Rauber/Abstract ATM-9634660 The goal of this proposal is to develop a physically consistent understanding of the evolution of rain in warm tropical clouds. Our proposed research involves: 1) the evaluation of hypotheses concerning the initiation of coalescence; 2) the assessment of the importance of environmental influences, such as vertical shear and entrainment, on the evolution of rain following the development of the first precipitation embryos; 3) the determination of the mechanism governing the formation of very large raindrops in shallow warm cumulous; 4) the characterization of cloud microphysical processes in terms of the equivalent radar reflectivity factor; and 5) the determination of the dynamical mechanisms responsible for the formation and rapid intensification of Hawaiian rainbands. Our studies include the analysis of data from three field projects, the joint Hawaiian Warm rainbands. Our studies include the analysis of data from three field projects, the Joint Hawaiian Warm Rain Project, the Hawaiian Rainband Project, and the small Cumulus Microphysics Experiment. The proposed research also includes modeling studies using the Clark model, and Lagrangian trajectory models applied within kinematic fields from both the Clark model and Doppler radar data.
