Microphysical and optical features of polluted cooling tower clouds

In November 1993 an airborne field study was performed in order to investigate the microphysical and radiative properties of cooling tower water clouds initiated by water vapour emissions and polluted by the exhaust from coal-fired power plants. The number-median diameter of the droplet size distributions of these artificial clouds was in the range of 13 μm. The concentration of smaller droplets (diameters dD < 10 μm) increased with height and horizontal distance from the cooling towers. Close to the cooling towers, bimodal spectra were found with a second mode at 19 μm. The liquid water content (LWC) ranged between 2 and 5 g/m3 and effective droplet radii (Re) between 6 and 9 μm were measured. LWC and Re decreased with altitude, whereas the droplet concentration (ND) remained approximately constant (about 2000 cm−3 ). An enrichment of interstitial aerosol particles with particle diameters (dp) smaller 0.2 μm compared to the power plant plume in the vicinity of the clouds was observed. Particle activation for dm > 0.3 μm. was evident, especially in cooling tower clouds further apart and separated from their sources. Furthermore, radiation measurements were performed, which revealed differences in the vertical profiles of downwelling solar and UV radiation flux densities inside the clouds. fective droplet radius Re was parameterized in terms of LWC and ND using equations known from literature. The close agreement between measured and parameterized Re indicates a similar coupling of Re, LWC and ND as in natural clouds. ns of Mie calculations, volume scattering coefficients and asymmetry factors are derived for both the cloud droplets and the aerosol particles. For the cloud droplets, the optical parameters were described by parameterizations from the literature. The results show, that the link between radiative and microphysical properties of natural clouds is not changed by the extreme pollution of the artificial clouds.