spectral dispersion and its effects on climate – mostly through the first indirect effect (Twomey 1977). I believe a brief explaination of the Twomey effect is in order. In order for water vapor in the atmosphere to condense, it…