(click on image for 1.6 MB movie)
(If you are looking for my Physics 1114 web page, click here.)
ICAE 2007 Meeting in Beijing PDF overview presentation. (3.6MB)
Welcome! This web page contains material from my (Mansell) current research involving numerical simulations of thunderstorms to study electrification and lightning behavior.
A recent upgrade was the addition of prediction of number concentration for ice crystals, cloud droplets, and rain (incorporating equations from Ziegler, 1985). The concentration of cloud condensation nuclei is also now predicted. Snow/aggregates number concentration is planned for studies of mesoscale convective systems.
Current research is focusing on two cases: one from the 1991 CaPE field program (9 August 1991) and another from the STEPS field program (3 June 2000).
An example movie of a 9 August simulation can be seen here .
AGU 2006 Fall Meeting presentation.
powerpoint talk and quicktime animations from the 2003 International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity (in Versailles, France!).
Publications
Mansell, MacGorman, Ziegler, and Straka, 2002: Simulated three-dimensional branched lightning in a numerical thunderstorm model, J. Geophys. Res.
Mansell, MacGorman, Ziegler, and Straka, 2005: Charge structure and lightning sensitivity in a simulated multicell thunderstorm, J. Geophys. Res.
Straka and Mansell, 2005: A Bulk Microphysics Parameterization with Multiple Ice Precipitation Categories, J. Appl. Met.
(Requires QuickTime plugin)
Lightning flash composites in a multicell storm with Gardiner charging (on the left image has negative CG, the right image has a positive CG):
(click on image for 1.6 MB movie)
Lightning flash composites in a Florida storm with Saunders et al. (1991) charging:
(click on image for 0.8 MB movie)
If your brower supports VRML, here's a sample scene from the Florida storm
These images were generated with Vis5D+, which I have compiled for Mac OS X with support for external functions and a non-square 3D viewing window. (The Quicktime movies were put together with GraphicConverter)
Questions? Comments? Just send e-mail to tedDOTmansellATnoaaDOTgov!
Edward (Ted) Mansell
Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS)
Also at the National Severe Storms Laboratory
This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0119398. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Funding for this research also was provided under NOAA-OU Cooperative Agreement NA17RJ1227.
Last updated 16 October 2004 by ERM.