Characteristic Vertical Profiles of Cloud Water Composition in Marine Stratocumulus Clouds and Relationships With Precipitation.

ABSTRACT: This study uses airborne cloud water composition measurements to characterize the vertical structure of air-equivalent mass concentrations of water-soluble species in marine stratocumulus clouds off the California coast. A total of 385 cloud water samples were collected in the months of July and August between 2011 and 2016 and analyzed for water-soluble ionic and elemental composition. Three characteristic profiles emerge: (i) a reduction of concentration with in-cloud altitude for particulate species directly emitted from sources below cloud without in-cloud sources (e.g., Cl^- and Na⁺), (ii) an increase of concentration with in-cloud altitude (e.g., NO₂ ^- and formate), and (iii) species exhibiting a peak in concentration in the middle of cloud

SUBMITTER: MacDonald AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7002026 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature