Articles | Volume 26, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-15375-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-15375-2026
Research article
 | 
03 Nov 2026
Research article |  | 03 Nov 2026

A closed-to-open cell mixed-phase cloud transition observed over the Nordic Seas under high aerosol loading and strong surface fluxes

Samuel Ephraim, Paquita Zuidema, Aaron Bansemer, Lintong Cai, Markus Petters, Elise Rosky, Jefferson R. Snider, Zhien Wang, Sarah Woods, Kevin Barry, Theresa Campos, Owen Cruikshank, Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Romanos Foskinis, Jeffrey R. French, Bart Geerts, Coltin Grasmick, Silvia Henning, Varun Kumar, Andreas Massling, Camille Mavis, Greg M. McFarquhar, Athanasios Nenes, Gunnar Noer, Ryan Patnaude, Russell Perkins, Lise Lotte Sørensen, Henrik Skov, Tyler Tatro, Florian Tornow, and Lu Zhang

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Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-241,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-241, 2026
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Cited articles

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The processes that establish how mixed-phase closed-cell clouds transition to open-cells are poorly known. First-of-its kind aircraft observations document such a transition in the presence of anomalously high aerosol concentrations, reducing the drop size thereby discouraging riming, over the Nordic Seas at cloud temperatures < −15 °C. Eventually, ice precipitation produces surface cold pools that appear to drive the convective transition, despite strong counteracting surface fluxes.

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