Cloud physics and clustering
Event details
| Date | 06.11.2025 |
| Hour | 10:15 › 11:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Eberhard Bodenschatz |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Abstract :
The growth, lifetime, number density, and size of water droplets in warm atmospheric clouds determine the evolution, lifetime and light transmission properties of those clouds. These small-scale cloud properties, in addition to precipitation initiation, have strong implications for the Earth's energy budget since warm clouds cover large geographic areas. Spatio-temporal correlations on the millimetre scale and smaller may or may not affect these properties of clouds. To date, the pioneering measurements of such correlations in marine stratocumulus clouds have relied on averaging over holographically reconstructed volumes spanning at least ten kilometres. These have revealed weak but widespread spatial clustering of cloud droplets. Here we present results of strong localised clustering on scales of half a metre or less from holographic measurements collected with the Max Planck CloudKite in shallow cumulus clouds in the mid-Atlantic trade wind region near Barbados, with a spatial separation of only 12~cm between measurement volumes. This observation challenges the foundations of our understanding of cloud microphysics at the droplet scale, with implications for cloud modeling in weather and climate prediction. I will also give an overview on turbulence and transport in clouds measured in the field. This work was conducted with Mohsen Bagheri, Birte Thiede, Mike Larsen, Florencia Falkinhoff, Venecia Chavez Medina, Yewon Kim, Oliver Schlenczek and Freja Nordsiek.
Bio :
Eberhard Bodenschatz is Scientific and Managing Director at the Max Planck Institute of Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS). He is Professor of Physics at the University of Göttingen and Adjunct Professor of Physics and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. Following the completion of his doctorate in Theoretical Physics at the University of Bayreuth in 1989 and a two-and-a-half-year postdoctoral stay in Experimental Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he assumed the position of faculty member in Experimental Physics at Cornell University, where he rose through the academic ranks. In 2003, he was recruited by the Max Planck Society as an Adjunct Scientific Member, and in 2005 he moved as a Director to the MPI-DS, where he has remained ever since. His research is focused on the physics of fluids, of cell and synthetic biology. In his variable density turbulence tunnel, he has achieved the highest level of turbulence under controlled conditions, which can be fully resolved at all scales. With his Cloud-Kite, he is investing the in situ microphysics of stratocumulus and shallow cumulus clouds. In the field of cell biology, his focus has been on the dynamics and self-organisation of cells in response to chemical and electrical gradients. His team has discovered novel methodologies for the management of cardiac arrhythmias, and has identified a hitherto unrecognised mechanism for the initiation of arrhythmias. He elucidated the intracellular oscillatory dynamics of Dictyostelium's actomyosin networks. His current research focuses on two main areas: firstly, cilium-driven fluid transport in the third ventricle of the mammalian brain, and secondly, the dynamics and self-organisation in the mechanics engineered heart muscle. He has been honoured with the prestigious Stanley-Corrsin Award from the American Physical Society (APS), and is a Fellow of the APS, the European Mechanics Society and the European Physical Society. He elected member of the AAAS (American Academy of Arts and Sciences) and the Lower Saxony Academy of Sciences, as well as the National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina. He has made and continues to make significant contributions to the advancement of science. For instance, he was Editor-in-Chief of the New Journal of Physics for a period of 11 years. In addition, he served on the board of directors of MRS and the governing board of DPG. He held the position of Chair of the Chemistry, Physics and Technology Section of the Max Planck Society. He is the founding member of the Max Planck School, Matter to Life. He is currently serving as Energy Officer in the Extended Presidential Circle of the Max Planck Society and is a member of the Senate of the German National Academy Leopoldina.
The growth, lifetime, number density, and size of water droplets in warm atmospheric clouds determine the evolution, lifetime and light transmission properties of those clouds. These small-scale cloud properties, in addition to precipitation initiation, have strong implications for the Earth's energy budget since warm clouds cover large geographic areas. Spatio-temporal correlations on the millimetre scale and smaller may or may not affect these properties of clouds. To date, the pioneering measurements of such correlations in marine stratocumulus clouds have relied on averaging over holographically reconstructed volumes spanning at least ten kilometres. These have revealed weak but widespread spatial clustering of cloud droplets. Here we present results of strong localised clustering on scales of half a metre or less from holographic measurements collected with the Max Planck CloudKite in shallow cumulus clouds in the mid-Atlantic trade wind region near Barbados, with a spatial separation of only 12~cm between measurement volumes. This observation challenges the foundations of our understanding of cloud microphysics at the droplet scale, with implications for cloud modeling in weather and climate prediction. I will also give an overview on turbulence and transport in clouds measured in the field. This work was conducted with Mohsen Bagheri, Birte Thiede, Mike Larsen, Florencia Falkinhoff, Venecia Chavez Medina, Yewon Kim, Oliver Schlenczek and Freja Nordsiek.
Bio :
Eberhard Bodenschatz is Scientific and Managing Director at the Max Planck Institute of Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS). He is Professor of Physics at the University of Göttingen and Adjunct Professor of Physics and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. Following the completion of his doctorate in Theoretical Physics at the University of Bayreuth in 1989 and a two-and-a-half-year postdoctoral stay in Experimental Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he assumed the position of faculty member in Experimental Physics at Cornell University, where he rose through the academic ranks. In 2003, he was recruited by the Max Planck Society as an Adjunct Scientific Member, and in 2005 he moved as a Director to the MPI-DS, where he has remained ever since. His research is focused on the physics of fluids, of cell and synthetic biology. In his variable density turbulence tunnel, he has achieved the highest level of turbulence under controlled conditions, which can be fully resolved at all scales. With his Cloud-Kite, he is investing the in situ microphysics of stratocumulus and shallow cumulus clouds. In the field of cell biology, his focus has been on the dynamics and self-organisation of cells in response to chemical and electrical gradients. His team has discovered novel methodologies for the management of cardiac arrhythmias, and has identified a hitherto unrecognised mechanism for the initiation of arrhythmias. He elucidated the intracellular oscillatory dynamics of Dictyostelium's actomyosin networks. His current research focuses on two main areas: firstly, cilium-driven fluid transport in the third ventricle of the mammalian brain, and secondly, the dynamics and self-organisation in the mechanics engineered heart muscle. He has been honoured with the prestigious Stanley-Corrsin Award from the American Physical Society (APS), and is a Fellow of the APS, the European Mechanics Society and the European Physical Society. He elected member of the AAAS (American Academy of Arts and Sciences) and the Lower Saxony Academy of Sciences, as well as the National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina. He has made and continues to make significant contributions to the advancement of science. For instance, he was Editor-in-Chief of the New Journal of Physics for a period of 11 years. In addition, he served on the board of directors of MRS and the governing board of DPG. He held the position of Chair of the Chemistry, Physics and Technology Section of the Max Planck Society. He is the founding member of the Max Planck School, Matter to Life. He is currently serving as Energy Officer in the Extended Presidential Circle of the Max Planck Society and is a member of the Senate of the German National Academy Leopoldina.
Practical information
- General public
- Free