Department of Physical Meteorology Research
Fourth Laboratory
Summary Account
A variety of microphysical processes are involved in cloud formation and precipitation development. Clouds form in the atmosphere as a result of the condensation or deposition of water vapor on aerosol particles (i.e., cloud condensation nuclei for water clouds or ice nucleating particles for ice-crystal clouds). Through the processes of vapor diffusion and collision-coalescence, cloud particles grow to form precipitation such as rain, snow, graupel or hail. These cloud and precipitation processes are complex, and many aspects of them still remain to be solved despite their importance in weather forecasting, climate change modeling, and weather modification research. Our laboratory has conducted field observations, laboratory experiments and numerical modeling to elucidate these cloud and precipitation processes and to advance an aerosol-cloud-precipitation modeling study.