Above-cloud concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei help to sustain some Arctic low-level clouds

Sterzinger, Lucas J.; Igel, Adele L.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3529-2024

Articles | Volume 24, issue 6

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3529-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3529-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 24, issue 6

Research article

|

20 Mar 2024

Research article |

| 20 Mar 2024

Above-cloud concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei help to sustain some Arctic low-level clouds

Lucas J. Sterzinger and Adele L. Igel

Data sets

Tethered balloon-borne measurements of terrestrial radiation during MOSAiC leg 4 in July 2020 Michael Lonardi, Christian Pilz, Holger Siebert, André Ehrlich, and Manfred Wendisch https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.944200

ethered balloon-borne measurements of liquid cloud water presence during MOSAiC leg 4 in July 2020 Michael Lonardi, Christian Pilz, Holger Siebert, André Ehrlich, and Manfred Wendisch https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.944068

Tethered balloon-borne measurements of aerosol particle microphysics during the MOSAiC expedition from June to July 2020 Christian Pilz, Michael Lonardi, Holger Siebert, and Birgit Wehner https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.943907

Tethered balloon-borne measurements of meteorological parameters during MOSAiC leg 4 in June and July 2020 Christian Pilz, Holger Siebert, and Michael Lonardi https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.952341

Model data for Sterzinger and Igel (2023) Lucas J. Sterzinger and Adele L. Igel https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7986917

Model code and software

Model source code and namelists for Sterzinger and Igel (2023) Lucas J. Sterzinger and Adele L. Igel https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7991354

Interactive computing environment

Plotting Scripts for Sterzinger and Igel (2023) Lucas J. Sterzinger and Adele L. Igel https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7996595

Short summary

Using idealized large eddy simulations, we find that clouds forming in the Arctic in environments with low concentrations of aerosol particles may be sustained by mixing in new particles through the cloud top. Observations show that higher concentrations of these particles regularly exist above cloud top in concentrations that are sufficient to promote this sustenance.