Abstract
We present the first attempt of a closure experiment regarding the relationship between ice nucleating particle concentration (INPC) and ice crystal number concentration (ICNC), solely based on active remote sensing. The approach combines aerosol and cloud observations with polarization lidar, Doppler lidar, and cloud radar. Several field campaigns were conducted on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean from 2015-2018 to study heterogeneous ice formation in altocumulus and cirrus layers embedded in Saharan dust. A case study observed on 10 April 2017 is discussed in this contribution.
Highlights
Heterogeneous ice formation is an important pathway of aerosol-cloud interaction
Even at lower temperatures (−40 to −65◦C) and dominating homogeneous freezing conditions, heterogeneous ice nucleation can have a strong impact on the evolution and life time of cirrus clouds when the clouds form in dust layers which frequently reach the upper troposphere by long-range transport and large-scale lifting
The ice cloud formed in a mineral dust layer which was advected from central and western regions of the Sahara towards the Eastern Mediterranean
Summary
Heterogeneous ice formation is an important pathway of aerosol-cloud interaction. Via heterogeneous nucleation of ice cyrstals, aerosol particles can trigger cloud ice formation at temperatures >−38◦C at which homogeneous freezing is impossible. Even at lower temperatures (−40 to −65◦C) and dominating homogeneous freezing conditions, heterogeneous ice nucleation can have a strong impact on the evolution and life time of cirrus clouds when the clouds form in dust layers which frequently reach the upper troposphere by long-range transport and large-scale lifting.
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