For a given cloud, whether the cloud top is predominately made up of ice crystals or supercooled liquid droplets plays a large role in the clouds overall radiative effects. This study uses collocated airborne radar, lidar, and thermodynamic data from 12 high‐altitude flight legs during the Southern Ocean Clouds, Radiation, Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES) to characterize Southern Ocean (SO) cold sector cloud top phase (i.e., within 96 m of top) as a function of cloud top temperature (CTT). A training data set was developed to create probabilistic phase classifications based on High Spectral Resolution Lidar data and Cloud Radar data. These classifications were then used to identify dominant cloud top phase. Case studies are presented illustrating examples of supercooled liquid water at cloud top at different CTT ranges over the SO (−3°C < CTTs < −28°C). During SOCRATES, 67.4% of sampled cloud top had CTTs less than 0°C. Of the subfreezing cloud tops sampled, 91.7% had supercooled liquid water present in the top 96 m and 74.9% were classified entirely as liquid‐bearing. Liquid‐bearing cloud tops were found at CTTs as cold as −30°C. Horizontal cloud extent was also determined as a function of median cloud top height.
This study documents the presence of ice in stratocumulus clouds with cloud top temperatures (CTT) > −5 °C in the cold sector of extratropical cyclones over the Southern Ocean (SO) during ten SO Clouds, Radiation, Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES) research flights. Case studies are presented showing ice signatures within clouds when CTT were between −2 and −5°C, evidenced in Doppler radar radial velocity changes observed during high‐altitude flight legs as ice particles melted across the 0°C isotherm. Ice on these legs was found to contribute to precipitation 3.8% of the time from clouds with −5°C < CTT <0°C. Clouds observed with a distinct melting level on high‐altitude flight legs overall had greater cloud depths, tops with higher reflectivities, and higher linear depolarization ratios, compared to clouds without a melting level. In situ flight legs were also analyzed when Himawari‐8 CTT were between 0 and −5°C and the aircraft was sampling in cloud within that temperature range. It was found that 3% of clouds sampled in situ with −5°C < CTT <0°C were mixed phase with a mean number concentration of 2.35 L−1for nonspherical particles with maximum diameters >100 μm and 1.13 L−1for nonspherical particles with maximum diameters >200 μm.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1660486
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10449376
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
- Volume:
- 126
- Issue:
- 14
- ISSN:
- 2169-897X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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