Factors Controlling Droplet Concentration and Size Distribution in Clouds over Dominica

Since precipitation in convective, tropical clouds, and the impact of these clouds on Earth's radiation budget, are dependent on the concentration and size distribution of the water droplets that make up the clouds, we are interested in understanding the factors controlling the droplet concentration and size distribution in these clouds. Previous studies from field campaigns have led to contradictory conclusions, with some research pointing to updraft velocity as the most influential factor, and other studies pointing to aerosol concentration. The 2011 Dominica Experiment (DOMEX) field campaign provides a wealth of data with which to study this problem, and to test existing models of droplet activation and growth; these data include aerosol and cloud droplet concentrations and size distributions, and wind speed measurements, from research flights above and upwind of the island of Dominica, as well as precipitation data from rain gauges installed on the island. Over 17 DOMEX research flights, cloud droplet concentrations averaged over flight legs above the island were positively correlated with aerosol concentrations from legs flown upwind of the island at 305 m altitude, while cloud droplet mean diameters were negatively correlated with oversea aerosol concentrations, supporting the idea that higher aerosol concentrations (if they are water soluble aerosols, such as sea salt) result in more droplets becoming activated and not growing as large. Meanwhile, average horizontal wind speeds in the oversea legs were negatively correlated with droplet concentrations in clouds over the island, and positively correlated with the mean diameter, the opposite of what would be expected if stronger convection accompanied the higher horizontal wind speeds. The horizontal wind speeds were also negatively correlated with the aerosol concentrations, especially at very low wind speeds, suggesting that the negative impact of wind speed on droplet concentration may have been due to a different aerosol regime that accompanied the lower wind speeds.