Fractional Activation of Accumulation-Mode Particles in Warm Continental Stratiform Clouds

The degree of activation of accumulation-mode particles (AMP) in clouds has been studied using continuous (1 second average) aircraft measurements of the number concentrations of cloud droplets (N[sub cd], 2 to 35 [mu]m diameter) and of unactivated AMP (N[sub amp], 0.17 to 2.07 [mu]m diameter) in cloud interstitial air. The magnitude and spatial variation of the activated fraction (F) of all measured particles (defined as F [triple bond] N[sub cd]/N[sub tot], where N[sub tot] = N[sub cd] + N[sub amp]) are investigated, based on measurements made during ten aircraft flights in non-precipitating warm continental stratiform clouds near Syracuse NY in the fall of 1984. Based on instantaneous observations throughout the clouds, the spatial distribution of F was found to be quite nonuniform. In general, F was low in cloud edges and where total particle loading was high and/or cloud convective activity was low. In the interior of clouds, the value of F exceeded 0.9 for 36% of the data, but was below 0.6 for 28%. Factors influencing F the most were the total particle loading (N[sub tot]) and the thermal stability of the cloud layer. The dependence of F on N[sub tot] in cloud interior was characterized by two distinct regimes. For N[sub tot] 800 cm[sup [minus]3], F tended to decrease with increasing N[sub tot]. This decrease was greatest in a stable stratus deck embedded in a warm moist airmass. The results suggest that, in warm continental stratiform clouds, the process of particle activation becomes nonlinear and self-limiting at high particle loading. The degree of this nonlinearity depends on cloud convective activity (thermal instability)