MPI-DS Finds 1-Meter Hotspots That Trigger Rain in Warm Clouds
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 21
MPI-DS Finds 1-Meter Hotspots That Trigger Rain in Warm Clouds
2 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 21
Summary
Ultra-localized patches less than 1 meter wide inside warm cumulus clouds appear to be where raindrops begin, with droplets packed about 1 millimeter apart and far more likely to collide.
CloudKite measurements near Barbados exposed those hidden structures at 75 scans per second, producing 3D maps of droplet size and position from micrometer to kilometer scales.
The findings challenge the idea that droplet clustering is spread uniformly through warm clouds, suggesting earlier observations may have averaged out these brief, tiny hotspots.
Researchers say the hotspots do not clearly track average droplet size or concentration, pointing instead to turbulence and other cloud dynamics now under study.
Better constraints on how warm-cloud rain starts could improve climate simulations and weather forecasts, with future CloudKite campaigns planned over the Amazon, Baltic Sea and Finland.