On the Frequency of Occurrence of the Ice Phase in Supercooled Southern Ocean Low Clouds Derived From CALIPSO and CloudSat
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Gerald G. Mace↗
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Results for “cloud ice”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Vertical Structure and Ice Production Processes of Shallow Convective Postfrontal Clouds over the Southern Ocean in MARCUS. Part II: Modeling Study
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
The Impact of Assimilating Precipitation-affected Radiance on Cloud and Precipitation in Goddard WRF-EDAS Analyses
High-frequency TMI and AMSR-E radiances, which are sensitive to precipitation over land, are assimilated into the Goddard Weather Research and Forecasting Model- Ensemble Data Assimilation System (WRF-EDAS) for a few heavy rain events over the continental US. Independent observations from surface rainfall, satellite IR brightness temperatures, as well as ground-radar reflectivity profiles are used to evaluate the impact of assimilating rain-sensitive radiances on cloud and precipitation within WRF-EDAS. The evaluations go beyond comparisons of forecast skills and domain-mean statistics, and focus on studying the cloud and precipitation features in the jointed rainradiance and rain-cloud space, with particular attentions on vertical distributions of height-dependent cloud types and collective effect of cloud hydrometers. Such a methodology is very helpful to understand limitations and sources of errors in rainaffected radiance assimilations. It is found that the assimilation of rain-sensitive radiances can reduce the mismatch between model analyses and observations by reasonably enhancing/reducing convective intensity over areas where the observation indicates precipitation, and suppressing convection over areas where the model forecast indicates rain but the observation does not. It is also noted that instead of generating sufficient low-level warmrain clouds as in observations, the model analysis tends to produce many spurious upperlevel clouds containing small amount of ice water content. This discrepancy is associated with insufficient information in ice-water-sensitive radiances to address the vertical distribution of clouds with small amount of ice water content. Such a problem will likely be mitigated when multi-channel multi-frequency radiances/reflectivity are assimilated over land along with sufficiently accurate surface emissivity information to better constrain the vertical distribution of cloud hydrometers.
WRF-EDAS Analyses↗
Radiative properties of visible and subvisible Cirrus: Scattering on hexagonal ice crystals
One of the main objectives of the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE) is to provide a better understanding of the physics of upper level clouds. The focus is on just one specific aspect of cirrus physics, namely on characterizing the radiative properties of single, nonspherical ice particles. The basis for further more extensive studies of the radiative transfer through upper level clouds is provided. Radiation provides a potential mechanism for strong feedback between the divergence of in-cloud radiative flux and the cloud microphysics and ultimately on the dynamics of the cloud. Some aspects of ice cloud microphysics that are relevant to the radiation calculations are described. Next, the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA) is introduced and some new results of scattering by irregular crystals are presented. The Anomalous Diffraction Theory (ADT) was adopted to investigate the scattering properties of even larger crystals. In this way the scattering properties of nonspherical particles were determined over a range of particle sizes.
Flatau, Piotr J.↗
EAULIQ: The Next Generation
This report summarizes the design of a new version of the stratiform cloud parameterization called Eauliq; the new version is called Eauliq NG. The key features of Eauliq NG are: (1) a prognostic fractional area covered by stratiform cloudiness, following the approach developed by M. Tiedtke for use in the ECMWF model; (2) separate prognostic thermodynamic variables for the clear and cloudy portions of each grid cell; (3) separate vertical velocities for the clear and cloudy portions of each grid cell, allowing the model to represent some aspects of observed mesoscale circulations; (4) cumulus entrainment from both the clear and cloudy portions of a grid cell, and cumulus detrainment into the cloudy portion only; and (5) the effects of the cumulus-induced subsidence in the cloudy portion of a grid cell on the cloud water and ice there. In this paper we present the mathematical framework of Eauliq NG; a discussion of cumulus effects; a new parameterization of lateral mass exchanges between clear and cloudy regions; and a theory to determine the mesoscale mass circulation, based on the hypothesis that the stratiform clouds remain neutrally buoyant through time and that the mesoscale circulations are the mechanism which makes this possible. An appendix also discusses some time-differencing methods.
Randall, David A.↗
Radiative transfer to space through a precipitating cloud at multiple microwave frequencies. III - Influence of large ice particles
The time-dependent influence of large ice particles on the brightness temperatures, T(B)s, that would be observed from space above severe thunderstorms is investigated using a vertically and angularly detailed plane-parallel microwave radiative transfer model. The impact of large ice particles on passive microwave T(B)s over an evolving model rain cloud was examined at ten separate frequencies in the EHF/SHF spectrum. It is shown that the frequency-dependent vertically distributed generalized emission/scattering weighting functions, introduced in this simulation to vertically resolve the contributions by individual cloud and precipitation layers to the T(B)s, can be used to identify the specific layers responsible for regulating the magnitude of top-of-atmoshere T(B)s.
Smith, Eric A.↗
Integration of Satellite-Derived Cloud Phase, Cloud Top Height, and Liquid Water Path into an Operational Aircraft Icing Nowcasting System
Operational products used by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to alert pilots of hazardous icing provide nowcast and short-term forecast estimates of the potential for the presence of supercooled liquid water and supercooled large droplets. The Current Icing Product (CIP) system employs basic satellite-derived information, including a cloud mask and cloud top temperature estimates, together with multiple other data sources to produce a gridded, three-dimensional, hourly depiction of icing probability and severity. Advanced satellite-derived cloud products developed at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) provide a more detailed description of cloud properties (primarily at cloud top) compared to the basic satellite-derived information used currently in CIP. Cloud hydrometeor phase, liquid water path, cloud effective temperature, and cloud top height as estimated by the LaRC algorithms are into the CIP fuzzy logic scheme and a confidence value is determined. Examples of CIP products before and after the integration of the LaRC satellite-derived products will be presented at the conference.
Haggerty, Julie↗
Quantifying the Resolution Sensitivity of the Kain–Fritsch Scheme Across the Gray Zone by Isolating Interactions: A TWP‐ICE Case Study
The resolution sensitivity of the Kain–Fritsch (KF) convection scheme and the role of interactions between the physics and dynamics within the gray zone (<10 km) were investigated using the Separate Physics and Dynamics Experiment (SPADE) framework. Two groups of experiments were conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model via traditional (Tradition) runs and SPADE runs with resolutions of 1, 2, 4, and 8 km during the wet period of the Tropical Warm Pool–International Cloud Experiment (TWP‐ICE). Results show that the KF scheme simulates the weakened convective processes well as the resolution increases in both groups, and the changes in the convective variables with resolution in SPADE are smaller than in the Tradition group. This indicates the important effects of interactions between model components on convection parameterizations as the resolution changes. Additionally, the microphysics variables remain nearly unchanged with resolution in SPADE and weaken slightly in Tradition as the resolution decreases, suggesting the relatively weaker influences of model interactions for the resolved‐cloud parameterization. Therefore, the scale‐aware behavior of KF scheme is further strengthened in Tradition runs, primarily through inhibiting the strength of stratiform processes through physics–dynamics interactions and physical components.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Cloud classification in polar regions using AVHRR textural and spectral signatures
Arctic clouds and ice-covered surfaces are classified on the basis of textural and spectral features obtained with AVHRR 1.1-km spatial resolution imagery over the Beaufort Sea during May-October, 1989. Scenes were acquired about every 5 days, for a total of 38 cases. A list comprising 20 arctic-surface and cloud classes is compiled using spectral measures defined by Garand (1988).
Welch, R. M.↗
Aircraft-Measured Indirect Cloud Effects from Biomass Burning Smoke in the Arctic and Subarctic
The incidence of wildfires in the Arctic and subarctic is increasing; in boreal North America, for example, the burned area is expected to increase by 200-300% over the next 50-100 years, which previous studies suggest could have a large effect on cloud microphysics, lifetime, albedo, and precipitation. However, the interactions between smoke particles and clouds remain poorly quantified due to confounding meteorological influences and remote sensing limitations. Here, we use data from several aircraft campaigns in the Arctic and subarctic to explore cloud microphysics in liquid-phase clouds influenced by biomass burning. Median cloud droplet radii in smoky clouds were approx. 40- 60% smaller than in background clouds. Based on the relationship between cloud droplet number (N(liq)/ and various biomass burning tracers (BBt/ across the multi-campaign data set, we calculated the magnitude of subarctic and Arctic smoke aerosol-cloud interactions (ACIs, where ACI = (1/3) x dln(N(liq))/dln(BBt)) to be approx. 0.16 out of a maximum possible value of 0.33 that would be obtained if all aerosols were to nucleate cloud droplets. Interestingly, in a separate subarctic case study with low liquid water content (0.02 gm/cu m and very high aerosol concentrations (2000- 3000/ cu cm in the most polluted clouds, the estimated ACI value was only 0.05. In this case, competition for water vapor by the high concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) strongly limited the formation of droplets and reduced the cloud albedo effect, which highlights the importance of cloud feedbacks across scales. Using our calculated ACI values, we estimate that the smoke-driven cloud albedo effect may decrease local summertime short-wave radiative flux by between 2 and 4 W/sq m or more under some low and homogeneous cloud cover conditions in the subarctic, although the changes should be smaller in high surface albedo regions of the Arctic.We lastly explore evidence suggesting that numerous northern-latitude background Aitken particles can interact with combustion particles, perhaps impacting their properties as cloud condensation and ice nuclei.
cloud microphysics↗
Improvements in AVHRR Daytime Cloud Detection Over the ARM NSA Site
Clouds play an important role in the radiation budget over Arctic and Antarctic. Because of limited surface observing capabilities, it is necessary to detect clouds over large areas using satellite imagery. At low and mid-latitudes, satellite-observed visible (VIS; 0.65 micrometers) and infrared (IR; 11 micrometers) radiance data are used to derive cloud fraction, temperature, and optical depth. However, the extreme variability in the VIS surface albedo makes the detection of clouds from satellite a difficult process in polar regions. The IR data often show that the surface is nearly the same temperature or even colder than clouds, further complicating cloud detection. Also, the boundary layer can have large areas of haze, thin fog, or diamond dust that are not seen in standard satellite imagery. Other spectral radiances measured by satellite imagers provide additional information that can be used to more accurately discriminate clouds from snow and ice. Most techniques currently use a fixed reflectance or temperature threshold to decide between clouds and clear snow. Using a subjective approach, Minnis et al. (2001) found that the clear snow radiance signatures vary as a function of viewing and illumination conditions as well as snow condition. To routinely process satellite imagery over polar regions with an automated algorithm, it is necessary to account for this angular variability and the change in the background reflectance as snow melts, vegetation grows over land, and melt ponds form on pack ice. This paper documents the initial satellite-based cloud product over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope of Alaska (NSA) site at Barrow for use by the modeling community. Cloud amount and height are determined subjectively using an adaptation of the methodology of Minnis et al. (2001) and the radiation fields arc determined following the methods of Doelling et al. (2001) as applied to data taken during the Surface Heat and Energy Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA). The procedures and data produced in this empirically based analysis will also facilitate the development of the automated algorithm for future processing of satellite data over the ARM NSA domain. Results are presented for May, June, and July 1998. ARM surface data are use to partially validate the results taken directly over the ARM site.
Chakrapani, V.↗
Biological particles and aerosol-cloud interactions in the Southern Great Plains (Final Report)
The United States Southern Great Plains (SGP) is the genesis for much of the warm season precipitation in the central and eastern United States. While atmospheric thermodynamics and large-scale dynamics play an important role in formation of precipitation, precipitation mechanisms are also sensitive to aerosols. Aerosols can suppress precipitation as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) or act as ice nucleating particles (INP) in deep convective clouds. This project focused on understanding the role of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) in the region and its influence on cloud formation. Specifically, we focused on biological aerosol in the form of pollen, one type of PBAP that is emitted in large yet variable quantities from vegetation in the mid latitudes. Field observations provide evidence of pollen in the planetary boundary layer and pollen components in cloud droplets and fine particulate matter. Further, pollen grains can easily rupture when wet, forming smaller, sub pollen particles with sizes less than one micron. We evaluated the potential for PBAP events at the Department of Energy (DoE) SGP Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) research facility due to the rich dataset available. We also developed model simulations that accounted for pollen emission and the generation of sub pollen particles, which have been shown to be both cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleating particles. The proposed work was designed to address the following questions: 1. What are the physical and chemical signatures of biological aerosol such as pollen in SGP ARM measurements? 2. What is the role of pollen-derived particles on deep convection and precipitation in the Central US? Using measurements from the DoE SGP ARM site and recent airborne campaigns, we evaluated the signatures of pollen and pollen-derived aerosols on optical properties, cloud properties and precipitation (Subba et al., 2021). We identified pollen-driven events over the data record and used the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with fully coupled chemistry (WRF-Chem) to conduct chemically realistic simulations of aerosols during and summer mesoscale convective events in the Southern Great Plains (Subba et al., in review). This work improved our understanding of the role of biological aerosol on clouds and precipitation in the Central United States and placed these results in context with anthropogenically-driven processes.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Biological particles and aerosol-cloud interactions in the Southern Great Plains
The United States Southern Great Plains (SGP) is the genesis for much of the warm season precipitation in the central and eastern United States. While atmospheric thermodynamics and large-scale dynamics play an important role in formation of precipitation, precipitation mechanisms are also sensitive to aerosols. Aerosols can suppress precipitation as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) or act as ice nucleating particles (INP) in deep convective clouds. This project focused on understanding the role of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) in the region and its influence on cloud formation. Specifically, we focused on biological aerosol in the form of pollen, one type of PBAP that is emitted in large yet variable quantities from vegetation in the mid latitudes. Field observations provide evidence of pollen in the planetary boundary layer and pollen components in cloud droplets and fine particulate matter. Further, pollen grains can easily rupture when wet, forming smaller, sub pollen particles with sizes less than one micron. We evaluated the potential for PBAP events at the Department of Energy (DoE) SGP Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) research facility due to the rich dataset available. We also developed model simulations that accounted for pollen emission and the generation of sub pollen particles, which have been shown to be both cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleating particles. The proposed work was designed to address the following questions: 1. What are the physical and chemical signatures of biological aerosol such as pollen in SGP ARM measurements? 2. What is the role of pollen-derived particles on deep convection and precipitation in the Central US? Using measurements from the DoE SGP ARM site and recent airborne campaigns, we evaluated the signatures of pollen and pollen-derived aerosols on optical properties, cloud properties and precipitation (Subba et al., 2021). We identified pollen-driven events over the data record and used the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with fully coupled chemistry (WRF-Chem) to conduct chemically realistic simulations of aerosols during and summer mesoscale convective events in the Southern Great Plains (Subba et al., in review). This work improved our understanding of the role of biological aerosol on clouds and precipitation in the Central United States and placed these results in context with anthropogenically-driven processes.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
From Astrochemistry to Astrobiology ...... and Back Again
Tremendous strides have been made in our understanding of interstellar material over the past twenty five years thanks to significant developments in observational infrared astronomy and laboratory astrophysics. Twenty five years ago the composition of interstellar dust was largely guessed at, the concept of ices in dense molecular clouds generally ignored, and the notion of large, abundant, gas phase, carbon-rich molecules widespread throughout the interstellar medium (ISM) considered impossible. Today the composition of interstellar dust is reasonably well understood. In molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars and planets, these cold dust particles are coated with mixed molecular ices whose composition is reasonably well constrained. Lastly, the signature of carbon-rich polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), shockingly large molecules by early interstellar chemistry standards, is widespread throughout the Universe. The first part of this talk will describe how infrared spectroscopic studies of interstellar space, combined with laboratory simulations and theoretical studies of PAHs and interstellar ices, have revealed the widespread presence of interstellar PAHs and the composition of interstellar precometary ices. The remainder of the presentation will focus on the photochemical evolution of these icy materials. Within a molecular cloud, and especially the presolar nebula, materials frozen into the ices are photoprocessed by ultraviolet light and more complex molecules are produced. As these materials are the building blocks of comets and related to carbonaceous micrometeorites, they are likely to be important sources of complex materials delivered to habitable planets and their composition may be related to the origin of life.
Allamandola, L. J.↗
Global Importance of Secondary Ice Production
Measured ice crystal number concentrations are often orders of magnitude higher than the number concentrations of ice nucleating particles, indicating the existence of secondary ice production (SIP) in clouds. Here, we present the first study to examine the global importance of SIP through the droplet shattering during freezing of rain, ice-ice collision fragmentation, and rime splintering, using a global climate model. Our results show that SIP happens quite uniformly in the two hemispheres and dominates the ice formation in the moderately cold clouds with temperatures warmer than –15°C. SIP decreases the global annual average liquid water path by –14.6 g m –2 (–22%), increases the ice water path by 8.7 g m –2 (23%), improving the model agreement with observations. SIP changes the global annual average shortwave, longwave, and net cloud forcing by 2.1, –1.0, and 1.1 W m –2 , respectively, highlighting the importance of SIP on cloud properties on the global scale.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
High-Volume Precipitation Spectrometer (HVPS) Instrument Handbook
The high-volume precipitation spectrometer (HVPS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility instrument for measuring hydrometeors larger than 150 μm. It is an open-path instrument located on the outside of the aircraft, typically below the wing. A laser sheet throws a shadowgraph image of the hydrometeor (cloud droplets or ice crystals) in the sample volume on a photodiode array. As the hydrometeor moves through the sample volume, this optical array records the moving shape and a two-dimensional picture can be recorded. At an air speed of 100 m/s, the sample volume is 310 l/s. The recorded images can be analyzed for size distributions, number concentrations, and further cloud properties detailed below. Hydrometeors in the range of 0.3-19.2 mm can be fully recorded at a 150 μm resolution; larger particles can only be sized along the direction of flight.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Space shuttle exhaust cloud properties
A data base describing the properties of the exhaust cloud produced by the launch of the Space Transportation System and the acidic fallout observed after each of the first four launches was assembled from a series of ground and aircraft based measurements made during the launches of STS 2, 3, and 4. Additional data were obtained from ground-based measurements during firings of the 6.4 percent model of the Solid Rocket Booster at the Marshall Center. Analysis indicates that the acidic fallout is produced by atomization of the deluge water spray by the rocket exhaust on the pad followed by rapid scavening of hydrogen chloride gas aluminum oxide particles from the Solid Rocket Boosters. The atomized spray is carried aloft by updrafts created by the hot exhaust and deposited down wind. Aircraft measurements in the STS-3 ground cloud showed an insignificant number of ice nuclei. Although no measurements were made in the column cloud, the possibility of inadvertent weather modification caused by the interaction of ice nuclei with natural clouds appears remote.
Anderson, B. J.↗
Low-power millimeter-wave radar observations of the atmosphere
Historically, cloud structures, dynamics, and precipitation processes have been observed and measured with sensors from two different spatial resolutions. Laser-based sensors have volume resolutions on the order of 10(exp -4) to 10(exp -2) cubic meters for a 1-s sample. Radar systems operating at wavelengths between 1 and 10 cm have resolutions on the order of 10(exp 4) to 10(exp 7) cubic meters. The resolutions of micro-wave systems depend primarily on the system RF bandwidth and antenna bandwidth. Both resolution regimes were useful in the study of cloud structures and processes - the former for determining resolution on the individual cloud particle scale and the latter for studying the coarse characteristics of cloud dynamics and structure. There are, however, cloud processes and structures that occur on scales that lie between these two regimes: the process of entrainment, where outside air is brought within the cloud boundaries; the mixing of in-cloud particles with different histories; cloud particle coalescence; and ice formation. The use of mm-wave (30- to 300-GHz) radars offers an opportunity to observe cloud processes at these scales and determine their influence on precipitation development, cloud albedos, cloud lifetimes, chemical cycling of tract substances, aircraft icing, and other meteorological phenomena. To determine the usefulness of a 35-GHz radar for observing these precipitation and cloud processes, a research program was initiated. The objectives of this program are to develop a 35-GHz radar, to measure scattering from precipitation and clouds, and to develop a model to compute scattering from clouds using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique.
Ronnau, James F.↗