Articles | Volume 18, issue 7
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4715–4735, 2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4715-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4715–4735, 2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4715-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article 09 Apr 2018
Research article | 09 Apr 2018
Precipitation regimes over central Greenland inferred from 5 years of ICECAPS observations
Claire Pettersen et al.
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Heather Guy, Ian M. Brooks, Ken S. Carslaw, Benjamin J. Murray, Von P. Walden, Matthew D. Shupe, Claire Pettersen, David D. Turner, Christopher J. Cox, William D. Neff, Ralf Bennartz, and Ryan R. Neely III
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-491, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-491, 2021
Preprint under review for ACP
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We present the first full year of surface aerosol number concentration measurements from the central Greenland Ice Sheet. Aerosol concentrations here have an opposite seasonal cycle to those at lower altitude Arctic sites, which is driven by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Our results can be used to help understand the role aerosols might play in Greenland surface melt through the modification of cloud properties. This is crucial in a rapidly changing region where observations are sparse.
Elin A. McIlhattan, Claire Pettersen, Norman B. Wood, and Tristan S. L'Ecuyer
The Cryosphere, 14, 4379–4404, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020, 2020
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Snowfall builds the mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and reduces melt by brightening the surface. We present satellite observations of GrIS snowfall events divided into two regimes: those coincident with ice clouds and those coincident with mixed-phase clouds. Snowfall from ice clouds plays the dominant role in building the GrIS, producing ~ 80 % of total accumulation. The two regimes have similar snowfall frequency in summer, brightening the surface when solar insolation is at its peak.
Ralf Bennartz, Frank Fell, Claire Pettersen, Matthew D. Shupe, and Dirk Schuettemeyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8101–8121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8101-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8101-2019, 2019
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The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is rapidly melting. Snowfall is the only source of ice mass over the GrIS. We use satellite observations to assess how much snow on average falls over the GrIS and what the annual cycle and spatial distribution of snowfall is. We find the annual mean snowfall over the GrIS inferred from CloudSat to be 34 ± 7.5 cm yr−1 liquid equivalent.
Claire Pettersen, Ralf Bennartz, Mark S. Kulie, Aronne J. Merrelli, Matthew D. Shupe, and David D. Turner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4743–4756, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4743-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4743-2016, 2016
Short summary
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We examined four summers of data from a ground-based atmospheric science instrument suite at Summit Station, Greenland, to isolate the signature of the ice precipitation. By using a combination of instruments with different specialities, we identified a passive microwave signature of the ice precipitation. This ice signature compares well to models using synthetic data characteristic of the site.
Heather Guy, Ian M. Brooks, Ken S. Carslaw, Benjamin J. Murray, Von P. Walden, Matthew D. Shupe, Claire Pettersen, David D. Turner, Christopher J. Cox, William D. Neff, Ralf Bennartz, and Ryan R. Neely III
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-491, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-491, 2021
Preprint under review for ACP
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first full year of surface aerosol number concentration measurements from the central Greenland Ice Sheet. Aerosol concentrations here have an opposite seasonal cycle to those at lower altitude Arctic sites, which is driven by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Our results can be used to help understand the role aerosols might play in Greenland surface melt through the modification of cloud properties. This is crucial in a rapidly changing region where observations are sparse.
Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, Rob K. Newsom, Larry K. Berg, Heng Xiao, Po-Lun Ma, and David D. Turner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4403–4424, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4403-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4403-2021, 2021
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Planetary boundary layer (PBL) height is a critical parameter in atmospheric models. Continuous PBL height measurements from remote sensing measurements are important to understand various boundary layer mechanisms, especially during daytime and evening transition periods. Due to several limitations in existing methodologies to detect PBL height from a Doppler lidar, in this study, a machine learning (ML) approach is tested. The ML model is observed to improve the accuracy by over 50 %.
Michael Gallagher, Matthew Shupe, Hélène Chepfer, and Tristan L'Ecuyer
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-150, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-150, 2021
Preprint under review for TC
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By using direct observations of snowfall and mass changes, the variability of daily snowfall mass input to the Greenland ice sheet is quantified for the first time. With new methods we conclude that cyclones west of Greenland in summer contribute the most snowfall, with 1.66 Gt per occurrence. These cyclones are contextualized in the broader Greenland climate and snowfall is validated against mass changes to verify the results. Snowfall and mass change observations are shown to agree well.
David D. Turner and Ulrich Löhnert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3033–3048, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3033-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3033-2021, 2021
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Temperature and humidity profiles in the lowest couple of kilometers near the surface are very important for many applications. Passive spectral radiometers are commercially available, and observations from these instruments have been used to get these profiles. However, new active lidar systems are able to measure partial profiles of water vapor. This paper investigates how the derived profiles of water vapor and temperature are improved when the active and passive observations are combined.
David N. Wagner, Matthew D. Shupe, Ola G. Persson, Taneil Uttal, Markus M. Frey, Amélie Kirchgaessner, Martin Schneebeli, Matthias Jaggi, Amy R. Macfarlane, Polona Itkin, Stefanie Arndt, Stefan Hendricks, Daniela Krampe, Robert Ricker, Julia Regnery, Nikolai Kolabutin, Egor Shimanshuck, Marc Oggier, Ian Raphael, and Michael Lehning
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-126, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-126, 2021
Preprint under review for TC
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Based on measurements of the snow cover over sea ice and atmospheric measurements, we estimate snowfall and snow accumulation for the MOSAiC ice floe, between November 2019 and May 2020. For this period, we estimate 98–114 mm of precipitation. We suggest that about 34 mm of snow-water equivalent has accumulated until the end of April 2020 and that at least 50 % of the precipitated snow has been eroded or sublimated. Further, we suggest explanations for potential snowfall overestimation.
Steven T. Massie, Heather Cronk, Aronne Merrelli, Christopher O'Dell, K. Sebastian Schmidt, Hong Chen, and David Baker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1475–1499, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1475-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1475-2021, 2021
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The OCO-2 science team is working to retrieve CO2 measurements that can be used by the carbon cycle community to calculate regional sources and sinks of CO2. The retrieved data, however, are in need of improvements in accuracy. This paper discusses several ways in which 3D cloud metrics (such as the distance of a measurement to the nearest cloud) can be used to account for cloud effects in the OCO-2 CO2 data files.
Jessie M. Creamean, Gijs de Boer, Hagen Telg, Fan Mei, Darielle Dexheimer, Matthew D. Shupe, Amy Solomon, and Allison McComiskey
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1737–1757, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1737-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1737-2021, 2021
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Arctic clouds play a role in modulating sea ice extent. Importantly, aerosols facilitate cloud formation, and thus it is crucial to understand the interactions between aerosols and clouds. Vertical measurements of aerosols and clouds are needed to tackle this issue. We present results from balloon-borne measurements of aerosols and clouds over the course of 2 years in northern Alaska. These data shed light onto the vertical distributions of aerosols relative to clouds spanning multiple seasons.
Irina V. Djalalova, David D. Turner, Laura Bianco, James M. Wilczak, James Duncan, Bianca Adler, and Daniel Gottas
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-9, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2021-9, 2021
Preprint under review for AMT
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In this paper we show the usefulness of observational data in the radiative transfer model to retrieve the reliable atmospheric temperature profiles. In particular, the additional data from radio acoustic sounding systems (RASS) could improve the temperature in terms of bias and RMSE in comparison to the radiosonde temperature profiles not only in the 200–2000 m atmospheric layer above the ground where RASS data available, but in the deep 0–5000 m atmosphere stratum.
Robert R. Nelson, Annmarie Eldering, David Crisp, Aronne J. Merrelli, and Christopher W. O'Dell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6889–6899, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6889-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6889-2020, 2020
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Measurements of surface wind speed over oceans are scientifically useful. Here we show that the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), originally designed to measure carbon dioxide using reflected sunlight, can also accurately and precisely measure wind speed. OCO-2's high spatial resolution means that it can observe close to coastlines and therefore be used to study coastal wind processes and inform related economic sectors.
Elin A. McIlhattan, Claire Pettersen, Norman B. Wood, and Tristan S. L'Ecuyer
The Cryosphere, 14, 4379–4404, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4379-2020, 2020
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Snowfall builds the mass of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and reduces melt by brightening the surface. We present satellite observations of GrIS snowfall events divided into two regimes: those coincident with ice clouds and those coincident with mixed-phase clouds. Snowfall from ice clouds plays the dominant role in building the GrIS, producing ~ 80 % of total accumulation. The two regimes have similar snowfall frequency in summer, brightening the surface when solar insolation is at its peak.
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
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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.
Rosa Gierens, Stefan Kneifel, Matthew D. Shupe, Kerstin Ebell, Marion Maturilli, and Ulrich Löhnert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3459–3481, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020, 2020
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Multiyear statistics of persistent low-level mixed-phase clouds observed at an Arctic fjord environment in Svalbard are presented. The effects the local boundary layer (i.e. the fjords' wind climate and surface coupling), regional wind direction, and seasonality have on the cloud occurrence and properties are evaluated using a synergy of ground-based remote sensing methods and auxiliary data. The phenomena considered were found to modify the amount of liquid and ice in the studied clouds.
Laura Bianco, Irina V. Djalalova, James M. Wilczak, Joseph B. Olson, Jaymes S. Kenyon, Aditya Choukulkar, Larry K. Berg, Harindra J. S. Fernando, Eric P. Grimit, Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, Julie K. Lundquist, Paytsar Muradyan, Mikhail Pekour, Yelena Pichugina, Mark T. Stoelinga, and David D. Turner
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 4803–4821, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4803-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4803-2019, 2019
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During the second Wind Forecast Improvement Project, improvements to the parameterizations were applied to the High Resolution Rapid Refresh model and its nested version. The impacts of the new parameterizations on the forecast of 80 m wind speeds and power are assessed, using sodars and profiling lidars observations for comparison. Improvements are evaluated as a function of the model’s initialization time, forecast horizon, time of the day, season, site elevation, and meteorological phenomena.
Penny M. Rowe, Christopher J. Cox, Steven Neshyba, and Von P. Walden
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5071–5086, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5071-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5071-2019, 2019
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A better understanding of polar clouds is needed for predicting climate change, including cloud thickness and the sizes and amounts of liquid droplets and ice crystals. These properties can be estimated from an instrument (an infrared spectrometer) that sits on the surface and measures how much infrared radiation is emitted by the cloud. In this work we use model data to investigate how well such an instrument could retrieve cloud properties for different instrument and error characteristics.
Gijs de Boer, Darielle Dexheimer, Fan Mei, John Hubbe, Casey Longbottom, Peter J. Carroll, Monty Apple, Lexie Goldberger, David Oaks, Justin Lapierre, Michael Crume, Nathan Bernard, Matthew D. Shupe, Amy Solomon, Janet Intrieri, Dale Lawrence, Abhiram Doddi, Donna J. Holdridge, Michael Hubbell, Mark D. Ivey, and Beat Schmid
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1349–1362, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1349-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1349-2019, 2019
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This paper provides a summary of observations collected at Oliktok Point, Alaska, as part of the Profiling at Oliktok Point to Enhance YOPP Experiments (POPEYE) campaign. The Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) is a multi-year concentrated effort to improve forecasting capabilities at high latitudes across a variety of timescales. POPEYE observations include atmospheric data collected using unmanned aircraft, tethered balloons, and radiosondes, made in parallel with routine measurements at the site.
Shima Bahramvash Shams, Von P. Walden, Irina Petropavlovskikh, David Tarasick, Rigel Kivi, Samuel Oltmans, Bryan Johnson, Patrick Cullis, Chance W. Sterling, Laura Thölix, and Quentin Errera
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 9733–9751, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9733-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-9733-2019, 2019
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The Arctic plays a very important role in the global ozone cycle. We use balloon-borne sampling and satellite data to create a high-quality dataset of the vertical profile of ozone from 2005 to 2017 to analyze ozone variations over four high-latitude Arctic locations. No significant annual trend is found at any of the studied locations. We develop a mathematical model to understand how deseasonalized ozone fluctuations can be influenced by various parameters.
Ralf Bennartz, Frank Fell, Claire Pettersen, Matthew D. Shupe, and Dirk Schuettemeyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8101–8121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8101-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8101-2019, 2019
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The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is rapidly melting. Snowfall is the only source of ice mass over the GrIS. We use satellite observations to assess how much snow on average falls over the GrIS and what the annual cycle and spatial distribution of snowfall is. We find the annual mean snowfall over the GrIS inferred from CloudSat to be 34 ± 7.5 cm yr−1 liquid equivalent.
Christopher J. Cox, David C. Noone, Max Berkelhammer, Matthew D. Shupe, William D. Neff, Nathaniel B. Miller, Von P. Walden, and Konrad Steffen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7467–7485, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7467-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7467-2019, 2019
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Fogs are frequently reported by observers on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Fogs play a role in the hydrological and energetic balances of the ice sheet surface, but as yet the properties of Greenland fogs are not well known. We observed fogs in all months from Summit Station for 2 years and report their properties. Annually, fogs impart a slight warming to the surface and a case study suggests that they are particularly influential by providing insulation during the coldest part of the day in summer.
Christopher W. O'Dell, Annmarie Eldering, Paul O. Wennberg, David Crisp, Michael R. Gunson, Brendan Fisher, Christian Frankenberg, Matthäus Kiel, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Lukas Mandrake, Aronne Merrelli, Vijay Natraj, Robert R. Nelson, Gregory B. Osterman, Vivienne H. Payne, Thomas E. Taylor, Debra Wunch, Brian J. Drouin, Fabiano Oyafuso, Albert Chang, James McDuffie, Michael Smyth, David F. Baker, Sourish Basu, Frédéric Chevallier, Sean M. R. Crowell, Liang Feng, Paul I. Palmer, Mavendra Dubey, Omaira E. García, David W. T. Griffith, Frank Hase, Laura T. Iraci, Rigel Kivi, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Hirofumi Ohyama, Christof Petri, Coleen M. Roehl, Mahesh K. Sha, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Yao Te, Osamu Uchino, and Voltaire A. Velazco
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6539–6576, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6539-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6539-2018, 2018
Amy Solomon, Gijs de Boer, Jessie M. Creamean, Allison McComiskey, Matthew D. Shupe, Maximilian Maahn, and Christopher Cox
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17047–17059, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17047-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17047-2018, 2018
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The results of this study indicate that perturbations in ice nucleating particles (INPs) dominate over cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) perturbations in Arctic mixed-phase stratocumulus; i.e., an equivalent fractional decrease in CCN and INPs results in an increase in the cloud-top longwave cooling rate, even though the droplet effective radius increases and the cloud emissivity decreases. In addition, cloud-processing causes layering of aerosols with increased concentrations of CCN at cloud top.
Matthew S. Norgren, Gijs de Boer, and Matthew D. Shupe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13345–13361, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13345-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13345-2018, 2018
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Arctic mixed-phase clouds are a critical component of the Arctic climate system because of their ability to influence the surface radiation budget. The radiative impact of an individual cloud is closely linked to the ability of the cloud to convert liquid drops to ice. In this paper, we show through an observational record that clouds present in polluted atmospheric conditions have lower amounts of ice than similar clouds found in clean conditions.
Chellappan Seethala, Jan Fokke Meirink, Ákos Horváth, Ralf Bennartz, and Rob Roebeling
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13283–13304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13283-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13283-2018, 2018
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We compared the microphysical properties of South Atlantic stratocumulus (Sc) from three different satellite instruments (SEVIRI, TMI, MODIS). The liquid water path (LWP) and its diurnal cycle from the three datasets agreed very well in overcast, smoke-free scenes. LWP showed a decrease from an early morning peak to a late afternoon minimum, after which it increased until morning. The presence of smoke aloft Sc, however, negatively biased the LWP retrieved by the visible/near-infrared technique.
Robert A. Stillwell, Ryan R. Neely III, Jeffrey P. Thayer, Matthew D. Shupe, and David D. Turner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 835–859, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-835-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-835-2018, 2018
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This work focuses on making unambiguous measurements of Arctic cloud phase and assessing those measurements within the context of cloud radiative effects. It is found that effects related to lidar data recording systems can cause retrieval ambiguities that alter the interpretation of cloud phase in as much as 30 % of the available data. This misinterpretation of cloud-phase data can cause a misinterpretation of the effect of cloud phase on the surface radiation budget by as much as 10 to 30 %.
Ralf Bennartz and John Rausch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9815–9836, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9815-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9815-2017, 2017
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Cloud droplet number concentration is linked to air pollution levels via indirect aerosol effects. The climatological results presented here provide constraints on cloud droplet number concentration globally, thereby helping to evaluate global climate models and study the impact of pollution regionally and globally.
Yann Blanchard, Alain Royer, Norman T. O'Neill, David D. Turner, and Edwin W. Eloranta
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2129–2147, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2129-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2129-2017, 2017
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Multiband thermal measurements of zenith sky radiance were used in a retrieval algorithm, to estimate cloud optical depth and effective particle diameter of thin ice clouds in the Canadian High Arctic. The retrieval technique was validated using a synergy lidar and radar data. Inversions were performed across three polar winters and results showed a significant correlation (R2 = 0.95) for cloud optical depth retrievals and an overall accuracy of 83 % for the classification of thin ice clouds.
John Rausch, Kerry Meyer, Ralf Bennartz, and Steven Platnick
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 2105–2116, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2105-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2105-2017, 2017
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This paper documents the observed differences in the aggregated (Level-3) cloud droplet effective radius and droplet number concentration estimates inferred from the Aqua–MODIS cloud product collections 5.1 and 6 for warm oceanic cloud scenes over the year 2008. We note significant differences in effective radius and droplet concentration between the two products and discuss the algorithmic and calibration changes which may contribute to observed results.
Yinghui Liu, Matthew D. Shupe, Zhien Wang, and Gerald Mace
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5973–5989, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5973-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5973-2017, 2017
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Detailed and accurate vertical distributions of cloud properties are essential to accurately calculate the surface radiative flux and to depict the mean climate state, and such information is more desirable in the Arctic due to its recent rapid changes and the challenging observation conditions. This study presents a feasible way to provide such information by blending cloud observations from surface and space-based instruments with the understanding of their respective strength and limitations.
Ralf Bennartz, Heidrun Höschen, Bruno Picard, Marc Schröder, Martin Stengel, Oliver Sus, Bojan Bojkov, Stefano Casadio, Hannes Diedrich, Salomon Eliasson, Frank Fell, Jürgen Fischer, Rainer Hollmann, Rene Preusker, and Ulrika Willén
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1387–1402, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1387-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1387-2017, 2017
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The microwave radiometers (MWR) on board ERS-1, ERS-2, and Envisat provide a continuous time series of brightness temperature observations between 1991 and 2012. Here we report on a new total column water vapour (TCWV) and wet tropospheric correction (WTC) dataset that builds on this time series. The dataset is publicly available under doi:10.5676/DWD_EMIR/V001.
Nathaniel B. Miller, Matthew D. Shupe, Christopher J. Cox, David Noone, P. Ola G. Persson, and Konrad Steffen
The Cryosphere, 11, 497–516, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-497-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-497-2017, 2017
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A comprehensive observational dataset is assembled to investigate atmosphere–Greenland ice sheet interactions and characterize surface temperature variability. The amount the surface temperature warms, due to increases in cloud presence and/or elevated sun angle, varies throughout the annual cycle and is modulated by the responses of latent, sensible and ground heat fluxes. This observationally based study provides process-based relationships, which are useful for evaluation of climate models.
Robert A. Stillwell, Ryan R. Neely III, Jeffrey P. Thayer, Matthew D. Shupe, and Michael O'Neill
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2016-303, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2016-303, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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This work explores the observation of Arctic mixed phase clouds by lidar and the consequences of mishandling lidar signals linking the signals to their geophysical interpretation. It concludes 3 points: 1) cloud phase identification is not only linked to cloud phase but other cloud properties, 2) having more than two polarization signals can be used to quality control data not possible with only two signals, and 3) phase retrievals with more than two polarizations enhance retrieval flexibility.
Penny M. Rowe, Christopher J. Cox, and Von P. Walden
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3641–3659, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3641-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3641-2016, 2016
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Clouds play an important role in the rapid climate change occurring in polar regions, yet cloud measurements are challenging in such harsh, remote environments. Here we explore how well a proposed low-power infrared spectrometer, which would be highly portable, could be used to determine cloud height. Using simulated data, we estimate retrieval accuracy, finding that such an instrument would be able to constrain cloud height, particular for low, thick clouds, which are common in polar region.
Christopher J. Cox, Penny M. Rowe, Steven P. Neshyba, and Von P. Walden
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 199–211, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-199-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-199-2016, 2016
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Observations of cloud properties are necessary to understand and model clouds. Observations are frequently retrieved using remotely sensed measurements of infrared cloud emission. To support development and validation of the retrieval algorithms, this work produced a synthetic high-spectral-resolution infrared data set based on atmospheric conditions typical of the Arctic. Advantages of the data set include a priori knowledge of cloud properties and control over measurement uncertainties.
Claire Pettersen, Ralf Bennartz, Mark S. Kulie, Aronne J. Merrelli, Matthew D. Shupe, and David D. Turner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4743–4756, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4743-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4743-2016, 2016
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We examined four summers of data from a ground-based atmospheric science instrument suite at Summit Station, Greenland, to isolate the signature of the ice precipitation. By using a combination of instruments with different specialities, we identified a passive microwave signature of the ice precipitation. This ice signature compares well to models using synthetic data characteristic of the site.
Andrew M. Dzambo, David D. Turner, and Eli J. Mlawer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 1613–1626, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1613-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1613-2016, 2016
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Radiosondes are used to characterize the humidity in the middle and upper troposphere, but suffer from a solar radiation induced dry bias. This work investigates the accuracy of two published correction algorithms using comparisons with other instruments.
T. M. Gray and R. Bennartz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5089–5097, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5089-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5089-2015, 2015
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Volcanic ash poses a serious threat to aircraft traffic. A simple neural-network based technique was developed to detect volcanic ash from space using satellite infrared observations. A validation study shows promising results for several individual case studies. Issues remain near the edge of the satellite's field of view as well as in situations where ash is mixed with meteorological clouds.
A. Lattanzio, F. Fell, R. Bennartz, I. F. Trigo, and J. Schulz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4561–4571, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4561-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-4561-2015, 2015
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EUMETSAT has generated a surface albedo data set climate data record, spanning over more than 2 decades, from measurements acquired by Meteosat First Generation satellites. EUMETSAT coordinated a study for the validation of such a data record. In the validation report, the full set of results, including comparison with in situ measurements and satellites, was presented. A method of increasing the quality of the data set, removing cloud-contaminated pixels, is presented.
A. Solomon, G. Feingold, and M. D. Shupe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10631–10643, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10631-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10631-2015, 2015
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The maintenance of cloud ice production in Arctic mixed-phase stratocumulus is investigated in large eddy simulations that include a prognostic ice nuclei (IN) formulation and a diurnal cycle. It is demonstrated that IN recycling through subcloud sublimation prolongs ice production. Competing feedbacks between dynamical mixing and recycling are found to slow the rate of ice lost. The results of this study have important implications for the maintenance of phase partitioning in Arctic clouds.
A. Merrelli, R. Bennartz, C. W. O'Dell, and T. E. Taylor
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1641–1656, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1641-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1641-2015, 2015
G. Sotiropoulou, J. Sedlar, M. Tjernström, M. D. Shupe, I. M. Brooks, and P. O. G. Persson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12573–12592, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12573-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12573-2014, 2014
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During ASCOS, clouds are more frequently decoupled from the surface than coupled to it; when coupling occurs it is primary driven by the cloud. Decoupled clouds have a bimodal structure; they are either weakly or strongly decoupled from the surface; the enhancement of the decoupling is possibly due to sublimation of precipitation. Stable clouds (no cloud-driven mixing) are also observed; those are optically thin, often single-phase liquid, with no or negligible precipitation (e.g. fog).
J. M. Intrieri, G. de Boer, M. D. Shupe, J. R. Spackman, J. Wang, P. J. Neiman, G. A. Wick, T. F. Hock, and R. E. Hood
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 3917–3926, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3917-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-3917-2014, 2014
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In winter 2011, the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was deployed over the Arctic to evaluate a UAS dropsonde system at high latitudes. Dropsondes deployed from the Global Hawk successfully obtained high-resolution profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed and direction information between the stratosphere and surface. During the 25-hour polar flight, the Global Hawk released 35 sondes between the North Slope of Alaska and 85° N latitude.
U. Hamann, A. Walther, B. Baum, R. Bennartz, L. Bugliaro, M. Derrien, P. N. Francis, A. Heidinger, S. Joro, A. Kniffka, H. Le Gléau, M. Lockhoff, H.-J. Lutz, J. F. Meirink, P. Minnis, R. Palikonda, R. Roebeling, A. Thoss, S. Platnick, P. Watts, and G. Wind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 2839–2867, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2839-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-2839-2014, 2014
J. Sedlar and M. D. Shupe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3461–3478, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3461-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3461-2014, 2014
A. Kniffka, M. Stengel, M. Lockhoff, R. Bennartz, and R. Hollmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 887–905, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-887-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-887-2014, 2014
M. Tjernström, C. Leck, C. E. Birch, J. W. Bottenheim, B. J. Brooks, I. M. Brooks, L. Bäcklin, R. Y.-W. Chang, G. de Leeuw, L. Di Liberto, S. de la Rosa, E. Granath, M. Graus, A. Hansel, J. Heintzenberg, A. Held, A. Hind, P. Johnston, J. Knulst, M. Martin, P. A. Matrai, T. Mauritsen, M. Müller, S. J. Norris, M. V. Orellana, D. A. Orsini, J. Paatero, P. O. G. Persson, Q. Gao, C. Rauschenberg, Z. Ristovski, J. Sedlar, M. D. Shupe, B. Sierau, A. Sirevaag, S. Sjogren, O. Stetzer, E. Swietlicki, M. Szczodrak, P. Vaattovaara, N. Wahlberg, M. Westberg, and C. R. Wheeler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2823–2869, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2823-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-2823-2014, 2014
G. de Boer, M. D. Shupe, P. M. Caldwell, S. E. Bauer, O. Persson, J. S. Boyle, M. Kelley, S. A. Klein, and M. Tjernström
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 427–445, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-427-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-427-2014, 2014
P. M. Rowe, S. Neshyba, and V. P. Walden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11925–11933, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11925-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11925-2013, 2013
M. D. Shupe, P. O. G. Persson, I. M. Brooks, M. Tjernström, J. Sedlar, T. Mauritsen, S. Sjogren, and C. Leck
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 9379–9399, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9379-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-9379-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Remote Sensing | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Contrasting ice formation in Arctic clouds: surface-coupled vs. surface-decoupled clouds
Evaluation of the CMIP6 marine subtropical stratocumulus cloud albedo and its controlling factors
Identifying meteorological influences on marine low-cloud mesoscale morphology using satellite classifications
Lidar observations of cirrus clouds in Palau (7°33′ N, 134°48′ E)
Observing the timescales of aerosol–cloud interactions in snapshot satellite images
Potential impact of aerosols on convective clouds revealed by Himawari-8 observations over different terrain types in eastern China
How frequent is natural cloud seeding from ice cloud layers ( < −35 °C) over Switzerland?
Processes contributing to cloud dissipation and formation events on the North Slope of Alaska
Characterisation and surface radiative impact of Arctic low clouds from the IAOOS field experiment
A-Train estimates of the sensitivity of the cloud-to-rainwater ratio to cloud size, relative humidity, and aerosols
Ice injected into the tropopause by deep convection – Part 2: Over the Maritime Continent
3D radiative heating of tropical upper tropospheric cloud systems derived from synergistic A-Train observations and machine learning
Satellite retrieval of cloud base height and geometric thickness of low-level cloud based on CALIPSO
Lightning occurrences and intensity over the Indian region: Long-term trends and future projections
Deciphering Organization of GOES–16 Green Cumulus, through the EOF Lens
The potential of increasing man-made air pollution to reduce rainfall over southern West Africa
The dual-field-of-view polarization lidar technique: a new concept in monitoring aerosol effects in liquid-water clouds – theoretical framework
The dual-field-of-view polarization lidar technique: a new concept in monitoring aerosol effects in liquid-water clouds – case studies
Constraining the Twomey effect from satellite observations: issues and perspectives
Microphysical properties of three types of snow clouds: implication for satellite snowfall retrievals
Properties of ice cloud over Beijing from surface Ka-band radar observations during 2014–2017
Linkage among ice crystal microphysics, mesoscale dynamics, and cloud and precipitation structures revealed by collocated microwave radiometer and multifrequency radar observations
Possible mechanisms of summer cirrus clouds over the Tibetan Plateau
Mid-level clouds are frequent above the southeast Atlantic stratocumulus clouds
Towards the connection between snow microphysics and melting layer: insights from multifrequency and dual-polarization radar observations during BAECC
Cloud phase characteristics over Southeast Asia from A-Train satellite observations
Cloud regimes over the Amazon Basin: perspectives from the GoAmazon2014/5 campaign
Microphysics and dynamics of snowfall associated with a warm conveyor belt over Korea
Linking large-scale circulation patterns to low-cloud properties
Quantifying cloud adjustments and the radiative forcing due to aerosol–cloud interactions in satellite observations of warm marine clouds
Small-scale structure of thermodynamic phase in Arctic mixed-phase clouds observed by airborne remote sensing during a cold air outbreak and a warm air advection event
The influence of water vapor anomalies on clouds and their radiative effect at Ny-Ålesund
Variability in cirrus cloud properties using a PollyXT Raman lidar over high and tropical latitudes
Deconvolution of boundary layer depth and aerosol constraints on cloud water path in subtropical stratocumulus decks
Investigation of aerosol–cloud interactions under different absorptive aerosol regimes using Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) southern Great Plains (SGP) ground-based measurements
Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment
Synoptic-scale controls of fog and low-cloud variability in the Namib Desert
A new classification of satellite-derived liquid water cloud regimes at cloud scale
The day-to-day co-variability between mineral dust and cloud glaciation: a proxy for heterogeneous freezing
Retrieval of the vertical evolution of the cloud effective radius from the Chinese FY-4 (Feng Yun 4) next-generation geostationary satellites
The role of spring dry zonal advection in summer drought onset over the US Great Plains
Diurnal variation of high-level clouds from the synergy of AIRS and IASI space-borne infrared sounders
Analysis and quantification of ENSO-linked changes in the tropical Atlantic cloud vertical distribution using 14 years of MODIS observations
Variability in vertical structure of precipitation with sea surface temperature over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal as inferred by Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission precipitation radar measurements
Spatial and temporal variability of snowfall over Greenland from CloudSat observations
Cloud responses to climate variability over the extratropical oceans as observed by MISR and MODIS
Antarctic clouds, supercooled liquid water and mixed phase, investigated with DARDAR: geographical and seasonal variations
Ice injected into the tropopause by deep convection – Part 1: In the austral convective tropics
Quantifying variations in shortwave aerosol–cloud–radiation interactions using local meteorology and cloud state constraints
Rapid ice aggregation process revealed through triple-wavelength Doppler spectrum radar analysis
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
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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.
Bida Jian, Jiming Li, Guoyin Wang, Yuxin Zhao, Yarong Li, Jing Wang, Min Zhang, and Jianping Huang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9809–9828, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9809-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9809-2021, 2021
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We evaluate the performance of the AMIP6 model in simulating cloud albedo over marine subtropical regions and the impacts of different aerosol types and meteorological factors on the cloud albedo based on multiple satellite datasets and reanalysis data. The results show that AMIP6 demonstrates moderate improvement over AMIP5 in simulating the monthly variation in cloud albedo, and changes in different aerosol types and meteorological factors can explain ~65 % of the changes in the cloud albedo.
Johannes Mohrmann, Robert Wood, Tianle Yuan, Hua Song, Ryan Eastman, and Lazaros Oreopoulos
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9629–9642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9629-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9629-2021, 2021
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Observations of marine-boundary-layer conditions are composited by cloud type, based on a new classification dataset. It is found that two cloud types, representing regions of clustered and suppressed low-level clouds, occur in very similar large-scale conditions but are distinguished from each other by considering low-level circulation and surface wind fields, validating prior results from modeling.
Francesco Cairo, Mauro De Muro, Marcel Snels, Luca Di Liberto, Silvia Bucci, Bernard Legras, Ajil Kottayil, Andrea Scoccione, and Stefano Ghisu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7947–7961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7947-2021, 2021
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A lidar was used in Palau from February–March 2016. Clouds were observed peaking at 3 km below the high cold-point tropopause (CPT). Their occurrence was linked with cold anomalies, while in warm cases, cirrus clouds were restricted to 5 km below the CPT. Thin subvisible cirrus (SVC) near the CPT had distinctive characteristics. They were linked to wave-induced cold anomalies. Back trajectories are mostly compatible with convective outflow, while some distinctive SVC may originate in situ.
Edward Gryspeerdt, Tom Goren, and Tristan W. P. Smith
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6093–6109, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6093-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6093-2021, 2021
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Cloud responses to aerosol are time-sensitive, but this development is rarely observed. This study uses isolated aerosol perturbations from ships to measure this development and shows that macrophysical (width, cloud fraction, detectability) and microphysical (droplet number) properties of ship tracks vary strongly with time since emission, background cloud and meteorological state. This temporal development should be considered when constraining aerosol–cloud interactions with observations.
Tianmeng Chen, Zhanqing Li, Ralph A. Kahn, Chuanfeng Zhao, Daniel Rosenfeld, Jianping Guo, Wenchao Han, and Dandan Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6199–6220, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, 2021
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A convective cloud identification process is developed using geostationary satellite data from Himawari-8.
Convective cloud fraction is generally larger before noon and smaller in the afternoon under polluted conditions, but megacities and complex topography can influence the pattern.
A robust relationship between convective cloud and aerosol loading is found. This pattern varies with terrain height and is modulated by varying thermodynamic, dynamical, and humidity conditions during the day.
Ulrike Proske, Verena Bessenbacher, Zane Dedekind, Ulrike Lohmann, and David Neubauer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5195–5216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5195-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5195-2021, 2021
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Ice crystals falling out of one cloud can initiate freezing in a second cloud below. We estimate the occurrence frequency of this natural cloud seeding over Switzerland from satellite data and sublimation calculations. We find that such situations with an ice cloud above another cloud are frequent and that the falling crystals survive the fall between two clouds in a significant number of cases, suggesting that natural cloud seeding is an important phenomenon over Switzerland.
Joseph Sedlar, Adele Igel, and Hagen Telg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4149–4167, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4149-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4149-2021, 2021
Julia Maillard, François Ravetta, Jean-Christophe Raut, Vincent Mariage, and Jacques Pelon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4079–4101, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4079-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4079-2021, 2021
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Clouds remain a major source of uncertainty in understanding the Arctic climate, due in part to the lack of measurements over the sea ice. In this paper, we exploit a series of lidar profiles acquired from autonomous drifting buoys deployed in the Arctic Ocean and derive a statistic of low cloud frequency and macrophysical properties. We also show that clouds contribute to warm the surface in the shoulder seasons but not significantly from May to September.
Kevin M. Smalley and Anita D. Rapp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2765–2779, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2765-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2765-2021, 2021
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We use satellite observations of shallow cumulus clouds to investigate the influence of cloud size on the ratio of cloud water path to rainwater (WRR) in different environments. For a fixed temperature and relative humidity, WRR increases with cloud size, but it varies little with aerosols. These results imply that increasing WRR with rising temperature relates not only to deeper clouds but also to more frequent larger clouds.
Iris-Amata Dion, Cyrille Dallet, Philippe Ricaud, Fabien Carminati, Thibaut Dauhut, and Peter Haynes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2191–2210, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2191-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2191-2021, 2021
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Ice in the tropopause has a strong radiative effect on climate. The amount of ice injected (∆IWC) up to the tropical tropopause layer has been shown to be the highest over the Maritime Continent (MC), a region that includes Indonesia. ∆IWC is studied over islands and sea of the MC. Space-borne observations of ice, precipitation and lightning are used to estimate ∆IWC and are compared to ∆IWC estimated from the ERA5 reanalyses. It is shown that Java is the area of the greatest ∆IWC over the MC.
Claudia J. Stubenrauch, Giacomo Caria, Sofia E. Protopapadaki, and Friederike Hemmer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 1015–1034, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1015-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-1015-2021, 2021
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Tropical anvils formed by convective outflow play a crucial role in modulating the Earth’s energy budget and heat transport. To explore the relation between these anvils and convection, we built 3D radiative heating fields, based on machine learning employed on cloud and atmospheric properties from IR sounder and meteorological reanalyses, trained on lidar–radar retrievals. The 15-year time series reveals colder convective systems during warm periods, affecting the atmospheric heating structure.
Xin Lu, Feiyue Mao, Daniel Rosenfeld, Yannian Zhu, Zengxin Pan, and Wei Gong
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-1252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-1252, 2021
Revised manuscript accepted for ACP
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In this paper, a novel method for retrieving cloud base height and geometric thickness is developed and applied to produce a global climatology of boundary layer clouds at an accuracy of 100 m. The retrieval is based on the 333 m resolution low-level cloud distribution as obtained from the CALIPSO lidar data. The main part of the study describes the variability of cloud vertical geometrical properties in space, season and time of the day. Resultant new insights are presented.
Rohit Chakraborty, Arindam Chakraborty, Ghouse Basha, and Madineni Venkat Ratnam
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-1280, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-1280, 2021
Revised manuscript accepted for ACP
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In this study, urbanization induced surface warming has been found to trigger some prominent changes in the upper troposphere lower stratosphere regions thereby leading to stronger and more abundant lightning extremes over the Indian region at present. Consequently, the implementation of this hypothesis on global climate models reveal that lightning frequency and intensity values across India are expected to increase alarmingly by 10–25 % and 15–50 %, by 2100 at the current urbanization rate.
Tom Dror, Mickaël D. Chekroun, Orit Altaratz, and Ilan Koren
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-1242, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-1242, 2021
Revised manuscript accepted for ACP
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Part of continental shallow convective cumulus were shown to share properties such as their organization and formation over vegetated areas, thus named green Cu. The mechanisms behind the formed patterns and their evolution is not understood. We use different metrics and an EOF analysis to decompose the dataset, quantify organization factors such as cloud streets and gravity waves. We show that the clouds form a highly grid structure over hundreds of km, at a time span of the field lifetime.
Gregor Pante, Peter Knippertz, Andreas H. Fink, and Anke Kniffka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 35–55, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-35-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-35-2021, 2021
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Seasonal rainfall amounts along the densely populated West African Guinea coast have been decreasing during the past 35 years, with recently accelerating trends. We find strong indications that this is in part related to increasing human air pollution in the region. Given the fast increase in emissions, the political implications of this work are significant. Reducing air pollution locally and regionally would mitigate an imminent health crisis and socio-economic damage from reduced rainfall.
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
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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
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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.
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
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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.
Hwayoung Jeoung, Guosheng Liu, Kwonil Kim, Gyuwon Lee, and Eun-Kyoung Seo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14491–14507, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14491-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14491-2020, 2020
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Radar and radiometer observations were used to study cloud liquid and snowfall in three types of snow clouds. While near-surface and shallow clouds have an area fraction of 90 %, deep clouds contribute half of the total snowfall volume. Deeper clouds have heavier snowfall, although cloud liquid is equally abundant in all three cloud types. The skills of a GMI Bayesian algorithm are examined. Snowfall in deep clouds may be reasonably retrieved, but it is challenging for near-surface clouds.
Juan Huo, Yufang Tian, Xue Wu, Congzheng Han, Bo Liu, Yongheng Bi, Shu Duan, and Daren Lyu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14377–14392, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14377-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14377-2020, 2020
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A detailed analysis of ice cloud physical properties is presented based on 4 years of surface Ka-band radar measurements in Beijing, where the summer oceanic monsoon from the ocean and winter continental monsoon prevail alternately. More than 6000 ice cloud clusters were studied to investigate their physical properties, such as height, horizontal extent, temperature dependence and origination type, which can serve as a reference for parameterization and characterization in global climate models.
Jie Gong, Xiping Zeng, Dong L. Wu, S. Joseph Munchak, Xiaowen Li, Stefan Kneifel, Davide Ori, Liang Liao, and Donifan Barahona
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12633–12653, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12633-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12633-2020, 2020
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This work provides a novel way of using polarized passive microwave measurements to study the interlinked cloud–convection–precipitation processes. The magnitude of differences between polarized radiances is found linked to ice microphysics (shape, size, orientation and density), mesoscale dynamic and thermodynamic structures, and surface precipitation. We conclude that passive sensors with multiple polarized channel pairs may serve as cheaper and useful substitutes for spaceborne radar sensors.
Feng Zhang, Qiu-Run Yu, Jia-Li Mao, Chen Dan, Yanyu Wang, Qianshan He, Tiantao Cheng, Chunhong Chen, Dongwei Liu, and Yanping Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11799–11808, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11799-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11799-2020, 2020
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In this work, we make the three main contributions. (1) We reveal the remarkable differences in the geographical distributions of cirrus over the Tibetan Plateau regarding the cloud top height. (2) The orography, gravity wave, and deep convection determine the formation of cirrus with a cloud top below 9, at 9–12, and above 12 km, respectively. (3) It is the first time the contributions of the Tibetan Plateau to the presence of cirrus on a regional scale are discussed.
Adeyemi A. Adebiyi, Paquita Zuidema, Ian Chang, Sharon P. Burton, and Brian Cairns
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 11025–11043, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11025-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-11025-2020, 2020
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Over the southeast Atlantic, interactions between the low-level clouds and the overlying smoke aerosols have previously been highlighted, but no study has yet focused on the presence of the mid-level clouds that complicate the aerosol–cloud interactions. Here we show that these optically thin super-cooled mid-level clouds are relatively common, and they frequently occur at the top of the smoke layer between August and October with significant radiative impacts on the low-level clouds.
Haoran Li, Jussi Tiira, Annakaisa von Lerber, and Dmitri Moisseev
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 9547–9562, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9547-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-9547-2020, 2020
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A method for classifying rimed and unrimed snow based on X- and Ka-band Doppler radar measurements is developed and applied to synergetic radar observations collected during BAECC 2014. The results show that the radar-observed melting layer properties are highly related to the precipitation intensity. The previously reported bright band sagging is mainly connected to the increase in precipitation intensity, while riming plays a secondary role.
Yulan Hong and Larry Di Girolamo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8267–8291, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8267-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8267-2020, 2020
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Cloud phase plays a crucial role in Earth radiation budget but is not well understood. Using A-Train satellite observations, this study provides climatological studies of cloud phase characteristics over Southeast Asia on multiple meteorological scales. Results show that ice, liquid, and ice over liquid clouds display distinct spatial heterogeneity and spectral radiance features. The intraseasonal and interannual behaviors of cloud phases are useful to track the MJO and ENSO.
Scott E. Giangrande, Dié Wang, and David B. Mechem
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7489–7507, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7489-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7489-2020, 2020
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The Amazon basin experiences prolific and diverse cloud conditions that are strongly influenced by (and influence via feedbacks) seasonal shifts in the local conditions and larger-scale atmospheric circulations. The primary atmospheric regimes observed during a heavily instrumented 2-year Amazon deployment are classified. We assess the potential atmospheric controls on convective clouds, precipitation, and the propensity for these regimes to promote extremes in precipitation.
Josué Gehring, Annika Oertel, Étienne Vignon, Nicolas Jullien, Nikola Besic, and Alexis Berne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7373–7392, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7373-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7373-2020, 2020
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In this study, we analyse how large-scale meteorological conditions influenced the local enhancement of snowfall during an intense precipitation event in Korea. We used atmospheric models, weather radars and snowflake images. We found out that a rising airstream in the warm sector of the low pressure system associated to this event influenced the evolution of snowfall. This study highlights the importance of interactions between large and local scales in this intense precipitation event.
Timothy W. Juliano and Zachary J. Lebo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7125–7138, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7125-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7125-2020, 2020
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In this study, we use a machine learning method to examine the relationship between synoptic-scale changes in the North Pacific High structure and maritime cloud properties. Our novel approach suggests that there is a wide range (>30 W m−2, ~20 % of magnitude) of possible shortwave cloud radiative effect that is a clear function of the circulation pattern. We hope that this work will help improve fundamental understanding of the sensitivity of the climate system to various warm-cloud regimes.
Alyson Douglas and Tristan L'Ecuyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6225–6241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6225-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6225-2020, 2020
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Aerosols, or small, suspended droplets in the atmosphere, are released from anthropogenic activity and interact with warm clouds, leading to changes in the clouds' brightness and size. Our study evaluates how aerosols alter warm clouds and their ability to cool the Earth's surface. We find aerosols make clouds brighter and grow larger in the atmosphere; however, the cooling effect due to whiter, brighter clouds is 5 times the cooling due to an increased extent.
Elena Ruiz-Donoso, André Ehrlich, Michael Schäfer, Evelyn Jäkel, Vera Schemann, Susanne Crewell, Mario Mech, Birte Solveig Kulla, Leif-Leonard Kliesch, Roland Neuber, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5487–5511, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5487-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5487-2020, 2020
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Mixed-phase clouds, formed of water droplets and ice crystals, appear frequently in Arctic regions. Characterizing the distribution of liquid water and ice inside the cloud appropriately is important because it influences the cloud's impact on the surface temperature. In this study, we combined images of the cloud top with measurements inside the cloud to analyze in detail the 3D spatial distribution of liquid and ice in two mixed-phase clouds occurring under different meteorological scenarios.
Tatiana Nomokonova, Kerstin Ebell, Ulrich Löhnert, Marion Maturilli, and Christoph Ritter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5157–5173, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5157-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5157-2020, 2020
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This paper presents an influence of water vapor anomalies on cloud properties and their radiative effect at Ny-Ålesund. The study is based on a 2.5-year active and passive cloud observation and a radiative transfer model. The results show that moist and dry conditions are related to strong changes in cloud occurrence, phase partitioning, water path, and, consequently, modulate the surface radiative budget.
Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Elina Giannakaki, Mika Komppula, and Dimitris Balis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4427–4444, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4427-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4427-2020, 2020
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In this paper we present the variability in cirrus cloud properties using a PollyXT Raman lidar over high and tropical latitudes. The kind of information presented here can be rather useful in the cirrus parameterisations required as input to radiative transfer models and can be a complementary tool for satellite products that cannot provide cloud vertical structure.
Anna Possner, Ryan Eastman, Frida Bender, and Franziska Glassmeier
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3609–3621, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3609-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3609-2020, 2020
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Cloud water content and the number of droplets inside clouds covary with boundary layer depth. This covariation may amplify the change in water content due to a change in droplet number inferred from long-term observations. Taking this into account shows that the change in water content for increased droplet number in observations and high-resolution simulations agrees in shallow boundary layers. Meanwhile, deep boundary layers are under-sampled in process-scale simulations and observations.
Xiaojian Zheng, Baike Xi, Xiquan Dong, Timothy Logan, Yuan Wang, and Peng Wu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3483–3501, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3483-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3483-2020, 2020
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The continental low-level stratiform cloud susceptibilities to aerosols were investigated under different absorptive aerosol regimes. The weakly absorbing aerosols, which are more hygroscopic, can better activate as cloud condensation nuclei. The favorable thermodynamic condition enhances the cloud susceptibility, while the cloud-layer heating effect induced by strongly absorbing aerosols dampens the cloud susceptibility. Overall, the clouds are more susceptible to the weakly absorbing aerosols.
Rosa Gierens, Stefan Kneifel, Matthew D. Shupe, Kerstin Ebell, Marion Maturilli, and Ulrich Löhnert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3459–3481, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020, 2020
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Multiyear statistics of persistent low-level mixed-phase clouds observed at an Arctic fjord environment in Svalbard are presented. The effects the local boundary layer (i.e. the fjords' wind climate and surface coupling), regional wind direction, and seasonality have on the cloud occurrence and properties are evaluated using a synergy of ground-based remote sensing methods and auxiliary data. The phenomena considered were found to modify the amount of liquid and ice in the studied clouds.
Hendrik Andersen, Jan Cermak, Julia Fuchs, Peter Knippertz, Marco Gaetani, Julian Quinting, Sebastian Sippel, and Roland Vogt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3415–3438, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3415-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3415-2020, 2020
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Fog and low clouds (FLCs) are an essential but poorly understood element of Namib regional climate. Here, a satellite-based data set of FLCs in central Namib, reanalysis data, and back trajectories are used to systematically analyze conditions when FLCs occur. Synoptic-scale mechanisms are identified that influence the formation of FLCs and the onshore advection of marine boundary-layer air masses. The findings lead to a new conceptual model of mechanisms that drive FLC variability in the Namib.
Claudia Unglaub, Karoline Block, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Odran Sourdeval, and Johannes Quaas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2407–2418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2407-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2407-2020, 2020
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In cloud research, it is necessary to classify clouds. The World Meteorological Organization proposes distinguishing stratiform and cumuliform clouds in three altitude layers. The paper explains why previous approaches to classify clouds fail for many applications and proposes a new classification on the basis of new approaches for satellite retrievals to derive cloud-base height, in combination with cloud inhomogeneity. It is demonstrated that this discriminates cloud characteristics well.
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
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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.
Yilun Chen, Guangcan Chen, Chunguang Cui, Aoqi Zhang, Rong Wan, Shengnan Zhou, Dongyong Wang, and Yunfei Fu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 1131–1145, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1131-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-1131-2020, 2020
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The vertical evolution of the cloud effective radius reflects the precipitation-forming process. We developed an algorithm for retrieving it based on objective cloud-cluster identification rather than the subjective polygon of the conventional method. The profile shows completely different morphologies in different life stages of the cloud cluster, which is important in the characterization of the formation of precipitation and the temporal evolution of microphysical processes.
Amir Erfanian and Rong Fu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15199–15216, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15199-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15199-2019, 2019
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An eastward advection of dry and warm air in spring was identified as a major drought onset mechanism over the US Great Plains (GP). Further breakdown of the zonal advection into the dynamic versus thermodynamic contributions revealed dominance of the latter in the tropospheric drying observed during the onset of GP 2011 and 2012 droughts. The dependence of thermodynamic advection on moisture gradient links the spring precipitation in the Rockies and US southwest to the GP summer precipitation.
Artem G. Feofilov and Claudia J. Stubenrauch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13957–13972, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13957-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13957-2019, 2019
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Clouds play an important role in the energy budget of the planet: optically thick clouds reflect the incoming solar radiation leading to cooling of the Earth, while thinner clouds act as
greenhouse filmspreventing escape of the Earth’s infrared radiation to space. Satellite observations provide a continuous survey of clouds over the whole globe. In this work, we use a combination of two space-borne sounders to retrieve and analyse the characteristics of diurnal variation of high-level clouds.
Nils Madenach, Cintia Carbajal Henken, René Preusker, Odran Sourdeval, and Jürgen Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 13535–13546, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13535-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13535-2019, 2019
Kadiri Saikranthi, Basivi Radhakrishna, Thota Narayana Rao, and Sreedharan Krishnakumari Satheesh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10423–10432, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10423-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10423-2019, 2019
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Recent studies have shown that simulation of monsoons can be improved with an exact representation of SST–precipitation relationship. The vertical structure of precipitation with SST is distinctly different over the Arabian Sea than over the Bay of Bengal. The reflectivity profiles show variation with SST over the Arabian Sea and do not show considerable variation with SST over the Bay of Bengal. The variations in reflectivity profiles seem to originate at the cloud formation stage itself.
Ralf Bennartz, Frank Fell, Claire Pettersen, Matthew D. Shupe, and Dirk Schuettemeyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8101–8121, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8101-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8101-2019, 2019
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The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is rapidly melting. Snowfall is the only source of ice mass over the GrIS. We use satellite observations to assess how much snow on average falls over the GrIS and what the annual cycle and spatial distribution of snowfall is. We find the annual mean snowfall over the GrIS inferred from CloudSat to be 34 ± 7.5 cm yr−1 liquid equivalent.
Andrew Geiss and Roger Marchand
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7547–7565, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7547-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7547-2019, 2019
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The 13-year trends in cloud occurrence, observed by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, over the world's extratropical ocean basins are compared to trends in meteorological variables. We identify several patterns of changing cloud occurrence that correspond to specific patterns in trending meteorology. We find that many of these trends are related to changes in major modes of climate variability.
Constantino Listowski, Julien Delanoë, Amélie Kirchgaessner, Tom Lachlan-Cope, and John King
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6771–6808, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6771-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6771-2019, 2019
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Using satellite cloud products we investigate the supercooled liquid-water (SLW) distribution Antarctic-wide for the first time. We demonstrate differences between the monthly evolution of the marine low-level mixed-phase clouds and that of the marine low-level pure SLW clouds. In addition to the temperature and sea ice fraction as factors explaining the low-level liquid-cloud seasonal cycle, ice nuclei emissions from open water may also be driving the mixed-phase cloud monthly evolution.
Iris-Amata Dion, Philippe Ricaud, Peter Haynes, Fabien Carminati, and Thibaut Dauhut
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6459–6479, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6459-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6459-2019, 2019
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Water vapour and ice cirrus clouds near the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) have a strong radiative impact on climate. Based on space-borne observations, we have developed a model linking ice in the upper troposphere from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) to precipitation in the troposphere from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM). Our study quantifies the amount of ice injected into the TTL by deep convection over tropical lands and oceans by investigating the diurnal cycle of ice.
Alyson Douglas and Tristan L'Ecuyer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6251–6268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6251-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6251-2019, 2019
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Aerosols are released by natural and human activities. When aerosols encounter clouds they interact in what is known as the indirect effect. Brighter clouds are expected due to the microphysical response; however, certain environments can trigger a modified response. Limits on the stability, humidity, and cloud thickness are applied regionally to investigate local cloud responses to aerosol, resulting in a range of indirect effects that would result in significant cooling or slight warming.
Andrew I. Barrett, Christopher D. Westbrook, John C. Nicol, and Thorwald H. M. Stein
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5753–5769, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5753-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5753-2019, 2019
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We use radars at three wavelengths to study cloud properties. The full Doppler spectra (rather than calculated averages of the spectra) are compared for the radars. This allows us to estimate the size and number of ice particles within the cloud. By following the evolution of the ice particles, we observe a region where particles rapidly and consistently increase in size. The observations suggest that these large particles form through interlocking of branched arms of smaller ice particles.
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Shupe, M.: Millimeter Cloud Radar measurements taken at Summit Station, Greenland, 2012, Arctic Data Center, https://doi.org/10.18739/A2BJ3X, 2012a.
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Shupe, M.: Millimeter Cloud Radar measurements taken at Summit Station, Greenland, 2013, urn:node:ARCTIC, https://doi.org/10.18739/A2318G, 2013a.
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Shupe, M.: Millimeter Cloud Radar measurements taken at Summit Station, Greenland, 2014, urn:node:ARCTIC, https://doi.org/10.18739/A2121J, 2014a.
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Short summary
A novel method for classifying Arctic precipitation using ground based remote sensors is presented. The classification reveals two distinct, primary regimes of precipitation over the central Greenland Ice Sheet: snowfall coupled to deep, fully glaciated ice clouds or to shallow, mixed-phase clouds. The ice clouds are associated with low-pressure storm systems from the southeast, while the mixed-phase clouds slowly propagate from the southwest along a quiescent flow.
A novel method for classifying Arctic precipitation using ground based remote sensors is...
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