Large-eddy simulations of strongly precipitating, shallow, stratocumulus-topped boundary layers

Large-eddy simulations that incorporate a size-resolving representation of cloud water are used to study the effect of heavy drizzle on PBL structure. Simulated surface precipitation rates average about 1 mm day(-1). Heavily drizzling simulations are compared to nondrizzling simulations under two nocturnal PBL regimes-one primarily driven by buoyancy and the other driven equally by buoyancy and shear. Drizzle implies a net latent heating in the cloud that leads to sharp reductions in both entrainment and the production of turbulent kinetic energy by buoyancy (particularly in downdrafts). Drizzle, which evaporates below cloud base, promotes a cooler and moister subcloud layer that further inhibits deep mixing. The cooling and moistening is in quantitative agreement with some observations and is shown to favor the formation of cumuli rising out of the subcloud layer. The cumuli, which are local in space and time, are responsible for most of the heat and moisture transport. They also appear to generate a larger-scale circulation that differs dramatically from the regularity typically found in nonprecipitating stratocumulus. Time-averaged turbulent fluxes of heat and moisture increase in the presence of precipitation, suggesting that drizzle (and drizzle-induced stratification) should not necessarily be taken as a sign of decoupling. Because drizzle primarily affects the vertical distribution of buoyancy, shear production of turbulent kinetic energy mitigates some of the effects described above. Based on large-eddy simulation the authors hypothesize that shallow, well-mixed, radiatively driven stratocumulus cannot persist in the presence of heavy drizzle. In accord with some simpler models, the simulated case with heavy precipitation promotes a reduction in both liquid-water path and entrainment. However, the simulations suggest that time-integrated cloud fraction may increase as a result of drizzle because thinner precipitating clouds may persist longer if the boundary layer does not deepen as rapidly. These somewhat more complicated dynamics have important implications for a number of hypotheses suggesting that changes in aerosol concentrations, when metabolized by stratocumulus, have a significant effect on climate.