Simulation of Cloud Microphysical and Chemical Processes Using a Multicomponent Framework. Part I: Description of the Microphysical Model

Abstract

A detailed microphysical and chemical cloud model hasbeen developed to investigate the redistribution ofatmospheric trace substances through cloud processes. Amulticomponent categorization scheme is used to groupcloud particles into different bins according to theirvarious properties. Cloud drops are categorizedsimultaneously and independently in both their watermass and solute mass components. Ice phase particlesare additionally categorized according to their`'shapes,'' special effort having been paid to theparameterization of their growth and habit changes. Thehybrid bin method used conserves the mass and number ofparticles while at the same time performing fast andaccurate calculations for transferring variousproperties between categories within the multicomponentframework. With a minimum of parameterization, thismodel is capable of simulating detailed microphysicaland chemical processes that occur during cloud andprecipitation formation.