On the exponential decay of spray flux in the marine environment

• Main Authors: Chung, K. K., Lozowski, E. P., Gagnon, R. E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: marine icing spray clouds; terminal fall speed; drop-size spectrum; spray density distribution; liquid water content; Arctic
• Online Access: https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=9e033252-e8f4-4944-bb63-b7471805a76a; https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=9e033252-e8f4-4944-bb63-b7471805a76a

A simple numerical model is developed to calculate the horizontal spray density distribution and the time evolution of the vertical distribution of the liquid water content for two spray clouds with different drop-size spectra -- a Marshall-Palmer and a log-normal spectrum. The algorithm developed by Bohm (1992) to determine the terminal fall speed of liquid hydrometeors is incorporated into the model. It is assumed that the liquid water content (LWC) and drop-size spectrum of the two spray clouds are initially independent of height and that the spray droplets are transported horizontally by a vertically uniform wind. The model results show that the horizontal spray density distributions resulting from the two different spray clouds are similar. The spray mass distribution is uniform over a short distance near the source and then decreases approximately exponentially with distance. NRC publication: Yes