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Analyzing the Thermodynamic Phase Partitioning of Mixed Phase Clouds Over the Southern Ocean Using Passive Satellite Observations

Coopman, Q. 1; Hoose, C. ORCID iD icon 1; Stengel, M.
1 Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung (IMK), Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Abstract:

The thermodynamic phase transition of clouds is still not well understood, therefore, the partitioning of ice and liquid in mixed phase clouds is often misrepresented in numerical models. We use 12 years of cloud observations from the geostationary Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager over the Southern Ocean to detect clouds which contain both liquid and ice pixels at their tops and we retrieve microphysical and radiative properties in each cloud object. The results show that large cloud droplet effective radius coincides with high ice fraction and high ice optical thickness for cloud top temperatures higher than −8 °C. We also found that the density of ice pixel clusters increases with the cloud ice fraction, for ice fraction lower than 0.5, suggesting a multiplication of ice pockets in line with previous studies, particularly efficient for clouds with high perimeter fractal dimension.

Plain Language Summary
Clouds with coexisting liquid droplets and ice crystals are frequent but they are still not well understood and often misrepresented in numerical models. We analyze the temperature, the optical properties of clouds, and the size of droplets and ice crystals from 12 years of satellite observations over the Southern Ocean. ... mehr


Verlagsausgabe §
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000131876
Veröffentlicht am 01.07.2022
Originalveröffentlichung
DOI: 10.1029/2021GL093225
Scopus
Zitationen: 6
Web of Science
Zitationen: 6
Dimensions
Zitationen: 8
Cover der Publikation
Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung Troposphärenforschung (IMKTRO)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsjahr 2021
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 0094-8276, 1944-8007
KITopen-ID: 1000131876
HGF-Programm 12.11.26 (POF IV, LK 01) Aerosol-Cloud-Climate-Interaction
Erschienen in Geophysical Research Letters
Verlag John Wiley and Sons
Band 48
Heft 7
Seiten e2021GL093225
Nachgewiesen in Dimensions
Scopus
Web of Science
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