Current state and main research trends in cloud physics and active effects

Abstract

The subject of the study is the current state of the physics of convective clouds and weather modification. It is noted that the pace of development in this scientific field has significantly declined since the late 1980s. Traditional analytical approaches, focusing on the state of research into “elementary” cloud processes, failed to identify the reasons for this slow-down. By analyzing the state of convective cloud physics and weather modification from the perspective of system development stages, these reasons have been established. It has been found that the present period represents a transitional phase for this scientific field, characterized by a shift from studying “elementary” processes toward investigating clouds as integrated systems. The study analyzes the main trends in the physics of convective clouds and weather modification, specifies the objectives of these directions, and examines methodologies for modeling the role of systemic properties in cloud formation. Some research results concerning the role of such systemic properties as cloud-environment interaction and internal cloud process interactions in shaping cloud structure are discussed. Previously conducted studies based on a three-dimensional non-stationary model and a two-dimensional microphysical model of hail clouds with prescribed thermohydrodynamics are reviewed. It has been established that cloud formation processes are most sensitive to wind speed variations in the lower troposphere. It has been revealed that hail growth occurs within the temperature range of –10 °C to –25 °C, and precipitation processes exhibit a cyclic character. An algorithm for developing weather modification techniques for hail clouds, taking into account their synergistic properties, is proposed.