Study of the Aerosol Indirect Effect by Large-Eddy Simulation of Marine Stratocumulus

A total of 98 three-dimensional large-eddy simulations (LESs) of marine stratocumulus clouds covering both nighttime and daytime conditions were performed to explore the response of cloud optical depth (τ) to various aerosol number concentrations (Na = 50–2500 cm−3) and the covarying meteorological conditions (large-scale divergence rate and SST). The idealized First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE) and the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) Lagrangian 1 sounding profiles were used to represent the lightly and heavily drizzling cases, respectively. The first and second aerosol indirect effects are identified. Through statistical analysis, τ is found be to both positively correlated with Na and cloud liquid water path (LWP) with a higher correlation associated with LWP, which is predominantly regulated by large-scale subsidence and SST. Clouds with high LWP occur under low SST or weak large-scale subsidence. Introduction of a small amount of giant sea salt aerosol into the simulation lowers the number of cloud droplets activated, results in larger cloud droplets, and initiates precipitation for nondrizzling polluted clouds or precedes the precipitation process for drizzling clouds. However, giant sea salt aerosol is found to have a negligible effect on τ for lightly precipitating cases, while resulting in a relative reduction of τ of 3%–77% (increasing with Na, for Na = 1000–2500 cm−3) for heavily precipitating cases, suggesting that the impact of giant sea salt is only important for moist and potentially convective clouds. Finally, a regression analysis of the simulations shows that the second indirect effect is more evident in clear than polluted cases. The second indirect effect is found to enhance (reduce) the overall aerosol indirect effect for heavily (lightly) drizzling clouds; that is, τ is larger (smaller) for the same relative change in Na than considering the Twomey (first indirect) effect alone. The aerosol indirect effect (on τ) is lessened in the daytime afternoon conditions and is dominated by the Twomey effect; however, the effect in the early morning is close but slightly smaller than that in the nocturnal run. Diurnal variations of the aerosol indirect effect should be considered to accurately assess its magnitude

Hadronization Approach for a Quark-Gluon Plasma Formed in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

A transport model is developed to describe hadron emission from a strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma formed in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The quark-gluon plasma is controlled by ideal hydrodynamics, and the hadron motion is characterized by a transport equation with loss and gain terms. The two sets of equations are coupled to each other, and the hadronization hypersurface is determined by both the hydrodynamic evolution and the hadron emission. The model is applied to calculate the transverse momentum distributions of mesons and baryons, and most of the results agree well with the experimental data at RHIC.Comment: 16 pages, 24 figures. Version accepted by PR

Rotor aeroelastic stability coupled with helicopter body motion

A 5.5-foot-diameter, soft-in-plane, hingeless-rotor system was tested on a gimbal which allowed the helicopter rigid-body pitch and roll motions. Coupled rotor/airframe aeroelastic stability boundaries were explored and the modal damping ratios were measured. The time histories were correlated with analysis with excellent agreement. The effects of forward speed and some rotor design parameters on the coupled rotor/airframe stability were explored both by model and analysis. Some physical insights into the coupled stability phenomenon are suggested

Taxing Sweets: Sweetener Input Tax or Final Consumption Tax?

In order to reduce obesity and associated costs, policymakers are considering various policies, including taxes, to change consumers’ high-calorie consumption habits. We investigate two tax policies aimed at reducing added sweetener consumption. Both a consumption tax on sweet goods and a sweetener input tax can reach the same policy target of reducing added sweetener consumption. Both tax instruments are regressive, but the associated surplus losses are limited. The tax on sweetener inputs targets sweeteners directly and causes about five times less surplus loss than the final consumption tax. Previous analyses have overlooked this important point.consumption tax; demand; health policy; soda tax; sugar; added sweeteners