Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievals
<p>The formation of ice in clouds is an important process in mixed-phase clouds, and the radiative properties and dynamical developments of clouds strongly depend on their partitioning between the liquid and ice phases. In this study, we investigated the sensitivities of the cloud phase to the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/14077/2023/acp-23-14077-2023.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797628874963550208 |
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| author | C. Han C. Han C. Hoose M. Stengel Q. Coopman Q. Coopman A. Barrett |
| author_facet | C. Han C. Han C. Hoose M. Stengel Q. Coopman Q. Coopman A. Barrett |
| author_sort | C. Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The formation of ice in clouds is an important process in mixed-phase clouds, and the radiative properties and dynamical developments of clouds strongly depend on their partitioning between the liquid and ice phases. In this study, we investigated the sensitivities of the cloud phase to the ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentration and thermodynamics. Moreover, passive satellite retrieval algorithms and cloud products were evaluated to identify whether they could detect cloud microphysical and thermodynamical perturbations. Experiments were conducted using the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON) model at the convection-permitting resolution of about 1.2 km on a domain covering significant parts of central Europe, and they were compared to two different retrieval products based on Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) measurements. We selected a day with multiple isolated deep convective clouds, reaching a homogeneous freezing temperature at the cloud top. The simulated cloud liquid pixel fractions were found to decrease with increasing INP concentration, both within clouds and at the cloud top. The decrease in the cloud liquid pixel fraction was not monotonic and was stronger in high-INP cases. Cloud-top glaciation temperatures shifted toward warmer temperatures with an increasing INP concentration by as much as 8 <span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span>C. Moreover, the impact of the INP concentration on cloud-phase partitioning was more pronounced at the cloud top than within the cloud. Furthermore, initial and lateral boundary temperature fields were perturbed with increasing and decreasing temperature increments from 0 to <span class="inline-formula">±3</span> and <span class="inline-formula">±5</span> K between 3 and 12 km, respectively. Perturbing the initial thermodynamic state was also found to systematically affect the cloud-phase distribution. However, the simulated cloud-top liquid pixel fraction, diagnosed using radiative transfer simulations as input to a satellite forward operator and two different satellite remote-sensing retrieval algorithms, deviated from one of the satellite products regardless of perturbations in the INP concentration or the initial thermodynamic state for warmer subzero temperatures while agreeing with the other retrieval scheme much better, in particular for the high-INP and high-CAPE (convective available potential energy) scenarios. Perturbing the initial thermodynamic state, which artificially increases the instability of the mid- and upper-troposphere, brought the simulated cloud-top liquid pixel fraction closer to the satellite observations, especially in the warmer mixed-phase temperature range.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:45:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d4c330b6a06a48609404741b443dac42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:45:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4c330b6a06a48609404741b443dac422023-11-14T06:03:11ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242023-11-0123140771409510.5194/acp-23-14077-2023Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievalsC. Han0C. Han1C. Hoose2M. Stengel3Q. Coopman4Q. Coopman5A. Barrett6Department Troposphere Research, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-TRO), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, GermanyState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaDepartment Troposphere Research, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-TRO), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, GermanyDeutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Offenbach, GermanyDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Canadanow at: Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8518 Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA), Lille, FranceDepartment Troposphere Research, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-TRO), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany<p>The formation of ice in clouds is an important process in mixed-phase clouds, and the radiative properties and dynamical developments of clouds strongly depend on their partitioning between the liquid and ice phases. In this study, we investigated the sensitivities of the cloud phase to the ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentration and thermodynamics. Moreover, passive satellite retrieval algorithms and cloud products were evaluated to identify whether they could detect cloud microphysical and thermodynamical perturbations. Experiments were conducted using the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON) model at the convection-permitting resolution of about 1.2 km on a domain covering significant parts of central Europe, and they were compared to two different retrieval products based on Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) measurements. We selected a day with multiple isolated deep convective clouds, reaching a homogeneous freezing temperature at the cloud top. The simulated cloud liquid pixel fractions were found to decrease with increasing INP concentration, both within clouds and at the cloud top. The decrease in the cloud liquid pixel fraction was not monotonic and was stronger in high-INP cases. Cloud-top glaciation temperatures shifted toward warmer temperatures with an increasing INP concentration by as much as 8 <span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span>C. Moreover, the impact of the INP concentration on cloud-phase partitioning was more pronounced at the cloud top than within the cloud. Furthermore, initial and lateral boundary temperature fields were perturbed with increasing and decreasing temperature increments from 0 to <span class="inline-formula">±3</span> and <span class="inline-formula">±5</span> K between 3 and 12 km, respectively. Perturbing the initial thermodynamic state was also found to systematically affect the cloud-phase distribution. However, the simulated cloud-top liquid pixel fraction, diagnosed using radiative transfer simulations as input to a satellite forward operator and two different satellite remote-sensing retrieval algorithms, deviated from one of the satellite products regardless of perturbations in the INP concentration or the initial thermodynamic state for warmer subzero temperatures while agreeing with the other retrieval scheme much better, in particular for the high-INP and high-CAPE (convective available potential energy) scenarios. Perturbing the initial thermodynamic state, which artificially increases the instability of the mid- and upper-troposphere, brought the simulated cloud-top liquid pixel fraction closer to the satellite observations, especially in the warmer mixed-phase temperature range.</p>https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/14077/2023/acp-23-14077-2023.pdf |
| spellingShingle | C. Han C. Han C. Hoose M. Stengel Q. Coopman Q. Coopman A. Barrett Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievals Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| title | Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievals |
| title_full | Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievals |
| title_fullStr | Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievals |
| title_short | Sensitivity of cloud-phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and SEVIRI retrievals |
| title_sort | sensitivity of cloud phase distribution to cloud microphysics and thermodynamics in simulated deep convective clouds and seviri retrievals |
| url | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/14077/2023/acp-23-14077-2023.pdf |
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