Entrainment (meteorology)

Detrainment is the opposite effect, when the air from a convective cloud, usually at its top, is injected into the environment.

The entrainment coefficient in clouds is one of the most sensitive variables causing uncertainty in climate models.

This model assumes that the time it takes to evaporate cloud drops is short compared to the mixing timescales.

Homogeneous mixing changes the spectrum's shape because the supersaturation differs over large and minor drops.

[2] Cumulus clouds significantly impact energy and water vapor transport and influence precipitation and climate.

Air flows in and around a convective cloud
Diagram showing the variation of temperature (T) with height in the environment and the effect of the entrainment rate ( ) on the top height of a cumulonimbus