Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-933-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-933-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
26 Jan 2016
Research article |
| 26 Jan 2016
Investigation of the adiabatic assumption for estimating cloud micro- and macrophysical properties from satellite and ground observations
D. Merk
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany
H. Deneke
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany
B. Pospichal
Leipzig Institute for Meteorology, Leipzig, Germany
P. Seifert
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany
Related authors
D. Merk and T. Zinner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1903–1918, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1903-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1903-2013, 2013
Job I. Wiltink, Hartwig Deneke, Chiel C. van Heerwaarden, and Jan Fokke Meirink
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4139, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4139, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Short summary
Global horizontal irradiance retrievals from satellite observations are affected by spatial displacements due to parallax and cloud shadows. We assess different approaches to correct for these displacements and quantify their added value by comparison with a network of ground-based pyranometer observations. The corrections are found to become increasingly important at higher spatial resolutions and are most relevant for variable cloud types.
Cristofer Jimenez, Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Hannes Griesche, Ronny Engelmann, Martin Radenz, Julian Hofer, Dietrich Althausen, Daniel Alexander Knopf, Sandro Dahlke, Johannes Bühl, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-967, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-967, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
Using advanced remote sensing on the icebreaker Polarstern, we studied mixed-phase clouds (MPCs) in the central Arctic during the 2019–2020 MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) campaign. For the first time, lidar and radar techniques tracked the year-round evolution of liquid and ice phases in MPCs. The study provides cloud statistics and explores key processes driving cloud longevity, offering new insights into Arctic cloud formation and persistence.
Christopher Fuchs, Fabiola Ramelli, Anna J. Miller, Nadja Omanovic, Robert Spirig, Huiying Zhang, Patric Seifert, Kevin Ohneiser, Ulrike Lohmann, and Jan Henneberger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-688, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-688, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify diffusional ice crystal growth in natural clouds using cloud seeding experiments. We report growth rates for 14 experiments between -5.1°C and -8.3°C and observe strong variations depending on the cloud characteristics. Comparing our growth rates to laboratory data, we found similar temperature-dependent trends, but the laboratory rates are higher. This data fills the gap in quantitative in situ observation of ice crystal growth, helping to validate models and laboratory experiments.
Marcus Klingebiel, André Ehrlich, Micha Gryschka, Nils Risse, Nina Maherndl, Imke Schirmacher, Sophie Rosenburg, Sabine Hörnig, Manuel Moser, Evelyn Jäkel, Michael Schäfer, Hartwig Deneke, Mario Mech, Christiane Voigt, and Manfred Wendisch
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-201, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-201, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Our study is using aircraft measurements from the HALO-(𝒜𝒞)³ campaign to investigate the transition from organized Arctic cloud street structures to more scattered cloud shapes. We show that lower wind speeds cause this transition. In addition we look at the changes of the cloud coverage, the height of the clouds, the cloud particles and the radiative properties.
Zhaolong Wu, Patric Seifert, Yun He, Holger Baars, Haoran Li, Cristofer Jimenez, Chengcai Li, and Albert Ansmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3841, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study introduces a novel method to detect horizontally oriented ice crystals (HOICs) using two ground-based polarization lidars at different zenith angles, based on a year-long dataset collected in Beijing. Combined with cloud radar and reanalysis data, the fine categorization results reveal HOICs occur in calm winds and moderately cold temperatures and are influenced by turbulence near cloud bases. The results enhance our understanding of cloud processes and improve the atmospheric model.
Domenico Cimini, Rémi Gandoin, Stephanie Fiedler, Claudia Acquistapace, Andrea Balotti, Sabrina Gentile, Edoardo Geraldi, Christine Knist, Pauline Martinet, Saverio T. Nilo, Giandomenico Pace, Bernhard Pospichal, and Filomena Romano
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-186, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-186, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric stability indicates whether air vertical motion is dumped or amplified. This is important for wind energy applications as it affects wind turbine wakes and thus the yield of wind parks. The paper provides an assessment of stability metrics measured by ground-based microwave radiometers in different climatological conditions and with instrument types, on- and offshore. Results indicate that special precaution may be required offshore to achieve typical onshore performances.
Majid Hajipour, Patric Seifert, Hannes Griesche, Kevin Ohneiser, and Martin Radenz
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-173, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-173, 2024
Preprint under review for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents an approach that enables the detection of the shape and orientation of multiple types of co-located hydrometeors in mixed-phase cloud systems. This information is key for improving the understanding of these clouds, as they do contain ice and liquid water simultaneously, making them relevant for the precipitation budget and radiative balance of the Earth's atmosphere. The retrieval is based on elevation scans of polarimetric cloud radars and can therefore be flexibly applied.
Job I. Wiltink, Hartwig Deneke, Yves-Marie Saint-Drenan, Chiel C. van Heerwaarden, and Jan Fokke Meirink
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6003–6024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6003-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6003-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Meteosat Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) global horizontal irradiance (GHI) retrievals are validated at standard and increased spatial resolution against a network of 99 pyranometers. GHI accuracy is strongly dependent on the cloud regime. Days with variable cloud conditions show significant accuracy improvements when retrieved at higher resolution. We highlight the benefits of dense network observations and a cloud-regime-resolved approach in validating GHI retrievals.
Zili He, Quentin Libois, Najda Villefranque, Hartwig Deneke, Jonas Witthuhn, and Fleur Couvreux
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11391–11408, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11391-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11391-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses observations and simulations to analyze how cumulus clouds affect spacial solar radiation variability on the ground. Results show that the simulations reproduce the observations well and improve understanding of cloud impacts on radiation. The research also indicates that a few strategically placed sensors, capitalizing on measurement timing, can effectively measure these variations, aiding in the development of detailed weather prediction models.
Audrey Teisseire, Anne-Claire Billault-Roux, Teresa Vogl, and Patric Seifert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2711, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2711, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study demonstrates the ability of the VDPS method, delivering the vertical distribution of particle shape, to highlight riming and aggregation processes, identifying graupel and aggregates, respectively, as isometric particles. The distinction between these processes can be achieved using lidar or spectral techniques, as demonstrated in the case studies. The capability of the VDPS method to identify rimed particles and aggregates without differentiating them can simplify statistical work.
Benedikt Gast, Cristofer Jimenez, Albert Ansmann, Moritz Haarig, Ronny Engelmann, Felix Fritzsch, Athena Augusta Floutsi, Hannes Griesche, Kevin Ohneiser, Julian Hofer, Martin Radenz, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2586, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2586, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we discuss the enhanced detection capabilities of a fluorescence lidar in the case of optically thin aerosol layers in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region. Our results suggest that such thin aerosol layers are not so rare in the UTLS and can potentially trigger and impact cirrus cloud formation through heterogeneous ice nucleation. By altering the microphysical cloud properties, this could affect cloud evolution and lifetime, and thus their climate effect.
Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Christopher J. Cox, Hartwig Deneke, J. Brant Dodson, Anja Hünerbein, Matthew D. Shupe, Patrick C. Taylor, and Andreas Macke
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2193, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2193, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how clouds affect the climate, especially in the Arctic, is crucial. This study used data from the largest polar expedition in history, MOSAiC, and the CERES satellite to analyse the impact of clouds on radiation. Simulations showed accurate results, aligning with observations. Over the year, clouds caused the atmospheric-surface system to lose 5.2 W/m² of radiative energy to space, while the surface gained 25 W/m², and the atmosphere cooled by 30.2 W/m².
Albert Ansmann, Cristofer Jimenez, Johanna Roschke, Johannes Bühl, Kevin Ohneiser, Ronny Engelmann, Martin Radenz, Hannes Griesche, Julian Hofer, Dietrich Althausen, Daniel A. Knopf, Sandro Dahlke, Tom Gaudek, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2008, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2008, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we focus on the potential impact of wildfire smoke on cirrus formation. For the first time, state-of-the-art aerosol and cirrus observations with lidar and radar, presented in part 1 of a series of two articles, are closely linked to comprehensive modeling of gravity-wave-induced ice nucleation in cirrus evolution processes, presented in part 2. We found a clear impact of wildfire smoke on cirrus evolution.
Nadja Omanovic, Sylvaine Ferrachat, Christopher Fuchs, Jan Henneberger, Anna J. Miller, Kevin Ohneiser, Fabiola Ramelli, Patric Seifert, Robert Spirig, Huiying Zhang, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6825–6844, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6825-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6825-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present simulations with a high-resolution numerical weather prediction model to study the growth of ice crystals in low clouds following glaciogenic seeding. We show that the simulated ice crystals grow slower than observed and do not consume as many cloud droplets as measured in the field. This may have implications for forecasting precipitation, as the ice phase is crucial for precipitation at middle and high latitudes.
Junghwa Lee, Patric Seifert, Tempei Hashino, Maximilian Maahn, Fabian Senf, and Oswald Knoth
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5737–5756, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5737-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5737-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Spectral bin model simulations of an idealized supercooled stratiform cloud were performed with the AMPS model for variable CCN and INP concentrations. We performed radar forward simulations with PAMTRA to transfer the simulations into radar observational space. The derived radar reflectivity factors were compared to observational studies of stratiform mixed-phase clouds. These studies report a similar response of the radar reflectivity factor to aerosol perturbations as we found in our study.
Audrey Teisseire, Patric Seifert, Alexander Myagkov, Johannes Bühl, and Martin Radenz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 999–1016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-999-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-999-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The vertical distribution of particle shape (VDPS) method, introduced in this study, aids in characterizing the density-weighted shape of cloud particles from scanning slanted linear depolarization ratio (SLDR)-mode cloud radar observations. The VDPS approach represents a new, versatile way to study microphysical processes by combining a spheroidal scattering model with real measurements of SLDR.
Sabrina Schnitt, Andreas Foth, Heike Kalesse-Los, Mario Mech, Claudia Acquistapace, Friedhelm Jansen, Ulrich Löhnert, Bernhard Pospichal, Johannes Röttenbacher, Susanne Crewell, and Bjorn Stevens
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 681–700, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-681-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-681-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This publication describes the microwave radiometric measurements performed during the EUREC4A campaign at Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO) and aboard RV Meteor and RV Maria S Merian. We present retrieved integrated water vapor (IWV), liquid water path (LWP), and temperature and humidity profiles as a unified, quality-controlled, multi-site data set on a 3 s temporal resolution for a core period between 19 January 2020 and 14 February 2020.
Julian Hofer, Patric Seifert, J. Ben Liley, Martin Radenz, Osamu Uchino, Isamu Morino, Tetsu Sakai, Tomohiro Nagai, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1265–1280, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1265-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1265-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
An 11-year dataset of polarization lidar observations from Lauder, New Zealand / Aotearoa, was used to distinguish the thermodynamic phase of natural clouds. The cloud dataset was separated to assess the impact of air mass origin on the frequency of heterogeneous ice formation. Ice formation efficiency in clouds above Lauder was found to be lower than in the polluted Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes but higher than in very clean and pristine environments, such as Punta Arenas in southern Chile.
Anja Hünerbein, Sebastian Bley, Hartwig Deneke, Jan Fokke Meirink, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, and Andi Walther
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 261–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-261-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The ESA cloud, aerosol and radiation mission EarthCARE will provide active profiling and passive imaging measurements from a single satellite platform. The passive multi-spectral imager (MSI) will add information in the across-track direction. We present the cloud optical and physical properties algorithm, which combines the visible to infrared MSI channels to determine the cloud top pressure, optical thickness, particle size and water path.
Hannes Jascha Griesche, Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Anja Hünerbein, Patric Seifert, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 597–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-597-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-597-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Arctic is strongly affected by climate change and the role of clouds therein is not yet completely understood. Measurements from the Arctic expedition PS106 were used to simulate radiative fluxes with and without clouds at very low altitudes (below 165 m), and their radiative effect was calculated to be 54 Wm-2. The low heights of these clouds make them hard to observe. This study shows the importance of accurate measurements and simulations of clouds and gives suggestions for improvements.
Tobias Böck, Bernhard Pospichal, and Ulrich Löhnert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 219–233, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-219-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-219-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, measurement uncertainties from microwave radiometers and their impact on temperature profiling are analyzed. These measurement uncertainties include horizontal inhomogeneities of the atmosphere, pointing errors or tilts of the instrument, physical obstacles which are in the line of sight of the radiometer, and radio frequency interferences. Impacts on temperature profiles from these uncertainties are usually small in real-life scenarios and when obstacles are far enough away.
Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Daniel A. Knopf, Argyro Nisantzi, Johannes Bühl, Ronny Engelmann, Annett Skupin, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Dragos Ene, Ulla Wandinger, and Diofantos Hadjimitsis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14097–14114, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14097-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14097-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
For the first time, rather clear evidence is found that wildfire smoke particles can trigger strong cirrus formation. This finding is of importance because intensive and large wildfires may occur increasingly often in the future as climate change proceeds. Based on lidar observations in Cyprus in autumn 2020, we provide detailed insight into the cirrus formation at the tropopause in the presence of aged wildfire smoke (here, 8–9 day old Californian wildfire smoke).
James Barry, Stefanie Meilinger, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Anna Herman-Czezuch, Nicola Kimiaie, Christopher Schirrmeister, Rone Yousif, Tina Buchmann, Johannes Grabenstein, Hartwig Deneke, Jonas Witthuhn, Claudia Emde, Felix Gödde, Bernhard Mayer, Leonhard Scheck, Marion Schroedter-Homscheidt, Philipp Hofbauer, and Matthias Struck
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4975–5007, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4975-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Measured power data from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems contain information about the state of the atmosphere. In this work, power data from PV systems in the Allgäu region in Germany were used to determine the solar irradiance at each location, using state-of-the-art simulation and modelling. The results were validated using concurrent measurements of the incoming solar radiation in each case. If applied on a wider scale, this algorithm could help improve weather and climate models.
Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Ronny Engelmann, Martin Radenz, Hannes Griesche, Julian Hofer, Dietrich Althausen, Jessie M. Creamean, Matthew C. Boyer, Daniel A. Knopf, Sandro Dahlke, Marion Maturilli, Henriette Gebauer, Johannes Bühl, Cristofer Jimenez, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12821–12849, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12821-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12821-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The 1-year MOSAiC (2019–2020) expedition with the German ice breaker Polarstern was the largest polar field campaign ever conducted. The Polarstern, with our lidar aboard, drifted with the pack ice north of 85° N for more than 7 months (October 2019 to mid-May 2020). We measured the full annual cycle of aerosol conditions in terms of aerosol optical and cloud-process-relevant properties. We observed a strong contrast between polluted winter and clean summer aerosol conditions.
Holger Baars, Joshua Walchester, Elizaveta Basharova, Henriette Gebauer, Martin Radenz, Johannes Bühl, Boris Barja, Ulla Wandinger, and Patric Seifert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3809–3834, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3809-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3809-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In 2018, the Aeolus satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) was launched to improve weather forecasts through global measurements of wind profiles. Given the novel lidar technique onboard, extensive validation efforts have been needed to verify the observations. For this reason, we performed long-term validation measurements in Germany and Chile. We found significant improvement in the data products due to a new algorithm version and can confirm the general validity of Aeolus observations.
Anja Hünerbein, Sebastian Bley, Stefan Horn, Hartwig Deneke, and Andi Walther
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2821–2836, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2821-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2821-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) on board the EarthCARE satellite will provide the information needed for describing the cloud and aerosol properties in the cross-track direction, complementing the measurements from the Cloud Profiling Radar, Atmospheric Lidar and Broad-Band Radiometer. The accurate discrimination between clear and cloudy pixels is an essential first step. Therefore, the cloud mask algorithm provides a cloud flag, cloud phase and cloud type product for the MSI observations.
Athena Augusta Floutsi, Holger Baars, Ronny Engelmann, Dietrich Althausen, Albert Ansmann, Stephanie Bohlmann, Birgit Heese, Julian Hofer, Thomas Kanitz, Moritz Haarig, Kevin Ohneiser, Martin Radenz, Patric Seifert, Annett Skupin, Zhenping Yin, Sabur F. Abdullaev, Mika Komppula, Maria Filioglou, Elina Giannakaki, Iwona S. Stachlewska, Lucja Janicka, Daniele Bortoli, Eleni Marinou, Vassilis Amiridis, Anna Gialitaki, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Boris Barja, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2353–2379, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2353-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2353-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
DeLiAn is a collection of lidar-derived aerosol intensive optical properties for several aerosol types, namely the particle linear depolarization ratio, the extinction-to-backscatter ratio (lidar ratio) and the Ångström exponent. The data collection is based on globally distributed, long-term, ground-based, multiwavelength, Raman and polarization lidar measurements and currently covers two wavelengths, 355 and 532 nm, for 13 aerosol categories ranging from basic aerosol types to mixtures.
Samuel Kwakye, Heike Kalesse-Los, Maximilian Maahn, Patric Seifert, Roel van Klink, Christian Wirth, and Johannes Quaas
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-69, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-69, 2023
Publication in AMT not foreseen
Short summary
Short summary
Insect numbers in the atmosphere can be calculated using polarimetric weather radar but they have to be identified and separated from other echoes, especially weather phenomena. Here, the separation is demonstrated using three machine-learning algorithms and insect count data from suction traps and the nature of radar measurements of different radar echoes is revealed. Random forest is the best separating algorithm and insect echoes radar measurements are distinct.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Jonas Witthuhn, Hartwig Deneke, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Gregor Walter, and Fabian Senf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2901–2925, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2901-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows that smoke layers can reach the tropopause via the self-lofting effect within 3–7 d in the absence of pyrocumulonimbus convection if the
aerosol optical thickness is larger than approximately 2 for a longer time period. When reaching the stratosphere, wildfire smoke can sensitively influence the stratospheric composition on a hemispheric scale and thus can affect the Earth’s climate and the ozone layer.
Willi Schimmel, Heike Kalesse-Los, Maximilian Maahn, Teresa Vogl, Andreas Foth, Pablo Saavedra Garfias, and Patric Seifert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5343–5366, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5343-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5343-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study introduces the novel Doppler radar spectra-based machine learning approach VOODOO (reVealing supercOOled liquiD beyOnd lidar attenuatiOn). VOODOO is a powerful probability-based extension to the existing Cloudnet hydrometeor target classification, enabling the detection of liquid-bearing cloud layers beyond complete lidar attenuation via user-defined p* threshold. VOODOO performs best for (multi-layer) stratiform and deep mixed-phase clouds with liquid water path > 100 g m−2.
Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Daniel A. Knopf, Edwin W. Eloranta, Diego Villanueva, Patric Seifert, Martin Radenz, Boris Barja, Félix Zamorano, Cristofer Jimenez, Ronny Engelmann, Holger Baars, Hannes Griesche, Julian Hofer, Dietrich Althausen, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11701–11726, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11701-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11701-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
For the first time we present a systematic study on the impact of wildfire smoke on ozone depletion in the Arctic (2020) and Antarctic stratosphere (2020, 2021). Two major fire events in Siberia and Australia were responsible for the observed record-breaking stratospheric smoke pollution. Our analyses were based on lidar observations of smoke parameters (Polarstern, Punta Arenas) and NDACC Arctic and Antarctic ozone profiles as well as on Antarctic OMI satellite observations of column ozone.
Xianda Gong, Martin Radenz, Heike Wex, Patric Seifert, Farnoush Ataei, Silvia Henning, Holger Baars, Boris Barja, Albert Ansmann, and Frank Stratmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10505–10525, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10505-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The sources of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are poorly understood in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). We studied INPs in the boundary layer in the southern Patagonia region. No seasonal cycle of INP concentrations was observed. The majority of INPs are biogenic particles, likely from local continental sources. The INP concentrations are higher when strong precipitation occurs. While previous studies focused on marine INP sources in SH, we point out the importance of continental sources of INPs.
Jörg Wieder, Nikola Ihn, Claudia Mignani, Moritz Haarig, Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, Fabiola Ramelli, Zamin A. Kanji, Ulrike Lohmann, and Jan Henneberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9767–9797, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9767-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9767-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Ice formation and its evolution in mixed-phase clouds are still uncertain. We evaluate the lidar retrieval of ice-nucleating particle concentration in dust-dominated and continental air masses over the Swiss Alps with in situ observations. A calibration factor to improve the retrieval from continental air masses is proposed. Ice multiplication factors are obtained with a new method utilizing remote sensing. Our results indicate that secondary ice production occurs at temperatures down to −30 °C.
Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Anja Hünerbein, Hannes J. Griesche, Patric Seifert, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9313–9348, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9313-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9313-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This article describes an intercomparison of radiative fluxes and cloud properties from satellite, shipborne observations, and 1D radiative transfer simulations. The analysis focuses on research for PS106 expedition aboard the German research vessel, Polarstern. The results are presented in detailed case studies, time series for the PS106 cruise and extended to the central Arctic region. The findings illustrate the main periods of agreement and discrepancies of both points of view.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Bernd Kaifler, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Boris Barja, Daniel A. Knopf, Natalie Kaifler, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Diego Villanueva, Cristofer Jimenez, Martin Radenz, Ronny Engelmann, Igor Veselovskii, and Félix Zamorano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7417–7442, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7417-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present and discuss 2 years of long-term lidar observations of the largest stratospheric perturbation by wildfire smoke ever observed. The smoke originated from the record-breaking Australian fires in 2019–2020 and affects climate conditions and even the ozone layer in the Southern Hemisphere. The obvious link between dense smoke occurrence in the stratosphere and strong ozone depletion found in the Arctic and in the Antarctic in 2020 can be regarded as a new aspect of climate change.
Heike Kalesse-Los, Willi Schimmel, Edward Luke, and Patric Seifert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 279–295, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-279-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-279-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
It is important to detect the vertical distribution of cloud droplets and ice in mixed-phase clouds. Here, an artificial neural network (ANN) previously developed for Arctic clouds is applied to a mid-latitudinal cloud radar data set. The performance of this technique is contrasted to the Cloudnet target classification. For thick/multi-layer clouds, the machine learning technique is better at detecting liquid than Cloudnet, but if lidar data are available Cloudnet is at least as good as the ANN.
Martin Radenz, Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Ronny Engelmann, Boris Barja González, Rodanthi-Elisabeth Mamouri, Félix Zamorano, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17969–17994, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17969-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17969-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study brings together long-term ground-based remote-sensing observations of mixed-phase clouds at three key locations of aerosol–cloud interactions in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes. The findings contribute several new aspects on the nature of the excess of supercooled liquid clouds in the Southern Hemisphere, such as a long-term lidar-based estimate of ice-nucleating particle profiles as well as the effects of boundary layer coupling and gravity waves on ice formation.
Silke Trömel, Clemens Simmer, Ulrich Blahak, Armin Blanke, Sabine Doktorowski, Florian Ewald, Michael Frech, Mathias Gergely, Martin Hagen, Tijana Janjic, Heike Kalesse-Los, Stefan Kneifel, Christoph Knote, Jana Mendrok, Manuel Moser, Gregor Köcher, Kai Mühlbauer, Alexander Myagkov, Velibor Pejcic, Patric Seifert, Prabhakar Shrestha, Audrey Teisseire, Leonie von Terzi, Eleni Tetoni, Teresa Vogl, Christiane Voigt, Yuefei Zeng, Tobias Zinner, and Johannes Quaas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17291–17314, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17291-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17291-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The article introduces the ACP readership to ongoing research in Germany on cloud- and precipitation-related process information inherent in polarimetric radar measurements, outlines pathways to inform atmospheric models with radar-based information, and points to remaining challenges towards an improved fusion of radar polarimetry and atmospheric modelling.
Jonas Witthuhn, Anja Hünerbein, Florian Filipitsch, Stefan Wacker, Stefanie Meilinger, and Hartwig Deneke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14591–14630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14591-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14591-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of aerosol–radiation interactions is important for understanding the climate system and for the renewable energy sector. Here, two complementary approaches are used to assess the consistency of the underlying aerosol properties and the resulting radiative effect in clear-sky conditions over Germany in 2015. An approach based on clear-sky models and broadband irradiance observations is contrasted to the use of explicit radiative transfer simulations using CAMS reanalysis data.
Ronny Engelmann, Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Hannes Griesche, Martin Radenz, Julian Hofer, Dietrich Althausen, Sandro Dahlke, Marion Maturilli, Igor Veselovskii, Cristofer Jimenez, Robert Wiesen, Holger Baars, Johannes Bühl, Henriette Gebauer, Moritz Haarig, Patric Seifert, Ulla Wandinger, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 13397–13423, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13397-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13397-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A Raman lidar was operated aboard the icebreaker Polarstern during MOSAiC and monitored aerosol and cloud layers in the central Arctic up to 30 km height. The article provides an overview of the spectrum of aerosol profiling observations and shows aerosol–cloud interaction studies for liquid-water and ice clouds. A highlight was the detection of a 10 km deep wildfire smoke layer over the North Pole up to 17 km height from the fire season of 2019, which persisted over the whole winter period.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
Hartwig Deneke, Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Sebastian Bley, Anja Hünerbein, Stephan Lenk, Andreas Macke, Jan Fokke Meirink, Marion Schroedter-Homscheidt, Fabian Senf, Ping Wang, Frank Werner, and Jonas Witthuhn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5107–5126, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5107-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5107-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The SEVIRI instrument flown on the European geostationary Meteosat satellites acquires multi-spectral images at a relatively coarse pixel resolution of 3 × 3 km2, but it also has a broadband high-resolution visible channel with 1 × 1 km2 spatial resolution. In this study, the modification of an existing cloud property and solar irradiance retrieval to use this channel to improve the spatial resolution of its output products as well as the resulting benefits for applications are described.
Hannes J. Griesche, Kevin Ohneiser, Patric Seifert, Martin Radenz, Ronny Engelmann, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10357–10374, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10357-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10357-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Heterogeneous ice formation in Arctic mixed-phase clouds under consideration of their surface-coupling state is investigated. Cloud phase and macrophysical properties were determined by means of lidar and cloud radar measurements, the coupling state, and cloud minimum temperature by radiosonde profiles. Above −15 °C cloud minimum temperature, surface-coupled clouds are more likely to contain ice by a factor of 2–6. By means of a literature survey, causes of the observed effects are discussed.
Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Daniel A. Knopf, Igor Veselovskii, Holger Baars, Ronny Engelmann, Andreas Foth, Cristofer Jimenez, Patric Seifert, and Boris Barja
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9779–9807, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9779-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9779-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present retrievals of tropospheric and stratospheric height profiles of particle mass, volume, surface area concentration of wildfire smoke layers, and related cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations. The new analysis scheme is applied to ground-based lidar observations of stratospheric Australian smoke over southern South America and to spaceborne lidar observations of tropospheric North American smoke.
Fabiola Ramelli, Jan Henneberger, Robert O. David, Johannes Bühl, Martin Radenz, Patric Seifert, Jörg Wieder, Annika Lauber, Julie T. Pasquier, Ronny Engelmann, Claudia Mignani, Maxime Hervo, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6681–6706, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6681-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6681-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Orographic mixed-phase clouds are an important source of precipitation, but the ice formation processes within them remain uncertain. Here we investigate the origin of ice crystals in a mixed-phase cloud in the Swiss Alps using aerosol and cloud data from in situ and remote sensing observations. We found that ice formation primarily occurs in cloud top generating cells. Our results indicate that secondary ice processes are active in the feeder region, which can enhance orographic precipitation.
Fabiola Ramelli, Jan Henneberger, Robert O. David, Annika Lauber, Julie T. Pasquier, Jörg Wieder, Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, Maxime Hervo, and Ulrike Lohmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5151–5172, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5151-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5151-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Interactions between dynamics, microphysics and orography can enhance precipitation. Yet the exact role of these interactions is still uncertain. Here we investigate the role of low-level blocking and turbulence for precipitation by combining remote sensing and in situ observations. The observations show that blocked flow can induce the formation of feeder clouds and that turbulence can enhance hydrometeor growth, demonstrating the importance of local flow effects for orographic precipitation.
Martin Radenz, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Athena Augusta Floutsi, Zhenping Yin, and Johannes Bühl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3015–3033, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3015-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3015-2021, 2021
Cristofer Jimenez, Albert Ansmann, Ronny Engelmann, David Donovan, Aleksey Malinka, Jörg Schmidt, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15247–15263, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15247-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15247-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A novel lidar method to study cloud microphysical properties (of liquid water clouds) and to study aerosol–cloud interaction (ACI) is developed and presented in this paper. In Part 1, the theoretical framework including an error analysis is given together with an overview of the aerosol information that the same lidar system can obtain. The ACI concept based on aerosol and cloud information is also explained. Applications of the proposed approach to lidar measurements are presented in Part 2.
Cristofer Jimenez, Albert Ansmann, Ronny Engelmann, David Donovan, Aleksey Malinka, Patric Seifert, Robert Wiesen, Martin Radenz, Zhenping Yin, Johannes Bühl, Jörg Schmidt, Boris Barja, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15265–15284, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15265-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15265-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Part 2 presents the application of the dual-FOV polarization lidar technique introduced in Part 1. A lidar system was upgraded with a second polarization telescope, and it was deployed at the southernmost tip of South America. A comparison with alternative remote sensing techniques and the evaluation of the aerosol–cloud–wind relation in a convective boundary layer in pristine marine conditions are presented in two case studies, demonstrating the potential of the approach for ACI studies.
Peggy Achtert, Ewan J. O'Connor, Ian M. Brooks, Georgia Sotiropoulou, Matthew D. Shupe, Bernhard Pospichal, Barbara J. Brooks, and Michael Tjernström
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14983–15002, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14983-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14983-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present observations of precipitating and non-precipitating Arctic liquid and mixed-phase clouds during a research cruise along the Russian shelf in summer and autumn of 2014. Active remote-sensing observations, radiosondes, and auxiliary measurements are combined in the synergistic Cloudnet retrieval. Cloud properties are analysed with respect to cloud-top temperature and boundary layer structure. About 8 % of all liquid clouds show a liquid water path below the infrared black body limit.
Johannes Quaas, Antti Arola, Brian Cairns, Matthew Christensen, Hartwig Deneke, Annica M. L. Ekman, Graham Feingold, Ann Fridlind, Edward Gryspeerdt, Otto Hasekamp, Zhanqing Li, Antti Lipponen, Po-Lun Ma, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Athanasios Nenes, Joyce E. Penner, Daniel Rosenfeld, Roland Schrödner, Kenneth Sinclair, Odran Sourdeval, Philip Stier, Matthias Tesche, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15079–15099, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15079-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15079-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Anthropogenic pollution particles – aerosols – serve as cloud condensation nuclei and thus increase cloud droplet concentration and the clouds' reflection of sunlight (a cooling effect on climate). This Twomey effect is poorly constrained by models and requires satellite data for better quantification. The review summarizes the challenges in properly doing so and outlines avenues for progress towards a better use of aerosol retrievals and better retrievals of droplet concentrations.
Martin Bauch, Thomas Labbé, Annabell Engel, and Patric Seifert
Clim. Past, 16, 2343–2358, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2343-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2343-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The onset of Little Ice Age cooling around 1310 CE was preceded in Europe by a series of droughts in the first decade of the 14th century that were uniquely severe in the period 1200–1400. Based mainly on information from chronicles and other historical texts, we reconstructed the socioeconomic and cultural impact of these events but also a seesaw pattern of multiannual droughts in the Mediterranean and Europe north of the Alps that has remarkable resemblances to the 2018–2019 dry period.
Hannes J. Griesche, Patric Seifert, Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Carola Barrientos Velasco, Johannes Bühl, Ronny Engelmann, Martin Radenz, Yin Zhenping, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5335–5358, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5335-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5335-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In summer 2017, the research vessel Polarstern performed cruise PS106 to the Arctic north of Svalbard. In the frame of the cruise, remote-sensing observations of the atmosphere were performed on Polarstern to continuously monitor aerosol and clouds above the vessel. In our study, we present the deployed instrumentation and applied data analysis methods and provide case studies of the aerosol and cloud observations made during the cruise. Statistics of low-cloud occurrence are presented as well.
James Barry, Dirk Böttcher, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Anna Herman-Czezuch, Nicola Kimiaie, Stefanie Meilinger, Christopher Schirrmeister, Hartwig Deneke, Jonas Witthuhn, and Felix Gödde
Adv. Sci. Res., 17, 165–173, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-17-165-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-17-165-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The power output of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules depends largely upon incident solar radiation as well as PV module temperature. Although irradiance can fluctuate rapidly under broken cloud conditions, module temperature is subject to latency due to the solar panel's heat capacity. In order to reconcile this difference a simple four-parameter model is successfully employed to describe the dynamics of PV module temperature as a function of atmospheric conditions.
Kevin Ohneiser, Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Boris Barja, Cristofer Jimenez, Martin Radenz, Audrey Teisseire, Athina Floutsi, Moritz Haarig, Andreas Foth, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Ronny Engelmann, Félix Zamorano, Johannes Bühl, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8003–8015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8003-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8003-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Unique lidar observations of a strong perturbation in stratospheric aerosol conditions in the Southern Hemisphere caused by the extreme Australian bushfires in 2019–2020 are presented. One of the main goals of this article is to provide the CALIPSO and Aeolus spaceborne lidar science teams with basic input parameters (lidar ratios, depolarization ratios) for a trustworthy documentation of this record-breaking event.
Athena Augusta Floutsi, Holger Baars, Martin Radenz, Moritz Haarig, Zhenping Yin, Patric Seifert, Cristofer Jimenez, Ulla Wandinger, Ronny Engelmann, Boris Barja, Felix Zamorano, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-453, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-453, 2020
Preprint withdrawn
Montserrat Costa-Surós, Odran Sourdeval, Claudia Acquistapace, Holger Baars, Cintia Carbajal Henken, Christa Genz, Jonas Hesemann, Cristofer Jimenez, Marcel König, Jan Kretzschmar, Nils Madenach, Catrin I. Meyer, Roland Schrödner, Patric Seifert, Fabian Senf, Matthias Brueck, Guido Cioni, Jan Frederik Engels, Kerstin Fieg, Ksenia Gorges, Rieke Heinze, Pavan Kumar Siligam, Ulrike Burkhardt, Susanne Crewell, Corinna Hoose, Axel Seifert, Ina Tegen, and Johannes Quaas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5657–5678, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5657-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5657-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The impact of anthropogenic aerosols on clouds is a key uncertainty in climate change. This study analyses large-domain simulations with a new high-resolution model to investigate the differences in clouds between 1985 and 2013 comparing multiple observational datasets. The differences in aerosol and in cloud droplet concentrations are clearly detectable. For other quantities, the detection and attribution proved difficult, despite a substantial impact on the Earth's energy budget.
Carola Barrientos Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Hannes Griesche, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1757–1775, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1757-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1757-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In the changing Arctic, quantifying the resulting variability of incoming solar radiation is important to better elucidate the net radiative effect of clouds. As part of a multidisciplinary expedition in the central Arctic held in early summer 2017, a novel network of pyranometers was deployed over an ice floe to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of solar radiation under different sky conditions. This study presents the collected data and an analysis of the spatiotemporal variability.
Jonas Witthuhn, Anja Hünerbein, and Hartwig Deneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1387–1412, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1387-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1387-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Reliable reference measurements over ocean are essential for the evaluation and improvement of satellite- and model-based aerosol datasets. Here, a uniqe set of shipborne reference aerosol products obtained from Microtops sunphotometer and GUVis-3511 shadowband radiometer observations are compared to aerosol products from the MODIS and SEVIRI satellite sensors, and the CAMS reanalysis over the Atlantic Ocean. The present evaluation highlights the importance of an aerosol-type based analysis.
Sabine Griessbach, Lars Hoffmann, Reinhold Spang, Peggy Achtert, Marc von Hobe, Nina Mateshvili, Rolf Müller, Martin Riese, Christian Rolf, Patric Seifert, and Jean-Paul Vernier
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1243–1271, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1243-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1243-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we study the cloud top height derived from MIPAS measurements. Previous studies showed contradictory results with respect to MIPAS, both underestimating and overestimating cloud top height. We used simulations and found that overestimation and/or underestimation depend on cloud extinction. To support our findings we compared MIPAS cloud top heights of volcanic sulfate aerosol with measurements from CALIOP, ground-based lidar, and ground-based twilight measurements.
Frank Werner and Hartwig Deneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1089–1111, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1089-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1089-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The reliability of remotely sensed cloud variables from space depends on the horizontal resolution of the instrument. This study presents and evaluates several candidate approaches for increasing the spatial resolution of observations from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) from the native 3 km scale to a horizontal resolution of 1 km. It is shown that uncertainties in the derived cloud products can be significantly mitigated by applying an appropriate downscaling scheme.
Diego Villanueva, Bernd Heinold, Patric Seifert, Hartwig Deneke, Martin Radenz, and Ina Tegen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2177–2199, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2177-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2177-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Spaceborne retrievals of cloud phase were analysed together with an atmospheric composition model to assess the global frequency of ice and liquid clouds. This analysis showed that at equal temperature the average occurrence of ice clouds increases for higher dust mixing ratios on a day-to-day basis in the middle and high latitudes. This indicates that mineral dust may have a strong impact on the occurrence of ice clouds even in remote areas.
Vasileios Barlakas, Hartwig Deneke, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 303–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-303-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-303-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
By means of a high-resolution model, we demonstrated the suitability of the sub-adiabatic cloud model to serve as a conceptual tool for the evaluation of the representation of low-level clouds and to capture the relevant properties that determine the shortwave cloud radiative effect. We also highlighted the differences in cloud radiative effect resulting from different cloud microphysics schemes used in models and pointed to the need to better account for prognostic droplet number concentration.
Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Martin Radenz, Holger Baars, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6601–6617, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6601-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6601-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In the present paper, we present a novel remote-sensing technique for the measurement of ice crystal number concentrations in clouds. The fall velocity of ice crystals measured with values from cloud radar and a radar wind profiler is used in order to derive information about ice crystal size and number concentration. In contrast to existing methods based on the combination of lidar and cloud radar, the present method can also be used in optically thick clouds.
Albert Ansmann, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, Julian Hofer, Argyro Nisantzi, James D. Atkinson, Zamin A. Kanji, Berko Sierau, Mihalis Vrekoussis, and Jean Sciare
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15087–15115, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15087-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15087-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
For the first time, a closure study of the relationship between the ice-nucleating particle concentration (INPC) and ice crystal number concentration (ICNC) in altocumulus and cirrus layers, solely based on ground-based active remote sensing, is presented. The closure studies were conducted in Cyprus. A focus was on altocumulus and cirrus layers which developed in pronounced Saharan dust layers. The closure studies show that heterogeneous ice nucleation can play a dominant role in ice formation.
Zhenping Yin, Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, Martin Radenz, Cristofer Jimenez, Alina Herzog, Kevin Ohneiser, Karsten Hanbuch, Luc Blarel, Philippe Goloub, Gaël Dubois, Stephane Victori, and Fabrice Maupin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5685–5698, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5685-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5685-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A new shipborne Sun–sky–lunar photometer was validated through comparisons with collocated MICROTOPS II and multiwavelength Raman polarization lidar measurements during two trans-Atlantic cruises. A full diurnal cycle of mixed dust–smoke episode was captured by both the shipborne photometer and lidar. The coefficient of determination for the linear regression between MICROTOPS II and the shipborne photometer was 0.993 for AOD at 500 nm based on the entire dataset.
Martin Radenz, Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Hannes Griesche, and Ronny Engelmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4813–4828, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4813-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4813-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds may be composed of more than one particle population even at the smallest scales. Cloud radar observations can contain information on multiple particle species, showing up as distinct peaks and subpeaks in the Doppler spectrum. We propose the use of binary tree structures to recursively structure these peaks. Two case studies from different locations and instruments illustrate how this approach can be used to disentangle particle populations in multilayered mixed-phase clouds.
Jamie R. Banks, Anja Hünerbein, Bernd Heinold, Helen E. Brindley, Hartwig Deneke, and Kerstin Schepanski
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6893–6911, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6893-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6893-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Saharan dust storms may be observed over the desert using false-colour infrared satellite imagery; in one widely used scheme dust displays characteristic pink colours. Simulating satellite imagery using a dust transport model, we confirm that water vapour is a major control on the apparent colour of dust in the false-colour imagery and that dust displays its deepest colours when it is at a high altitude and when the atmosphere is dry. Water vapour can obscure the presence of low-altitude dust.
Andreas Foth, Thomas Kanitz, Ronny Engelmann, Holger Baars, Martin Radenz, Patric Seifert, Boris Barja, Michael Fromm, Heike Kalesse, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6217–6233, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6217-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6217-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we present the vertical aerosol distribution in the pristine region of the southern tip of South America determined by ground-based and spaceborne lidar observations. Most aerosol load is contained within the planetary boundary layer up to about 1200 m. The free troposphere is characterized by a very low aerosol concentration but a frequent occurrence of clouds. Lofted aerosol layers were rarely observed and, when present, were characterized by very low optical thicknesses.
Michael Weger, Bernd Heinold, Christa Engler, Ulrich Schumann, Axel Seifert, Romy Fößig, Christiane Voigt, Holger Baars, Ulrich Blahak, Stephan Borrmann, Corinna Hoose, Stefan Kaufmann, Martina Krämer, Patric Seifert, Fabian Senf, Johannes Schneider, and Ina Tegen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17545–17572, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17545-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17545-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The impact of desert dust on cloud formation is investigated for a major Saharan dust event over Europe by interactive regional dust modeling. Dust particles are very efficient ice-nucleating particles promoting the formation of ice crystals in clouds. The simulations show that the observed extensive cirrus development was likely related to the above-average dust load. The interactive dust–cloud feedback in the model significantly improves the agreement with aircraft and satellite observations.
Diego Villanueva, Bernd Heinold, Patric Seifert, Hartwig Deneke, Martin Radenz, and Ina Tegen
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-1074, 2018
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Two different satellite products were analysed together with an atmospheric composition model to assess the global frequency of ice and liquid stratiform clouds. This analysis showed that at equal temperature the average occurrence of fully glaciated stratiform clouds was found to increase for higher dust mixing-ratios on a day-to-day basis in the mid- and high latitudes. This indicates that mineral dust may have a strong impact in the occurrence of ice clouds even in remote areas.
Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Alexandra Chudnovsky, Ina Mattis, Igor Veselovskii, Moritz Haarig, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11831–11845, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11831-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11831-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Extremely large light extinction coefficients of 500 Mm-1, about 20 times higher than after the Pinatubo volcanic eruptions in 1991, were observed by EARLINET lidars in the stratosphere over central Europe from 21 to 22 August, 2017. This paper provides an overview based on ground-based (lidar, AERONET) and satellite (MODIS, OMI) remote sensing.
Guangyao Dai, Dietrich Althausen, Julian Hofer, Ronny Engelmann, Patric Seifert, Johannes Bühl, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Songhua Wu, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2735–2748, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2735-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2735-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The presented calibration method grants access to quality approved automated atmospheric water vapor profiles from lidar measurements. This method uses the Raman lidar data from the water vapor and nitrogen channels and additional data from sun photometer and GDAS. The retrieved water vapor profiles agree well with respective profiles from radio soundings. The paper describes this method and shows results from the CyCARE (Cyprus Cloud Aerosol and Rain Experiment) campaign in 2015–2017.
Sebastian Düsing, Birgit Wehner, Patric Seifert, Albert Ansmann, Holger Baars, Florian Ditas, Silvia Henning, Nan Ma, Laurent Poulain, Holger Siebert, Alfred Wiedensohler, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1263–1290, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1263-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1263-2018, 2018
Albert Ansmann, Franziska Rittmeister, Ronny Engelmann, Sara Basart, Oriol Jorba, Christos Spyrou, Samuel Remy, Annett Skupin, Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Fabian Senf, and Thomas Kanitz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 14987–15006, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14987-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-14987-2017, 2017
Francesco De Angelis, Domenico Cimini, Ulrich Löhnert, Olivier Caumont, Alexander Haefele, Bernhard Pospichal, Pauline Martinet, Francisco Navas-Guzmán, Henk Klein-Baltink, Jean-Charles Dupont, and James Hocking
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3947–3961, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3947-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3947-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Modern data assimilation systems require knowledge of the typical differences between observations and model background (O–B). This work illustrates a 1-year O–B analysis for ground-based microwave radiometer (MWR) observations in clear-sky conditions for a prototype network of six MWRs in Europe. Observations are MWR brightness temperatures (TB). Background profiles extracted from the output of a convective-scale model are used to simulate TB through the radiative transfer model RTTOV-gb.
Andreas Foth and Bernhard Pospichal
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3325–3344, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3325-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3325-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We present a two-step retrieval that provides a continuous time series of water vapour profiles from ground-based remote sensing in a straightforward way to offer a broad application. The retrieval combines the Raman lidar mass mixing ratio and the microwave radiometer brightness temperature. Its application results in reliable water vapour profiles and error estimates also from within and above a cloud during all non-precipitating conditions.
Holger Baars, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3175–3201, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3175-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3175-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
A novel technique for multiwavelength lidars is introduced to derive information on the particle type in the tropospheric profile in analogy to the Cloudnet target classification. Four different aerosol classes and several cloud classes are defined. The technique is based on absolute calibrated lidar signals in temporally high resolution and thus is also well suited for aerosol–cloud-interaction studies. The approach was applied on a 2-month data set of the HOPE campaign in western Germany.
Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Ronny Engelmann, Julia Fruntke, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-230, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-230, 2017
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Vertical air motion is a key driver of physical processes in clouds. The stability of clouds and the process of ice formation have been shown to depend critically on vertical air motions. However, observations of vertical air motions and ice formation in clouds are rare. This motivated us in the Up- and downdraft in Drop and Ice Nucleation Experiment (UDINE) to deliver a comprehensive statistics, connecting remote-sensing observations of vertical motions and ice formation.
Andreas Macke, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Christian Barthlott, Christoph Beekmans, Andreas Behrendt, Birger Bohn, Matthias Brueck, Johannes Bühl, Susanne Crewell, Thomas Damian, Hartwig Deneke, Sebastian Düsing, Andreas Foth, Paolo Di Girolamo, Eva Hammann, Rieke Heinze, Anne Hirsikko, John Kalisch, Norbert Kalthoff, Stefan Kinne, Martin Kohler, Ulrich Löhnert, Bomidi Lakshmi Madhavan, Vera Maurer, Shravan Kumar Muppa, Jan Schween, Ilya Serikov, Holger Siebert, Clemens Simmer, Florian Späth, Sandra Steinke, Katja Träumner, Silke Trömel, Birgit Wehner, Andreas Wieser, Volker Wulfmeyer, and Xinxin Xie
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4887–4914, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4887-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4887-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This article provides an overview of the instrumental setup and the main results obtained during the two HD(CP)2 Observational Prototype Experiments HOPE-Jülich and HOPE-Melpitz conducted in Germany in April–May and Sept 2013, respectively. Goal of the field experiments was to provide high-resolution observational datasets for both, improving the understaning of boundary layer and cloud processes, as well as for the evaluation of the new ICON model that is run at 156 m horizontal resolution.
Diego A. Gouveia, Boris Barja, Henrique M. J. Barbosa, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Theotonio Pauliquevis, and Paulo Artaxo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3619–3636, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3619-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3619-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We derive the first comprehensive statistics of cirrus clouds over a tropical rain forest. Monthly frequency of occurrence can be as high as 88 %. The diurnal cycle follows that of precipitation, and frequently cirrus is found in the tropopause layer. The mean values of cloud top, base, thickness, optical depth and lidar ratio were 14.3 km, 12.9 km, 1.4 km, 0.25, and 23 sr respectively. The high fraction (42 %) of subvisible clouds may contaminate satellite measurements to an unknown extent.
Bomidi Lakshmi Madhavan, Hartwig Deneke, Jonas Witthuhn, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 3317–3338, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3317-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-3317-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
A method has been introduced to assess the representativeness of the time series of a point measurement compared to results for a larger area centered around the measurement location. This method allows one to determine the optimal accuracy that can be achieved for the validation of satellite products for a given pixel footprint, or the evaluation of an atmospheric model with a given grid-cell resolution.
Johannes Bühl, Patric Seifert, Alexander Myagkov, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10609–10620, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10609-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10609-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We probe thin layered clouds with remote sensing instruments from ground in order to get insight into atmospheric processes like the formation of rain or snow. We think that the findings of our work can be used to improve climate and weather simulations. The present paper presents a new technique that can be used to detect the shape, fall speed and mass of ice particles falling from layered clouds. With such information the impact of cloud ice, e.g., on the lifetime of a cloud, can be estimated.
Alexander Myagkov, Patric Seifert, Ulla Wandinger, Johannes Bühl, and Ronny Engelmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3739–3754, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3739-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3739-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents first quantitative estimations of ice particle shape at the top of liquid-topped clouds. The estimation is based on polarimetric measurements from a Ka-band cloud radar. 22 cases observed during the ACCEPT (Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques) campaign were used. Data from a free-fall chamber were used for the comparison. A good agreement of detected shapes with known shape–temperature dependencies observed in laboratories was found.
Erika Kienast-Sjögren, Christian Rolf, Patric Seifert, Ulrich K. Krieger, Bei P. Luo, Martina Krämer, and Thomas Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7605–7621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7605-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7605-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We present a climatology of mid-latitude cirrus cloud properties based on 13 000 hours of automatically analyzed lidar measurements at three different sites. Jungfraujoch,
situated at 3580 m a.s.l., is found to be ideal to measure high and optically thin
cirrus. We use our retrieved optical properties together with a radiation model and
estimate the radiative forcing by mid-latitude cirrus.
All cirrus clouds detected here have a positive net radiative effect.
Holger Baars, Thomas Kanitz, Ronny Engelmann, Dietrich Althausen, Birgit Heese, Mika Komppula, Jana Preißler, Matthias Tesche, Albert Ansmann, Ulla Wandinger, Jae-Hyun Lim, Joon Young Ahn, Iwona S. Stachlewska, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Patric Seifert, Julian Hofer, Annett Skupin, Florian Schneider, Stephanie Bohlmann, Andreas Foth, Sebastian Bley, Anne Pfüller, Eleni Giannakaki, Heikki Lihavainen, Yrjö Viisanen, Rakesh Kumar Hooda, Sérgio Nepomuceno Pereira, Daniele Bortoli, Frank Wagner, Ina Mattis, Lucja Janicka, Krzysztof M. Markowicz, Peggy Achtert, Paulo Artaxo, Theotonio Pauliquevis, Rodrigo A. F. Souza, Ved Prakesh Sharma, Pieter Gideon van Zyl, Johan Paul Beukes, Junying Sun, Erich G. Rohwer, Ruru Deng, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, and Felix Zamorano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5111–5137, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5111-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5111-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The findings from more than 10 years of global aerosol lidar measurements with Polly systems are summarized, and a data set of optical properties for specific aerosol types is given. An automated data retrieval algorithm for continuous Polly lidar observations is presented and discussed by means of a Saharan dust advection event in Leipzig, Germany. Finally, a statistic on the vertical aerosol distribution including the seasonal variability at PollyNET locations around the globe is presented.
A. Skupin, A. Ansmann, R. Engelmann, P. Seifert, and T. Müller
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1863–1876, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1863-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1863-2016, 2016
A. Myagkov, P. Seifert, M. Bauer-Pfundstein, and U. Wandinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 469–489, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-469-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-469-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper a newly developed scanning 35 GHz cloud radar MIRA-35 is described. The issues concerned with implementation, polarization calibration, and data processing are considered. Also, an algorithm for a characterization of shape and orientation distribution based on polarimetric observations from the cloud radar is presented. For demonstration, the developed retrieval technique is applied to a cloud system containing ice crystals with different habits.
G. Massaro, I. Stiperski, B. Pospichal, and M. W. Rotach
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3355–3367, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3355-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3355-2015, 2015
A. Foth, H. Baars, P. Di Girolamo, and B. Pospichal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 7753–7763, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7753-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-7753-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We present a method to derive water vapour profiles from Raman lidar measurements calibrated by the integrated water vapour from a collocated microwave radiometer. These simultaneous observations provide an operational and continuous measurement of water vapour profiles. The stability of the calibration factor allows for the calibration of the lidar even in the presence of clouds. Based on this approach, water vapour profiles can be retrieved during all non-precipitating conditions.
T. Kanitz, A. Ansmann, A. Foth, P. Seifert, U. Wandinger, R. Engelmann, H. Baars, D. Althausen, C. Casiccia, and F. Zamorano
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2061–2072, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2061-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2061-2014, 2014
F. Dahlkötter, M. Gysel, D. Sauer, A. Minikin, R. Baumann, P. Seifert, A. Ansmann, M. Fromm, C. Voigt, and B. Weinzierl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 6111–6137, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6111-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-6111-2014, 2014
S. Bley and H. Deneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2713–2723, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2713-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2713-2013, 2013
D. Merk and T. Zinner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1903–1918, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1903-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1903-2013, 2013
J. Wagner, A. Ansmann, U. Wandinger, P. Seifert, A. Schwarz, M. Tesche, A. Chaikovsky, and O. Dubovik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1707–1724, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1707-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1707-2013, 2013
G. Pappalardo, L. Mona, G. D'Amico, U. Wandinger, M. Adam, A. Amodeo, A. Ansmann, A. Apituley, L. Alados Arboledas, D. Balis, A. Boselli, J. A. Bravo-Aranda, A. Chaikovsky, A. Comeron, J. Cuesta, F. De Tomasi, V. Freudenthaler, M. Gausa, E. Giannakaki, H. Giehl, A. Giunta, I. Grigorov, S. Groß, M. Haeffelin, A. Hiebsch, M. Iarlori, D. Lange, H. Linné, F. Madonna, I. Mattis, R.-E. Mamouri, M. A. P. McAuliffe, V. Mitev, F. Molero, F. Navas-Guzman, D. Nicolae, A. Papayannis, M. R. Perrone, C. Pietras, A. Pietruczuk, G. Pisani, J. Preißler, M. Pujadas, V. Rizi, A. A. Ruth, J. Schmidt, F. Schnell, P. Seifert, I. Serikov, M. Sicard, V. Simeonov, N. Spinelli, K. Stebel, M. Tesche, T. Trickl, X. Wang, F. Wagner, M. Wiegner, and K. M. Wilson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4429–4450, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4429-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4429-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Study of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of high-altitude cirrus clouds in Barcelona, Spain, with 4 years of lidar measurements
Co-variability drives the inverted-V sensitivity between liquid water path and droplet concentrations
Lightning declines over shipping lanes following regulation of fuel sulfur emissions
Post-return stroke VHF electromagnetic activity in north-western Mediterranean cloud-to-ground lightning flashes
Technical note: Applicability of physics-based and machine-learning-based algorithms of a geostationary satellite in retrieving the diurnal cycle of cloud base height
Observing convective activities in complex convective organizations and their contributions to precipitation and anvil cloud amounts
Weak liquid water path response in ship tracks
A new aggregation and riming discrimination algorithm based on polarimetric weather radars
Shallow cloud variability in Houston, Texas during the ESCAPE and TRACER field experiments
Air mass history linked to the development of Arctic mixed-phase clouds
Distinct structure, radiative effects, and precipitation characteristics of deep convection systems in the Tibetan Plateau compared to the tropical Indian Ocean
The correlation between Arctic sea ice, cloud phase and radiation using A-Train satellites
Impact of wildfire smoke on Arctic cirrus formation, part 1: analysis of MOSAiC 2019–2020 observations
Technical note: Retrieval of the supercooled liquid fraction in mixed-phase clouds from Himawari-8 observations
Characterisation of low-base and mid-base clouds and their thermodynamic phase over the Southern Ocean and Arctic marine regions
A survey of radiative and physical properties of North Atlantic mesoscale cloud morphologies from multiple identification methodologies
Extensive coverage of ultrathin tropical tropopause layer cirrus clouds revealed by balloon-borne lidar observations
The effects of warm-air intrusions in the high Arctic on cirrus clouds
The characteristics of cloud macro-parameters caused by the seeder–feeder process inside clouds measured by millimeter-wave cloud radar in Xi'an, China
Shallow- and deep-convection characteristics in the greater Houston, Texas, area using cell tracking methodology
Observations of the macrophysical properties of cumulus cloud fields over the tropical western Pacific and their connection to meteorological variables
A Lagrangian perspective on the lifecycle and cloud radiative effect of deep convective clouds over Africa
How does the lifetime of detrained cirrus impact the high cloud radiative effect in the tropics?
Daytime variation in the aerosol indirect effect for warm marine boundary layer clouds in the eastern North Atlantic
Technical note: Bimodal parameterizations of in situ ice cloud particle size distributions
Inter-relations of precipitation, aerosols, and clouds over Andalusia, southern Spain, revealed by the Andalusian Global ObseRvatory of the Atmosphere (AGORA)
On the relationship between mesoscale cellular convection and meteorological forcing: comparing the Southern Ocean against the North Pacific
Aerosol-related effects on the occurrence of heterogeneous ice formation over Lauder, New Zealand ∕ Aotearoa
Low-level Arctic clouds: a blind zone in our knowledge of the radiation budget
Climatologically invariant scale invariance seen in distributions of cloud horizontal sizes
Variability and properties of liquid-dominated clouds over the ice-free and sea-ice-covered Arctic Ocean
Asymmetries in cloud microphysical properties ascribed to sea ice leads via water vapour transport in the central Arctic
Quantifying the dependence of drop spectrum width on cloud drop number concentration for cloud remote sensing
The evolution of deep convective systems and their associated cirrus outflows
Wildfire smoke triggers cirrus formation: lidar observations over the eastern Mediterranean
Rapid saturation of cloud water adjustments to shipping emissions
Sensitivities of cloud radiative effects to large-scale meteorology and aerosols from global observations
Distinct secondary ice production processes observed in radar Doppler spectra: insights from a case study
Investigating the development of clouds within marine cold-air outbreaks
Detection of large-scale cloud microphysical changes within a major shipping corridor after implementation of the International Maritime Organization 2020 fuel sulfur regulations
Examining cloud vertical structure and radiative effects from satellite retrievals and evaluation of CMIP6 scenarios
Influence of cloud microphysics schemes on weather model predictions of heavy precipitation
Convective organization and 3D structure of tropical cloud systems deduced from synergistic A-Train observations and machine learning
Seasonal controls on isolated convective storm drafts, precipitation intensity, and life cycle as observed during GoAmazon2014/5
Uncertainty in aerosol–cloud radiative forcing is driven by clean conditions
Surface-based observations of cold-air outbreak clouds during the COMBLE field campaign
Boundary layer moisture variability at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Eastern North Atlantic observatory during marine conditions
Profile-based estimated inversion strength
Characteristics of supersaturation in midlatitude cirrus clouds and their adjacent cloud-free air
Establishment of an analytical model for remote sensing of typical stratocumulus cloud profiles under various precipitation and entrainment conditions
Cristina Gil-Díaz, Michäel Sicard, Odran Sourdeval, Athulya Saiprakash, Constantino Muñoz-Porcar, Adolfo Comerón, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, and Daniel Camilo Fortunato dos Santos Oliveira
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3445–3464, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3445-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3445-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of optical scattering properties and direct radiative effects of cirrus clouds based on 4 years of continuous ground-based lidar measurements with the Barcelona MPLNET lidar. A novel approach of the self-consistent scattering model for cirrus clouds is presented to determine their optical scattering properties at different wavelengths, and their direct radiative effects are calculated with the discrete ordinates method embedded in the ARTDECO package.
Tom Goren, Goutam Choudhury, Jan Kretzschmar, and Isabel McCoy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3413–3423, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3413-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3413-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Many studies have identified an inverted-V relationship between the liquid water path (LWP) and droplet concentration (Nd), where LWP increases and then decreases with Nd. Using satellite observations and meteorological data, we demonstrate that the inverted V primarily reflects co-variability between LWP and Nd. We suggest taking a holistic approach that considers this co-variability when assessing the climatological sensitivity of LWP to anthropogenic aerosols.
Chris J. Wright, Joel A. Thornton, Lyatt Jaeglé, Yang Cao, Yannian Zhu, Jihu Liu, Randall Jones II, Robert Holzworth, Daniel Rosenfeld, Robert Wood, Peter Blossey, and Daehyun Kim
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2937–2946, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2937-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2937-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol particles influence clouds, which exert a large forcing on solar radiation and freshwater. To better understand the mechanisms by which aerosol influences thunderstorms, we look at the two busiest shipping lanes in the world, where recent regulations have reduced sulfur emissions by nearly an order of magnitude. We find that the reduction in emissions has been accompanied by a dramatic decrease in both lightning and the number of droplets in clouds over the shipping lanes.
Andrea Kolínská, Ivana Kolmašová, Eric Defer, Ondřej Santolík, and Stéphane Pédeboy
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1791–1803, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1791-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1791-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We contribute to understanding differences in lightning flashes of opposite polarity by explaining distinct in-cloud processes after return strokes. Using data from multiple sensors, including individual Lightning Mapping Array stations, we reveal that positive flashes sustain strong high-frequency radiation due to the recharging of their in-cloud leader; this is in contrast to negative flashes, for which this activity declines rapidly.
Mengyuan Wang, Min Min, Jun Li, Han Lin, Yongen Liang, Binlong Chen, Zhigang Yao, Na Xu, and Miao Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 14239–14256, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14239-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14239-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Although machine learning technology is advanced in the field of satellite remote sensing, the physical inversion algorithm based on cloud base height can better capture the daily variation in the characteristics of the cloud base.
Zhenquan Wang and Jian Yuan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13811–13831, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13811-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13811-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical convection organizations are normally connected complexes of many convective activities. In this work, a novel variable-brightness-temperature segment tracking algorithm is established to partition the complex convective organizations into structural components of single cold cores for tracking separately. The duration, precipitation and anvil amount of the tracked organization segments have strong loglinear relationships with brightness temperature structures.
Anna Tippett, Edward Gryspeerdt, Peter Manshausen, Philip Stier, and Tristan W. P. Smith
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13269–13283, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13269-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13269-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ship emissions can form artificially brightened clouds, known as ship tracks, and provide us with an opportunity to investigate how aerosols interact with clouds. Previous studies that used ship tracks suggest that clouds can experience large increases in the amount of water (LWP) from aerosols. Here, we show that there is a bias in previous research and that, when we account for this bias, the LWP response to aerosols is much weaker than previously reported.
Armin Blanke, Mathias Gergely, and Silke Trömel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3336, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3336, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The area-wide radar-based distinction between riming and aggregation is crucial for model microphysics and data assimilation. This study introduces a discrimination algorithm based on polarimetric radar networks only. Exploiting the unique opportunity to link fall velocities from Doppler spectra to polarimetric variables in an operational setting enables us to set up and evaluate a well-performing machine learning algorithm.
Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomenech Treserras, Paloma Borque, and Mariko Oue
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2984, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2984, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Convective clouds are a key component of the climate system. Using remote sensing observations during two field experiments in Houston, Texas, we identify four diurnal patterns of shallow convective clouds. We find areas more frequently experiencing shallow convective clouds, and we find areas where the vertical extent of shallow convective clouds is higher and where they are more likely to precipitate. This provides insight into the complicated environment that forms these clouds in Houston.
Rebecca J. Murray-Watson and Edward Gryspeerdt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11115–11132, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11115-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11115-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The formation of mixed-phase clouds during marine cold-air outbreaks is not well understood. Our study, using satellite data and Lagrangian trajectories, reveals that the occurrence of these clouds depends on both time and temperature, influenced partly by the presence of biological ice-nucleating particles. This highlights the importance of comprehending local aerosol dynamics for precise modelling of cloud-phase transitions in the Arctic.
Yuxin Zhao, Jiming Li, Deyu Wen, Yarong Li, Yuan Wang, and Jianping Huang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 9435–9457, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9435-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9435-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study identifies deep convection systems (DCSs), including deep convection cores and anvils, over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and tropical Indian Ocean (TO). The DCSs over the TP are less frequent, showing narrower and thinner cores and anvils compared to those over the TO. TP DCSs show a stronger longwave cloud radiative effect at the surface and in the low-level atmosphere. Distinct aerosol–cloud–precipitation interaction is found in TP DCSs, probably due to the cold cloud bases.
Grégory V. Cesana, Olivia Pierpaoli, Matteo Ottaviani, Linh Vu, Zhonghai Jin, and Israel Silber
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7899–7909, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7899-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7899-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Better characterizing the relationship between sea ice and clouds is key to understanding Arctic climate because clouds and sea ice affect surface radiation and modulate Arctic surface warming. Our results indicate that Arctic liquid clouds robustly increase in response to sea ice decrease. This increase has a cooling effect on the surface because more solar radiation is reflected back to space, and it should contribute to dampening future Arctic surface warming.
Albert Ansmann, Cristofer Jimenez, Johanna Roschke, Johannes Bühl, Kevin Ohneiser, Ronny Engelmann, Martin Radenz, Hannes Griesche, Julian Hofer, Dietrich Althausen, Daniel A. Knopf, Sandro Dahlke, Tom Gaudek, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2008, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2008, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we focus on the potential impact of wildfire smoke on cirrus formation. For the first time, state-of-the-art aerosol and cirrus observations with lidar and radar, presented in part 1 of a series of two articles, are closely linked to comprehensive modeling of gravity-wave-induced ice nucleation in cirrus evolution processes, presented in part 2. We found a clear impact of wildfire smoke on cirrus evolution.
Ziming Wang, Husi Letu, Huazhe Shang, and Luca Bugliaro
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7559–7574, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7559-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7559-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The supercooled liquid fraction (SLF) in mixed-phase clouds is retrieved for the first time using passive geostationary satellite observations based on differences in liquid droplet and ice particle radiative properties. The retrieved results are comparable to global distributions observed by active instruments, and the feasibility of the retrieval method to analyze the observed trends of the SLF has been validated.
Barbara Dietel, Odran Sourdeval, and Corinna Hoose
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7359–7383, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7359-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7359-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Uncertainty with respect to cloud phases over the Southern Ocean and Arctic marine regions leads to large uncertainties in the radiation budget of weather and climate models. This study investigates the phases of low-base and mid-base clouds using satellite-based remote sensing data. A comprehensive analysis of the correlation of cloud phase with various parameters, such as temperature, aerosols, sea ice, vertical and horizontal cloud extent, and cloud radiative effect, is presented.
Ryan Eastman, Isabel L. McCoy, Hauke Schulz, and Robert Wood
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6613–6634, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6613-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cloud types are determined using machine learning image classifiers applied to satellite imagery for 1 year in the North Atlantic. This survey of these cloud types shows that the climate impact of a cloud scene is, in part, a function of cloud type. Each type displays a different mix of thick and thin cloud cover, with the fraction of thin cloud cover having the strongest impact on the clouds' radiative effect. Future studies must account for differing properties and processes among cloud types.
Thomas Lesigne, François Ravetta, Aurélien Podglajen, Vincent Mariage, and Jacques Pelon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5935–5952, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5935-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5935-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Upper tropical clouds have a strong impact on Earth's climate but are challenging to observe. We report the first long-duration observations of tropical clouds from lidars flying on board stratospheric balloons. Comparisons with spaceborne observations reveal the enhanced sensitivity of balloon-borne lidar to optically thin cirrus. These clouds, which have a significant coverage and lie in the uppermost troposphere, are linked with the dehydration of air masses on their way to the stratosphere.
Georgios Dekoutsidis, Martin Wirth, and Silke Groß
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5971–5987, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5971-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5971-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
For decades the earth's temperature has been rising. The Arctic regions are warming faster. Cirrus clouds can contribute to this phenomenon. During warm-air intrusions, air masses are transported into the Arctic from the mid-latitudes. The HALO-(AC)3 campaign took place to measure cirrus during intrusion events and under normal conditions. We study the two cloud types based on these measurements and find differences in their geometry, relative humidity distribution and vertical structure.
Huige Di and Yun Yuan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5783–5801, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5783-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5783-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We observed the seeder–feeder process among double-layer clouds using a cloud radar and microwave radiometer. By defining the parameters of the seeding depth and seeding time of the upper cloud affecting the lower cloud, we find that the cloud particle terminal velocity is significantly enhanced during the seeder–feeder period, and the lower the height and thinner the thickness of the height difference between double-layer clouds, the lower the height and thicker the thickness of seeding depth.
Kristofer S. Tuftedal, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, Mariko Oue, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5637–5657, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5637-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5637-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzed coastal convective cells from June through September 2018–2021. The cells were classified and their lifecycles were analyzed to better understand their characteristics. Features such as convective-core growth, for example, are shown. The study found differences in the initiation location of shallow convection and in the aerosol loading in deep convective environments. This work provides a foundation for future analyses of convection or other tracked events elsewhere.
Michie Vianca De Vera, Larry Di Girolamo, Guangyu Zhao, Robert M. Rauber, Stephen W. Nesbitt, and Greg M. McFarquhar
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5603–5623, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5603-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5603-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical oceanic low clouds remain a dominant source of uncertainty in cloud feedback in climate models due to their macrophysical properties (fraction, size, height, shape, distribution) being misrepresented. High-resolution satellite imagery over the Philippine oceans is used here to characterize cumulus macrophysical properties and their relationship to meteorological variables. Such information can act as a benchmark for cloud models and can improve low-cloud generation in climate models.
William K. Jones, Martin Stengel, and Philip Stier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5165–5180, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5165-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5165-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Storm clouds cover large areas of the tropics. These clouds both reflect incoming sunlight and trap heat from the atmosphere below, regulating the temperature of the tropics. Over land, storm clouds occur in the late afternoon and evening and so exist both during the daytime and at night. Changes in this timing could upset the balance of the respective cooling and heating effects of these clouds. We find that isolated storms have a larger effect on this balance than their small size suggests.
George Horner and Edward Gryspeerdt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1090, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1090, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work tracks the lifecycle of thin cirrus clouds that flow out of tropical convective storms. These cirrus clouds are found to have a warming effect on the atmosphere over their whole lifetime. Thin cirrus that originate from land origin convection warm more than those of ocean origin. Moreover, if the lifetime of these cirrus clouds increase, the warming they exert over their whole lifetime also increases. These results help us understand how these clouds might change in a future climate.
Shaoyue Qiu, Xue Zheng, David Painemal, Christopher R. Terai, and Xiaoli Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2913–2935, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2913-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2913-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The aerosol indirect effect (AIE) depends on cloud states, which exhibit significant diurnal variations in the northeastern Atlantic. Yet the AIE diurnal cycle remains poorly understood. Using satellite retrievals, we find a pronounced “U-shaped” diurnal variation in the AIE, which is contributed to by the transition of cloud states combined with the lagged cloud responses. This suggests that polar-orbiting satellites with overpass times at noon underestimate daytime mean values of the AIE.
Irene Bartolomé García, Odran Sourdeval, Reinhold Spang, and Martina Krämer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1699–1716, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1699-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1699-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
How many ice crystals of each size are in a cloud is a key parameter for the retrieval of cloud properties. The distribution of ice crystals is obtained from in situ measurements and used to create parameterizations that can be used when analyzing the remote-sensing data. Current parameterizations are based on data sets that do not include reliable measurements of small crystals, but in our study we use a data set that includes very small ice crystals to improve these parameterizations.
Wenyue Wang, Klemens Hocke, Leonardo Nania, Alberto Cazorla, Gloria Titos, Renaud Matthey, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Agustín Millares, and Francisco Navas-Guzmán
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1571–1585, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1571-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1571-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The south-central interior of Andalusia experiences complex precipitation patterns as a result of the semi-arid Mediterranean climate and the influence of Saharan dust. This study monitored the inter-relations between aerosols, clouds, meteorological variables, and precipitation systems using ground-based remote sensing and in situ instruments.
Francisco Lang, Steven T. Siems, Yi Huang, Tahereh Alinejadtabrizi, and Luis Ackermann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1451–1466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1451-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1451-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Marine low-level clouds play a crucial role in the Earth's energy balance, trapping heat from the surface and reflecting sunlight back into space. These clouds are distinguishable by their large-scale spatial structures, primarily characterized as hexagonal patterns with either filled (closed) or empty (open) cells. Utilizing satellite observations, these two cloud type patterns have been categorized over the Southern Ocean and North Pacific Ocean through a pattern recognition program.
Julian Hofer, Patric Seifert, J. Ben Liley, Martin Radenz, Osamu Uchino, Isamu Morino, Tetsu Sakai, Tomohiro Nagai, and Albert Ansmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1265–1280, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1265-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1265-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
An 11-year dataset of polarization lidar observations from Lauder, New Zealand / Aotearoa, was used to distinguish the thermodynamic phase of natural clouds. The cloud dataset was separated to assess the impact of air mass origin on the frequency of heterogeneous ice formation. Ice formation efficiency in clouds above Lauder was found to be lower than in the polluted Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes but higher than in very clean and pristine environments, such as Punta Arenas in southern Chile.
Hannes Jascha Griesche, Carola Barrientos-Velasco, Hartwig Deneke, Anja Hünerbein, Patric Seifert, and Andreas Macke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 597–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-597-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-597-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Arctic is strongly affected by climate change and the role of clouds therein is not yet completely understood. Measurements from the Arctic expedition PS106 were used to simulate radiative fluxes with and without clouds at very low altitudes (below 165 m), and their radiative effect was calculated to be 54 Wm-2. The low heights of these clouds make them hard to observe. This study shows the importance of accurate measurements and simulations of clouds and gives suggestions for improvements.
Thomas D. DeWitt, Timothy J. Garrett, Karlie N. Rees, Corey Bois, Steven K. Krueger, and Nicolas Ferlay
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 109–122, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-109-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-109-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Viewed from space, a defining feature of Earth's atmosphere is the wide spectrum of cloud sizes. A recent study predicted the distribution of cloud sizes, and this paper compares the prediction to observations. Although there is nuance in viewing perspective, we find robust agreement with theory across different climatological conditions, including land–ocean contrasts, time of year, or latitude, suggesting a minor role for Coriolis forces, aerosol loading, or surface temperature.
Marcus Klingebiel, André Ehrlich, Elena Ruiz-Donoso, Nils Risse, Imke Schirmacher, Evelyn Jäkel, Michael Schäfer, Kevin Wolf, Mario Mech, Manuel Moser, Christiane Voigt, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15289–15304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15289-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15289-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we explain how we use aircraft measurements from two Arctic research campaigns to identify cloud properties (like droplet size) over sea-ice and ice-free ocean. To make sure that our measurements make sense, we compare them with other observations. Our results show, e.g., larger cloud droplets in early summer than in spring. Moreover, the cloud droplets are also larger over ice-free ocean than compared to sea ice. In the future, our data can be used to improve climate models.
Pablo Saavedra Garfias, Heike Kalesse-Los, Luisa von Albedyll, Hannes Griesche, and Gunnar Spreen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14521–14546, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14521-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14521-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
An important Arctic climate process is the release of heat fluxes from sea ice openings to the atmosphere that influence the clouds. The characterization of this process is the objective of this study. Using synergistic observations from the MOSAiC expedition, we found that single-layer cloud properties show significant differences when clouds are coupled or decoupled to the water vapour transport which is used as physical link between the upwind sea ice openings and the cloud under observation.
Matthew D. Lebsock and Mikael Witte
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14293–14305, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14293-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14293-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper evaluates measurements of cloud drop size distributions made from airplanes. We find that as the number of cloud drops increases the distribution of the cloud drop sizes narrows. The data are used to develop a simple equation that relates the drop number to the width of the drop sizes. We then use this equation to demonstrate that existing approaches to observe the drop number from satellites contain errors that can be corrected by including the new relationship.
George Horner and Edward Gryspeerdt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14239–14253, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14239-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14239-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Tropical deep convective clouds, and the thin cirrus (ice) clouds that flow out from them, are important for modulating the energy budget of the tropical atmosphere. This work uses a new method to track the evolution of the properties of these clouds across their entire lifetimes. We find these clouds cool the atmosphere in the first 6 h before switching to a warming regime after the deep convective core has dissipated, which is sustained beyond 120 h from the initial convective event.
Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Albert Ansmann, Kevin Ohneiser, Daniel A. Knopf, Argyro Nisantzi, Johannes Bühl, Ronny Engelmann, Annett Skupin, Patric Seifert, Holger Baars, Dragos Ene, Ulla Wandinger, and Diofantos Hadjimitsis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14097–14114, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14097-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14097-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
For the first time, rather clear evidence is found that wildfire smoke particles can trigger strong cirrus formation. This finding is of importance because intensive and large wildfires may occur increasingly often in the future as climate change proceeds. Based on lidar observations in Cyprus in autumn 2020, we provide detailed insight into the cirrus formation at the tropopause in the presence of aged wildfire smoke (here, 8–9 day old Californian wildfire smoke).
Peter Manshausen, Duncan Watson-Parris, Matthew W. Christensen, Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen, and Philip Stier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12545–12555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12545-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12545-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Aerosol from burning fuel changes cloud properties, e.g., the number of droplets and the content of water. Here, we study how clouds respond to different amounts of shipping aerosol. Droplet numbers increase linearly with increasing aerosol over a broad range until they stop increasing, while the amount of liquid water always increases, independently of emission amount. These changes in cloud properties can make them reflect more or less sunlight, which is important for the earth's climate.
Hendrik Andersen, Jan Cermak, Alyson Douglas, Timothy A. Myers, Peer Nowack, Philip Stier, Casey J. Wall, and Sarah Wilson Kemsley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10775–10794, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10775-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10775-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses an observation-based cloud-controlling factor framework to study near-global sensitivities of cloud radiative effects to a large number of meteorological and aerosol controls. We present near-global sensitivity patterns to selected thermodynamic, dynamic, and aerosol factors and discuss the physical mechanisms underlying the derived sensitivities. Our study hopes to guide future analyses aimed at constraining cloud feedbacks and aerosol–cloud interactions.
Anne-Claire Billault-Roux, Paraskevi Georgakaki, Josué Gehring, Louis Jaffeux, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Pierre Coutris, Athanasios Nenes, and Alexis Berne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10207–10234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10207-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Secondary ice production plays a key role in clouds and precipitation. In this study, we analyze radar measurements from a snowfall event in the Jura Mountains. Complex signatures are observed, which reveal that ice crystals were formed through various processes. An analysis of multi-sensor data suggests that distinct ice multiplication processes were taking place. Both the methods used and the insights gained through this case study contribute to a better understanding of snowfall microphysics.
Rebecca J. Murray-Watson, Edward Gryspeerdt, and Tom Goren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9365–9383, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9365-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9365-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds formed in Arctic marine cold air outbreaks undergo a distinct evolution, but the factors controlling their transition from high-coverage to broken cloud fields are poorly understood. We use satellite and reanalysis data to study how these clouds develop in time and the different influences on their evolution. The aerosol concentration is correlated with cloud break-up; more aerosol is linked to prolonged coverage and a stronger cooling effect, with implications for a more polluted Arctic.
Michael S. Diamond
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8259–8269, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8259-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8259-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Fuel sulfur regulations were implemented for ships in 2020 to improve air quality but may also accelerate global warming. We use spatial statistics and satellite retrievals to detect changes in the size of cloud droplets and find evidence for a resulting decrease in cloud brightness within a major shipping corridor after the sulfur limits went into effect. Our results confirm both that the regulations are being followed and that they are having a warming influence via their effect on clouds.
Hao Luo, Johannes Quaas, and Yong Han
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8169–8186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8169-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Clouds exhibit a wide range of vertical structures with varying microphysical and radiative properties. We show a global survey of spatial distribution, vertical extent and radiative effect of various classified cloud vertical structures using joint satellite observations from the new CCCM datasets during 2007–2010. Moreover, the long-term trends in CVSs are investigated based on different CMIP6 future scenarios to capture the cloud variations with different, increasing anthropogenic forcings.
Gregor Köcher, Tobias Zinner, and Christoph Knote
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6255–6269, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6255-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6255-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Polarimetric radar observations of 30 d of convective precipitation events are used to statistically analyze 5 state-of-the-art microphysics schemes of varying complexity. The frequency and area of simulated heavy-precipitation events are in some cases significantly different from those observed, depending on the microphysics scheme. Analysis of simulated particle size distributions and reflectivities shows that some schemes have problems reproducing the correct particle size distributions.
Claudia J. Stubenrauch, Giulio Mandorli, and Elisabeth Lemaitre
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5867–5884, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5867-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5867-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Organized convection leads to large convective cloud systems and intense rain and may change with a warming climate. Their complete 3D description, attained by machine learning techniques in combination with various satellite observations, together with a cloud system concept, link convection to anvil properties, while convective organization can be identified by the horizontal structure of intense rain.
Scott E. Giangrande, Thiago S. Biscaro, and John M. Peters
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5297–5316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5297-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5297-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Our study tracks thunderstorms observed during the wet and dry seasons of the Amazon Basin using weather radar. We couple this precipitation tracking with opportunistic overpasses of a wind profiler and other ground observations to add unique insights into the upwards and downwards air motions within these clouds at various stages in the storm life cycle. The results of a simple updraft model are provided to give physical explanations for observed seasonal differences.
Edward Gryspeerdt, Adam C. Povey, Roy G. Grainger, Otto Hasekamp, N. Christina Hsu, Jane P. Mulcahy, Andrew M. Sayer, and Armin Sorooshian
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4115–4122, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4115-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4115-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The impact of aerosols on clouds is one of the largest uncertainties in the human forcing of the climate. Aerosol can increase the concentrations of droplets in clouds, but observational and model studies produce widely varying estimates of this effect. We show that these estimates can be reconciled if only polluted clouds are studied, but this is insufficient to constrain the climate impact of aerosol. The uncertainty in aerosol impact on clouds is currently driven by cases with little aerosol.
Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Zeen Zhu, and Edward P. Luke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3561–3574, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3561-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3561-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cold-air outbreaks (when cold air is advected over warm water and creates low-level convection) are a dominant cloud regime in the Arctic, and we capitalized on ground-based observations, which did not previously exist, from the COMBLE field campaign to study them. We characterized the extent and strength of the convection and turbulence and found evidence of secondary ice production. This information is useful for model intercomparison studies that will represent cold-air outbreak processes.
Maria P. Cadeddu, Virendra P. Ghate, David D. Turner, and Thomas E. Surleta
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3453–3470, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3453-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3453-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We analyze the variability in marine boundary layer moisture at the Eastern North Atlantic site on a monthly and daily temporal scale and examine its fundamental role in the control of boundary layer cloudiness and precipitation. The study also highlights the complex interaction between large-scale and local processes controlling the boundary layer moisture and the importance of the mesoscale spatial distribution of vapor to support convection and precipitation.
Zhenquan Wang, Jian Yuan, Robert Wood, Yifan Chen, and Tiancheng Tong
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3247–3266, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3247-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study develops a novel profile-based algorithm based on the ERA5 to estimate the inversion strength in the planetary boundary layer better than the previous inversion index, which is a key low-cloud-controlling factor. This improved measure is more effective at representing the meteorological influence on low-cloud variations. It can better constrain the meteorological influence on low clouds to better isolate cloud responses to aerosols or to estimate low cloud feedbacks in climate models.
Georgios Dekoutsidis, Silke Groß, Martin Wirth, Martina Krämer, and Christian Rolf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3103–3117, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3103-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3103-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cirrus clouds affect Earth's atmosphere, deeming our study important. Here we use water vapor measurements by lidar and study the relative humidity (RHi) within and around midlatitude cirrus clouds. We find high supersaturations in the cloud-free air and within the clouds, especially near the cloud top. We study two cloud types with different formation processes. Finally, we conclude that the shape of the distribution of RHi can be used as an indicator of different cloud evolutionary stages.
Huazhe Shang, Souichiro Hioki, Guillaume Penide, Céline Cornet, Husi Letu, and Jérôme Riedi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2729–2746, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2729-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2729-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We find that cloud profiles can be divided into four prominent patterns, and the frequency of these four patterns is related to intensities of cloud-top entrainment and precipitation. Based on these analyses, we further propose a cloud profile parameterization scheme allowing us to represent these patterns. Our results shed light on how to facilitate the representation of cloud profiles and how to link them to cloud entrainment or precipitating status in future remote-sensing applications.
Cited articles
Ackerman, A. S., Toon, O. B., Taylor, J. P., Johnson, D. W., Hobbs, P. V.,
and Ferek, R. J.: Effects of Aerosols on Cloud Albedo: Evaluation of Twomey's
Parameterization of Cloud Susceptibility Using Measurements of Ship Tracks,
J. Atmos. Sci., 57, 2684–2695,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2000)057<2684:EOAOCA>2.0.CO;2,
2000.
Ahmad, I., Mielonen, T., Grosvenor, D., Portin, H., Arola, A., Mikkonen, S.,
Kühn, T., Leskinen, A., Juotsensaari, J., Komppula, M., Lehtinen, K.,
Laaksonen, A., and Romakkaniemi, S.: Long-term measurements of cloud droplet
concentrations and aerosol-cloud interactions in continental boundary layer
clouds, Tellus B, 65, 20138, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v65i0.20138,
2013.
Albrecht, B. A., Fairall, C. W., Thomson, D. W., White, A. B., Snider, J. B.,
and Schubert, W. H.: Surface-based remote sensing of the observed and the
Adiabatic liquid water content of stratocumulus clouds, Geophys. Res. Lett.,
17, 89–92, https://doi.org/10.1029/GL017i001p00089, 1990.
Baker, M. B., Blyth, A. M., Carruthers, D. J., Choularton, T. W., Fullarton,
G., Gay, M. J., Latham, J., Mill, C. S., Smith, M. H., Stromberg, I. M.,
Caughey, S. J., and Conway, B. J.: Field studies of the effect of entrainment
upon the structure of clouds at Great Dun Fell, Q. J.
Roy. Meteor. Soc., 108, 899–916, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49710845810,
1982.
Battan, L. J.: Radar observation of the atmosphere, University of Chicago
Press, 1973.
Bennartz, R.: Global assessment of marine boundary layer cloud droplet number
concentration from satellite, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos.,
112, D02201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007547,
2007.
Boers, R., Russchenberg, H., Erkelens, J., Venema, V., van Lammeren, A.,
Apituley, A., and Jongen, S.: Ground-Based Remote Sensing of Stratocumulus
Properties during CLARA, 1996, J. Appl. Meteorol., 39, 169–181,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2000)039<0169:GBRSOS>2.0.CO;2,
2000.
Boers, R., Acarreta, J. R., and Gras, J. L.: Satellite monitoring of the
first
indirect aerosol effect: Retrieval of the droplet concentration of water
clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D22208,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006838, 2006.
Boucher, O., Randall, D., Artaxo, P., Bretherton, C., Feingold, G., Forster,
P., Kerminen, V.-M., Kondo, Y., Liao, H., Lohmann, U., Rasch, P., Satheesh,
S. K., Sherwood, S., Stevens, B., and Zhang, X. Y.: Clouds and Aerosols, in:
Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working
Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, edited by: Stocker, T. F., Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor,
M., Allen, S. K., Boschung, J., Nauels, A., Xia, Y., Bex, V., and Midgley, P.
M., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY,
USA, 2013.
Brandau, C., Russchenberg, H., and Knap, W.: Evaluation of ground-based
remotely sensed liquid water cloud properties using shortwave radiation
measurements, Atmos. Res., 96, 366–377,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2010.01.009, 2010.
Brenguier, J.-L., Pawlowska, H., Schüller, L., Preusker, R., Fischer, J.,
and Fouquart, Y.: Radiative Properties of Boundary Layer Clouds: Droplet
Effective Radius versus Number Concentration, J. Atmos.
Sci., 57, 803–821,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2000)057<0803:RPOBLC>2.0.CO;2,
2000.
Brenguier, J.-L., Burnet, F., and Geoffroy, O.: Cloud optical thickness and
liquid water path – does the k coefficient vary with droplet
concentration?, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 9771–9786,
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-9771-2011, 2011.
Bréon, F.-M., Tanré, D., and Generoso, S.: Aerosol Effect on Cloud
Droplet Size Monitored from Satellite, Science, 295, 834–838,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1066434,
2002.
Cahalan, R. F., Ridgway, W., Wiscombe, W. J., Bell, T. L., and Snider, J. B.:
The Albedo of Fractal Stratocumulus Clouds, J. Atmos.
Sci., 51, 2434–2455,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1994)051<2434:TAOFSC>2.0.CO;2,
1994.
Christensen, M. W. and Stephens, G. L.: Microphysical and macrophysical
responses of marine stratocumulus polluted by underlying ships: Evidence of
cloud deepening, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, D03201,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014638, 2011.
Deneke, H., Knap, W., and Simmer, C.: Multiresolution analysis of the
temporal variance and correlation of transmittance and reflectance of an
atmospheric column, J. Geophys. Res., 114, D17206,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD011680, 2009.
Derrien, M.: Algorithm theoretical basis document for cloud products
(cma-pge01 v3.2, ct-pge02 v2.2, ctth-pge03 v2.2), Tech. rep., SAFNWC, 2012.
Derrien, M., Gléau, H., Daloze, J.-F., and Haeffelin, M.: Validation of
SAFNWC/MSG cloud products with one year of SEVIRI data, in: 2005 EUMETSAT
Meteorological Satellite Conference, pp. 95–103, 2005.
Dong, X., Ackerman, T. P., Clothiaux, E. E., Pilewskie, P., and Han, Y.:
Microphysical and radiative properties of boundary layer stratiform clouds
deduced from ground-based measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 102, 23829–23843, https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD02119, 1997.
Dong, X., Mace, G. G., Minnis, P., Smith, W. L., Poellot, M., Marchand,
R. T., and Rapp, A. D.: Comparison of Stratus Cloud Properties Deduced from
Surface, GOES, and Aircraft Data during the March 2000 ARM Cloud IOP, J.
Atmos. Sci., 59, 3265–3284,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2002)059<3265:COSCPD>2.0.CO;2,
2002.
Feingold, G., Eberhard, W. L., Veron, D. E., and Previdi, M.: First
measurements of the Twomey indirect effect using ground-based remote sensors,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1287, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL016633, 2003.
Fielding, M. D., Chiu, J. C., Hogan, R. J., and Feingold, G.: A novel
ensemble method for retrieving properties of warm cloud in 3-D using
ground-based scanning radar and zenith radiances, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos.,
119, 10912–10930, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021742, 2014.
Fischer, J., Cordes, W., Schmitz-Peiffer, A., Renger, W., and Mörl, P.:
Detection of Cloud-Top Height from Backscattered Radiances within the Oxygen
A Band. Part 2: Measurements, J. Appl. Meteorol., 30, 1260–1267,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1991)030<1260:DOCTHF>2.0.CO;2,
1991.
Flentje, H., Heese, B., Reichardt, J., and Thomas, W.: Aerosol profiling
using the ceilometer network of the German Meteorological Service, Atmos.
Meas. Tech. Discuss., 3, 3643–3673, https://doi.org/10.5194/amtd-3-3643-2010, 2010.
Fox, N. I. and Illingworth, A. J.: The Retrieval of Stratocumulus Cloud
Properties by Ground-Based Cloud Radar, J. Appl. Meteorol., 36,
485–492, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1997)036<0485:TROSCP>2.0.CO;2,
1997.
Frisch, A. S., Fairall, C. W., and Snider, J. B.: Measurement of Stratus
Cloud
and Drizzle Parameters in ASTEX with a Ka-Band Doppler Radar and a Microwave
Radiometer, J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 2788–2799,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1995)052<2788:MOSCAD>2.0.CO;2,
1995.
Frisch, S., Shupe, M., Djalalova, I., Feingold, G., and Poellot, M.: The
Retrieval of Stratus Cloud Droplet Effective Radius with Cloud Radars,
J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 19, 835–842,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2002)019<0835:TROSCD>2.0.CO;2,
2002.
George, R. C. and Wood, R.: Subseasonal variability of low cloud radiative
properties over the southeast Pacific Ocean, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10,
4047–4063, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-4047-2010, 2010.
Greuell, W. and Roebeling, R. A.: Toward a Standard Procedure for Validation
of Satellite-Derived Cloud Liquid Water Path: A Study with SEVIRI Data, J.
Appl. Meteorol. Clim., 48, 1575–1590,
https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JAMC2112.1, 2009.
Han, Q., Rossow, W. B., and Lacis, A. A.: Near-Global Survey of Effective
Droplet Radii in Liquid Water Clouds Using ISCCP Data, J. Climate, 7,
465–497, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1994)007<0465:NGSOED>2.0.CO;2,
1994.
Han, Q., Rossow, W. B., Chou, J., and Welch, R. M.: Global variation of
column
droplet concentration in low-level clouds, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25,
1419–1422, https://doi.org/10.1029/98GL01095, 1998.
Hansen, J. E. and Travis, L. D.: Light scattering in planetary atmospheres,
Space Sci. Rev., 16, 527–610, 1974.
Illingworth, A. J., Hogan, R. J., O'Connor, E. J., Bouniol, D., Brooks, M.
E., Delanoë, J., Donovan, D. P., Eastment, J. D., Gaussiat, N., Goddard,
J. W. F., Haeffelin, M., Klein Baltink, H., Krasnov,O. A., Pelon, J., Piriou,
J.-M., Protat, A., Russchenberg, H. W. J., Seifert, A., Tompkins, A. M., Van
Zadelhoff, G.-J., Vinit, F., Willén, U., Wilson, D. R., and Wrench, C.
L.: Cloudnet:
Continuous evaluation of cloud profiles in seven operational models using
ground-based observations, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc.,
88, 883–898, 2007.
Janssen, R. H. H., Ganzeveld, L. N., Kabat, P., Kulmala, M., Nieminen, T.,
and Roebeling, R. A.: Estimating seasonal variations in cloud droplet number
concentration over the boreal forest from satellite observations, Atmos.
Chem. Phys., 11, 7701–7713, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-7701-2011, 2011.
Kim, B.-G., Miller, M. A., Schwartz, S. E., Liu, Y., and Min, Q.: The role of
adiabaticity in the aerosol first indirect effect, J. Geophys.
Res.-Atmos., 113, D05210, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD008961, 2008.
King, N. J., Bower, K. N., Crosier, J., and Crawford, I.: Evaluating MODIS
cloud retrievals with in situ observations from VOCALS-REx, Atmos. Chem.
Phys., 13, 191–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-191-2013, 2013.
Krzywinski, M. and Altman, N.: Points of Significance: Visualizing samples
with box plots, Nat. Meth., 11, 119–120, 2014.
Lehmann, K., Siebert, H., and Shaw, R. A.: Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous
Mixing in Cumulus Clouds: Dependence on Local Turbulence Structure, J. Atmos.
Sci., 66, 3641–3659, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JAS3012.1, 2009.
Loeb, N. G. and Coakley, J. A.: Inference of Marine Stratus Cloud Optical
Depths from Satellite Measurements: Does 1D Theory Apply?, J.
Climate, 11, 215–233, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1998)011<0215:IOMSCO>2.0.CO;2,
1998.
Löhnert, U., Crewell, S., Simmer, C., and Macke, A.: Profiling Cloud
Liquid
Water by Combining Active and Passive Microwave Measurements with Cloud Model
Statistics, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 18, 1354–1366,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2001)018<1354:PCLWBC>2.0.CO;2,
2001.
Löhnert, U., Feingold, G., Uttal, T., Frisch, A. S., and Shupe, M. D.:
Analysis of two independent methods for retrieving liquid water profiles in
spring and summer Arctic boundary clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, 4219, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002861, 2003.
Mace, G. G. and Sassen, K.: A constrained algorithm for retrieval of
stratocumulus cloud properties using solar radiation, microwave radiometer,
and millimeter cloud radar data, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 105, 29099–29108, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900403, 2000.
Marshak, A., Platnick, S., Várnai, T., Wen, G., and Cahalan, R. F.:
Impact of three-dimensional radiative effects on satellite retrievals of
cloud
droplet sizes, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, d09207,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006686, 2006.
Martin, G. M., Johnson, D. W., and Spice, A.: The Measurement and
Parameterization of Effective Radius of Droplets in Warm Stratocumulus
Clouds, J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 1823–1842,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1994)051<1823:TMAPOE>2.0.CO;2,
1994.
Martucci, G. and O'Dowd, C. D.: Ground-based retrieval of continental and
marine warm cloud microphysics, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 4, 2749–2765,
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-4-2749-2011, 2011.
Martucci, G., Milroy, C., and O'Dowd, C. D.: Detection of Cloud-Base Height
Using Jenoptik CHM15K and Vaisala CL31 Ceilometers, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 27, 305–318, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHA1326.1, 2010.
McComiskey, A. and Feingold, G.: The scale problem in quantifying aerosol
indirect effects, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 1031–1049,
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-1031-2012, 2012.
Meerkötter, R. and Bugliaro, L.: Diurnal evolution of cloud base heights
in convective cloud fields from MSG/SEVIRI data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9,
1767–1778, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-1767-2009, 2009.
Meerkötter, R. and Zinner, T.: Satellite remote sensing of cloud base
height for convective cloud fields: A case study, Geophys. Res.
Lett., 34, L17805, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL030347, 2007.
Miles, N. L., Verlinde, J., and Clothiaux, E. E.: Cloud Droplet Size
Distributions in Low-Level Stratiform Clouds, J. Atmos.
Sci., 57, 295–311,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2000)057<0295:CDSDIL>2.0.CO;2,
2000.
Miller, M. A., Jensen, M. P., and Clothiaux, E. E.: Diurnal Cloud and
Thermodynamic Variations in the Stratocumulus Transition Regime: A Case Study
Using In Situ and Remote Sensors, J. Atmos. Sci., 55,
2294–2310, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055<2294:DCATVI>2.0.CO;2,
1998.
Min, Q. and Duan, M.: Simultaneously retrieving cloud optical depth and
effective radius for optically thin clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 110, d21201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006136, 2005.
Min, Q., Joseph, E., Lin, Y., Min, L., Yin, B., Daum, P. H., Kleinman, L. I.,
Wang, J., and Lee, Y.-N.: Comparison of MODIS cloud microphysical properties
with in-situ measurements over the Southeast Pacific, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12,
11261–11273, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11261-2012, 2012.
Nakajima, T. and King, M. D.: Determination of the Optical Thickness and
Effective Particle Radius of Clouds from Reflected Solar Radiation
Measurements. Part I: Theory, J. Atmos. Sci., 47,
1878–1893, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1990)047<1878:DOTOTA>2.0.CO;2,
1990.
Painemal, D. and Zuidema, P.: Microphysical variability in southeast Pacific
Stratocumulus clouds: synoptic conditions and radiative response, Atmos.
Chem. Phys., 10, 6255–6269, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-6255-2010, 2010.
Painemal, D. and Zuidema, P.: Assessment of MODIS cloud effective radius and
optical thickness retrievals over the Southeast Pacific with VOCALS-REx in
situ measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, D24206,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016155, 2011.
Painemal, D. and Zuidema, P.: The first aerosol indirect effect quantified
through airborne remote sensing during VOCALS-REx, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13,
917–931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-917-2013, 2013.
Pawlowska, H., Brenguier, J., and Burnet, F.: Microphysical properties of
stratocumulus clouds, Atmos. Res., 55, 15–33,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-8095(00)00054-5,
2000.
Pawlowska, H., Grabowski, W. W., and Brenguier, J.-L.: Observations of the
width of cloud droplet spectra in stratocumulus, Geophys. Res.
Lett., 33, l19810, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026841, 2006.
Petty, G. W. and Huang, W.: The Modified Gamma Size Distribution Applied to
Inhomogeneous and Nonspherical Particles: Key Relationships and Conversions,
J. Atmos. Sci., 68, 1460–1473,
https://doi.org/10.1175/2011JAS3645.1, 2011.
Platnick, S.: Vertical photon transport in cloud remote sensing problems,
J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 105, 22919–22935,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900333, 2000.
Platnick, S. and Valero, F. P. J.: A Validation of a Satellite Cloud
Retrieval
during ASTEX, J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 2985–3001,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1995)052<2985:AVOASC>2.0.CO;2,
1995.
Platnick, S., King, M. D., Ackerman, S. A., Menzel, W. P., Baum, B. A.,
Riédi, J. C., and Frey, R. A.: The MODIS cloud products: Algorithms and
examples from Terra, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 41,
459–473, 2003.
Quaas, J., Boucher, O., and Lohmann, U.: Constraining the total aerosol
indirect effect in the LMDZ and ECHAM4 GCMs using MODIS satellite data,
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 947–955, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-947-2006, 2006.
Quaas, J., Boucher, O., Bellouin, N., and Kinne, S.: Satellite-based estimate
of the direct and indirect aerosol climate forcing, J. Geophys.
Res.-Atmos., 113, D05204, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD008962, 2008.
Rémillard, J., Kollias, P., and Szyrmer, W.: Radar-radiometer retrievals
of cloud number concentration and dispersion parameter in nondrizzling marine
stratocumulus, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1817–1828,
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1817-2013, 2013.
Roebeling, R. A., Feijt, A. J., and Stammes, P.: Cloud property retrievals
for
climate monitoring: Implications of differences between Spinning Enhanced
Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on METEOSAT-8 and Advanced Very High
Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on NOAA-17, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D20210, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006990, 2006.
Roebeling, R. A., Placidi, S., Donovan, D., Russchenberg, H., and Feijt, A.:
Validation of liquid cloud property retrievals from SEVIRI using ground-based
observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L05814, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032115, 2008a.
Roebeling, R. A., Deneke, H. M., and Feijt, A. J.: Validation of Cloud Liquid
Water Path Retrievals from SEVIRI Using One Year of CloudNET Observations,
J. Appl. Meteorol. Clim., 47, 206–222,
https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAMC1661.1, 2008b.
Rosenfeld, D., Wang, H., and Rasch, P. J.: The roles of cloud drop effective
radius and LWP in determining rain properties in marine stratocumulus,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L13801, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL052028, 2012.
Saunders, R., Matricardi, M., and Brunel, P.: An improved fast radiative
transfer model for assimilation of satellite radiance observations, Q.
J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 125, 1407–1425,
https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.1999.49712555615, 1999.
Schmetz, J., Pili, P., Tjemkes, S., Just, D., Kerkmann, J., Rota, S., and
Ratier, A.: An introduction to Meteosat Second Generation (MSG), B. Am. Meteorol. Soc.,
83, 977–992, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(2002)083<0977:AITMSG>2.3.CO;2,
2002.
Schmidt, J., Ansmann, A., Bühl, J., Baars, H., Wandinger, U., Müller,
D., and Malinka, A. V.: Dual-FOV Raman and Doppler lidar studies of
aerosol-cloud interactions: Simultaneous profiling of aerosols, warm-cloud
properties, and vertical wind, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos.,
119, 5512–5527, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020424, 2014.
Schueller, L., Brenguier, J.-L., and Pawlowska, H.: Retrieval of
microphysical,
geometrical, and radiative properties of marine stratocumulus from remote
sensing, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 8631, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002680, 2003.
Schüller, L., Bennartz, R., Fischer, J., and Brenguier, J.-L.: An
Algorithm
for the Retrieval of Droplet Number Concentration and Geometrical Thickness
of Stratiform Marine Boundary Layer Clouds Applied to MODIS Radiometric
Observations, J. Appl. Meteorol., 44, 28–38,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAM-2185.1, 2005.
Schulz, J., Albert, P., Behr, H.-D., Caprion, D., Deneke, H., Dewitte, S.,
Dürr, B., Fuchs, P., Gratzki, A., Hechler, P., Hollmann, R., Johnston,
S., Karlsson, K.-G., Manninen, T., Müller, R., Reuter, M., Riihelä,
A., Roebeling, R., Selbach, N., Tetzlaff, A., Thomas, W., Werscheck, M.,
Wolters, E., and Zelenka, A.: Operational climate monitoring from space: the
EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM-SAF),
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 1687–1709, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-1687-2009, 2009.
Shupe, M. D.: A ground-based multisensor cloud phase classifier, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 34, L22809, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL031008, 2007.
Stephens, G. L., Vane, D. G., Boain, R. J., Mace, G. G., Sassen, K., Wang,
Z., Illingworth, A. J., O'Connor, E. J., Rossow, W. B., Durden, S. L.,
Miller, S. D., Austin, R. T., Benedetti, A., Mitrescu, C., and CloudSat
Science Team, T.: THE CLOUDSAT MISSION AND THE A-TRAIN, B. Am.
Meteorol. Soc., 83, 1771–1790, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-83-12-1771, 2002.
Stuhlmann, R., Rodriguez, A., Tjemkes, S., Grandell, J., Arriaga, A.,
Bézy, J.-L., Aminou, D., and Bensi, P.: Plans for EUMETSAT's Third
Generation
Meteosat geostationary satellite programme, Adv. Space Res., 36,
975–981, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2005.03.091, 2005.
Szczodrak, M., Austin, P. H., and Krummel, P. B.: Variability of Optical
Depth
and Effective Radius in Marine Stratocumulus Clouds, J.
Atmos. Sci., 58, 2912–2926,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(2001)058<2912:VOODAE>2.0.CO;2,
2001.
Turner, D. D., Vogelmann, A. M., Johnson, K., Miller, M., Austin, R. T.,
Barnard, J. C., Flynn, C., Long, C., McFarlane, S. A., Cady-Pereira, K.,
Clough, S. A., Chiu, J. C., Khaiyer, M. M., Liljegren, J., Lin, B., Minnis,
P., Marshak, A., Matrosov, S. Y., Min, Q., O'Hirok, W., Wang, Z., and
Wiscombe, W.: Thin Liquid Water Clouds: Their Importance and Our Challenge,
B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 88, 177–190,
https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-88-2-177, 2007.
Twomey, S.: Pollution and the planetary albedo, Atmos. Environ.,
8, 1251–1256, https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-6981(74)90004-3,
1974.
Wang, L., Qu, J. J., Xiong, X., Hao, X., Xie, Y., and Che, N.: A New Method
for Retrieving Band 6 of Aqua MODIS, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote Sens., 3, 267,
https://doi.org/10.1109/LGRS.2006.869966, 2006.
Warner, J.: The Water Content of Cumuliform Cloud, Tellus, 7, 449–457,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2153-3490.1955.tb01183.x, 1955.
Winker, D. M., Vaughan, M. A., Omar, A., Hu, Y., Powell, K. A., Liu, Z.,
Hunt,
W. H., and Young, S. A.: Overview of the CALIPSO Mission and CALIOP Data
Processing Algorithms, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 26,
2310–2323, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHA1281.1, 2009.
Wood, R.: Relationships between optical depth, liquid water path, droplet
concentration, and effective radius in adiabatic layer cloud, University of
Washington, 3, 2006.
Yang, Y., Marshak, A., Mao, J., Lyapustin, A., and Herman, J.: A method of
retrieving cloud top height and cloud geometrical thickness with oxygen A and
B bands for the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission: Radiative
transfer simulations, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Ra., 122, 141–149,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2012.09.017, 2013.
Zeng, S., Riedi, J., Trepte, C. R., Winker, D. M., and Hu, Y.-X.: Study of
global cloud droplet number concentration with A-Train satellites, Atmos.
Chem. Phys., 14, 7125–7134, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7125-2014, 2014.
Zinner, T. and Mayer, B.: Remote sensing of stratocumulus clouds:
Uncertainties and biases due to inhomogeneity, J. Geophys. Res., 111,
D14209, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006955, 2006.
Short summary
A 2-year data set is analyzed to evaluate the consistency and limitations of current ground-based and satellite-retrieved cloud property data sets. We demonstrate that neither the assumption of a completely adiabatic cloud nor the assumption of a constant sub-adiabatic factor is fulfilled. As cloud adiabaticity is required to estimate the cloud droplet number concentration, but is not available from passive satellite observations, we need an independent method to estimate the adiabatic factor.
A 2-year data set is analyzed to evaluate the consistency and limitations of current...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint