Cloud-top entrainment instability?

Mixing processes at cloud boundaries are thought to play a critical role in determining cloud lifetime, spatial extent and cloud microphysical structure. High-fidelity direct numerical simulations by Mellado (J. Fluid Mech., 2010, this issue, vol. 660, pp. 5–36) show, for the first time, the charact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of fluid mechanics Vol. 660; pp. 1 - 4
Main Author STEVENS, B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 10.10.2010
Subjects
Boundaries
Boundary layer
buoyancy-driven instability
Climatology
Clouds
Computational fluid dynamics
Earth, ocean, space
Entrainment
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Fluid flow
Fluid mechanics
Focus on Fluids
General circulation. Atmospheric waves
Instability
Meteorology
Mixing processes
moist convection
Numerical analysis
Stability
turbulent mixing
buoyancy-driven instability
turbulent mixing
moist convection
Atmospheric dynamics
Entrainment (atmosphere, ocean)
instability
Linear stability
digital simulation
Moist convection
Turbulent mixing
Cloud top
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Summary:Mixing processes at cloud boundaries are thought to play a critical role in determining cloud lifetime, spatial extent and cloud microphysical structure. High-fidelity direct numerical simulations by Mellado (J. Fluid Mech., 2010, this issue, vol. 660, pp. 5–36) show, for the first time, the character and potency of a curious instability that may arise as a result of molecular mixing processes at cloud boundaries, an instability which until now has been thought by many to control the distribution of climatologically important cloud regimes.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/6GQ-LTGK36QQ-K
PII:S0022112010003575
istex:A3D1193028B1E1157B9207C13FCBB5C971421BC7
ArticleID:00357
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0022-1120
1469-7645
DOI:10.1017/S0022112010003575