Generation of infrasound by evaporating hydrometeors in a cloud model

Abstract

The dynamical core of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System has been tailored to simulate the infrasound of vortex motions and diabatic cloud processes in a convective storm. Earlier studies have shown that the customized model (c-RAMS) adequately simulates the infrasonic emissions of generic vortex oscillations. This paper provides evidence that c-RAMS accurately simulates the infrasound associated with parameterized phase transitions of cloud moisture. Specifically, analytical expressions are derived for the infrasonic emissions of evaporating water droplets in dry and humid environments. The dry analysis considers two single-moment parameterizations of the microphysics, which have distinguishable acoustic signatures. In general, the analytical results agree with the numerical output of the model. An appendix briefly demonstrates the ability of c-RAMS to accurately simulate the infrasound of the entropy and mass sources generated by an equilibrating cloud of icy hydrometeors. © 2010 American Meteorological Society.