Articles | Volume 22, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8973-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8973-2022
Research article
 | 
12 Jul 2022
Research article |  | 12 Jul 2022

Do Arctic mixed-phase clouds sometimes dissipate due to insufficient aerosol? Evidence from comparisons between observations and idealized simulations

Lucas J. Sterzinger, Joseph Sedlar, Heather Guy, Ryan R. Neely III, and Adele L. Igel

Related authors

Above-cloud concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei help to sustain some Arctic low-level clouds
Lucas J. Sterzinger and Adele L. Igel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3529–3540, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3529-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3529-2024, 2024
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Clouds and Precipitation | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Estimating the concentration of silver iodide needed to detect unambiguous signatures of glaciogenic cloud seeding
Jing Yang, Jiaojiao Li, Meilian Chen, Xiaoqin Jing, Yan Yin, Bart Geerts, Zhien Wang, Yubao Liu, Baojun Chen, Shaofeng Hua, Hao Hu, Xiaobo Dong, Ping Tian, Qian Chen, and Yang Gao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13833–13848, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13833-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13833-2024, 2024
Short summary
Ice-nucleating particle concentration impacts cloud properties over Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, in COSMO-CLM2
Florian Sauerland, Niels Souverijns, Anna Possner, Heike Wex, Preben Van Overmeiren, Alexander Mangold, Kwinten Van Weverberg, and Nicole van Lipzig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13751–13768, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13751-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13751-2024, 2024
Short summary
Numerical simulation of aerosol concentration effects on cloud droplet size spectrum evolutions of warm stratiform clouds in Jiangxi, China
Yi Li, Xiaoli Liu, and Hengjia Cai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13525–13540, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13525-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13525-2024, 2024
Short summary
The impact of aerosol on cloud water: a heuristic perspective
Fabian Hoffmann, Franziska Glassmeier, and Graham Feingold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13403–13412, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13403-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13403-2024, 2024
Short summary
The presence of clouds lowers climate sensitivity in the MPI-ESM1.2 climate model
Andrea Mosso, Thomas Hocking, and Thorsten Mauritsen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12793–12806, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12793-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12793-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Bergeron, T.: On the physics of clouds and precipitation, Proc. 5th Assembly U. G. G. I., Lisbon, Portugal, 1935, pp. 156–180, https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10024028214/ (last access: 14 January 2022), 1935. a
Bharadwaj, N.: Millimeter Wavelength Cloud Radar (MMCRMOM), Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility [data set], https://doi.org/10.5439/1025228, 2010. a
Birch, C. E., Brooks, I. M., Tjernström, M., Shupe, M. D., Mauritsen, T., Sedlar, J., Lock, A. P., Earnshaw, P., Persson, P. O. G., Milton, S. F., and Leck, C.: Modelling atmospheric structure, cloud and their response to CCN in the central Arctic: ASCOS case studies, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 3419–3435, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-3419-2012, 2012. a
Birmili, W., Stratmann, F., and Wiedensohler, A.: Design of a DMA-based Size Spectrometer for a Large Particle Size Sange and Stable Operation, J. Aerosol Sci., 30, 549–553, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-8502(98)00047-0, 1999. a
Brooks, I. M., Tjernström, M., Persson, P. O. G., Shupe, M. D., Atkinson, R. A., Canut, G., Birch, C. E., Mauritsen, T., Sedlar, J., and Brooks, B. J.: The Turbulent Structure of the Arctic Summer Boundary Layer During The Arctic Summer Cloud-Ocean Study, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 9685–9704, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027234, 2017. a, b
Download
Short summary
Aerosol particles are required for cloud droplets to form, and the Arctic atmosphere often has much fewer aerosols than at lower latitudes. In this study, we investigate whether aerosol concentrations can drop so low as to no longer support a cloud. We use observations to initialize idealized model simulations to investigate a worst-case scenario where all aerosol is removed from the environment instantaneously. We find that this mechanism is possible in two cases and is unlikely in the third.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint