Studies of the radiative properties of ice and mixed‐phase clouds

Abstract

AbstractRadiative parametrizations for both ice and water clouds are developed in terms of liquid/ice water content, based on Mie scattering theory. For ice crystals the application of Mie theory is guided by the hexagonal‐crystal/equivalent‐spheres comparison of Takano and Liou. These parametrizations are extensively tested against measurements from aircraft and are shown to perform satisfactorily, although corrections for unobserved small crystals and the effect of crystal shape are large and not currently well defined. The parametrizations are then used to investigate the effect of mixed‐phase clouds on radiative transfer. It is found that, because the radiative properties of ice crystals and liquid droplets are significantly different, the radiative properties of mixed‐phase clouds cannot be simulated successfully if the ice in clouds is converted into liquid water. Both the albedo and the rate of change of albedo with ice fraction are significantly dependent on the method by which the phases are mixed; these factors may be of especial importance in climate‐sensitivity experiments that incorporate mixed‐phase clouds. The presence of ice in clouds below the cirrus level is often ignored in climate‐model and radiation‐budget studies. The calculations presented here indicate that this neglect may lead to a serious bias in cloud albedo for a given path of condensed water.