Articles | Volume 25, issue 15
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8943-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8943-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Aug 2025
Research article |
| 14 Aug 2025
| 14 Aug 2025
Ice crystal complexity leads to weaker ice cloud radiative heating in idealized single-column simulations
Edgardo I. Sepulveda Araya
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Aiko Voigt
Department of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
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Short summary
Clouds composed of ice crystals are key when evaluating atmospheric radiation. The morphology of the crystals found in clouds is not clear yet, and even less clear is the impact on the cloud heating rate, which is essential to describe precipitation and wind patterns. This motivated us to study how the heating rate behaves under a variety of ice complexity and environmental conditions, finding that increasing complexity in high and dense clouds weakens the heating rate.
Clouds composed of ice crystals are key when evaluating atmospheric radiation. The morphology of...
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