Investigation of atmospheric turbulence and cloud microphysics in the TWISTER project
A major challenge in understanding, modeling and consequently predicting atmospheric flows on our planet arises from the enormous range of scales involved. While weather patterns can extend over hundreds of kilometers, local processes that govern the generation and sustainment of clouds range from sub-km down to µm scales. Even the most advanced simulations of our Earth’s climate cannot resolve the complex physics of local atmospheric flows. On these scales, turbulence plays a crucial role, having a significant impact on cloud mixing, the growth of water droplets, and ultimately the initiation of rain. Our current understanding of these processes remains very limited.