Cirrus Properties Research Articles

In Situ Observations of the Microphysical Properties of Wave, Cirrus, and Anvil Clouds. Part I: Wave Clouds

The microphysical properties of wave clouds based on data collected during 17 missions flown by a Learjet research aircraft are presented and discussed. This extensive dataset expands upon previous aircraft studies of wave clouds and introduces some new findings. While most aspects of the observations are consistent with basic cloud physics, some aspects remain difficult to interpret. Most notable among these are ice nucleation and aspects of the dynamical structure of wave clouds. A new hypothesis to explain the ice nucleation behavior is presented. The average and standard deviation of bulk microphysical parameters are presented for various locations within the wave clouds. Using digital imagery from a cloud particle imager (CPI), the shapes of ice particles are studied and crystal habits are classified. For certain categories—rosette shapes, columns, and irregular shapes—power-law parameterizations of particle area from particle length are presented. Polycrystals with rosette shapes dominate the ice mass while small spheroidal and irregularly shaped crystals dominate the ice number concentration. The concept and difficulties of using wave clouds as natural cloud physics laboratories are discussed and evaluated. A study of the riming threshold size of columns is in good agreement with the results of previous studies, showing that column width is the predominate factor in determining riming threshold. The first reported studies of the riming threshold size of rosette shapes and the threshold size for side-plane growth are presented.

Cloud Properties Simulated by a Single-Column Model. Part II: Evaluation of Cumulus Detrainment and Ice-Phase Microphysics Using a Cloud-Resolving Model

Abstract This paper is the second in a series in which kilometer-scale-resolving observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program and output from the University of California, Los Angeles/Colorado State University cloud-resolving model (CRM) are used to evaluate the single-column model (SCM) version of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System model. Part I demonstrated that kilometer-scale cirrus properties analyzed by applying the SCM’s assumptions about cloud vertical overlap and horizontal homogeneity to its profiles of cloud water/ice mixing ratio, cloud fraction, and snow flux differed from the cloud radar observations while the CRM simulation reproduced most of the observed cirrus properties. The present study evaluates, through a comparison with the CRM, the SCM’s representation of detrainment from deep cumulus and ice-phase microphysics in an effort to better understand the findings of Part I. This study finds that, although the SCM’s detrainment rate profile averaged over the entire simulation period is comparable to the CRM’s, detrainment in the SCM is comparatively sporadic and vertically localized. Too much detrained ice is sublimated when first detrained. Snow formed from detrained cloud ice falls through too deep of a layer. These aspects of the SCM’s parameterizations may explain many of the differences in the cirrus properties between the SCM and the observations (or between the SCM and the CRM), and suggest several possible improvements for the SCM: 1) allowing multiple coexisting cumulus cloud types as in the original Arakawa–Schubert scheme, 2) prognostically determining the stratiform cloud fraction, and 3) explicitly predicting the snow mixing ratio. These would allow better representation of the detrainment from deep convection, better coupling of the volume of detrained air with cloud fraction, and better representation of snow flux.

Microphysical and optical properties of midlatitude cirrus clouds observed in the southern hemisphere during INCA

AbstractAirborne microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds, jet‐stream and wave clouds were measured at temperatures ranging from −25°C to −62°C in the southern hemisphere from Punta Arenas (53°S) in March and April 2000 during the INCA experiment (INterhemispheric differences in Cirrus properties from Anthropogenic emissions). The observations related to cirrus clouds show general decreases of the ice water content (18 mg m−3 to 0.05 mg m−3), extinction coefficient (0.70 km−1 to 0.08 km−1), ice particle concentration (2.2 cm−3 to 0.5 cm−3), and the effective diameter (80 µm to 17 µm) linked to the variation of ambient temperature (−25°C to −60°C). The lowest temperature at which supercooled water droplets were detected was −33°C. The asymmetry parameter shows relatively small variations, with the smallest values (0.758) observed at the lowest temperatures. High‐altitude clouds which form with a rapid vertical transport, i.e. jet‐stream cirrus and orographic‐wave ice‐cloud, are characterized by very high values of ice particle concentrations (up to 100 cm−3) compared to mean values as a whole (1.45 cm−3). These two kinds of high clouds are the subjects of detailed case‐studies. Although formed at a similar range of temperatures and with similar aerosol properties, the strong differences in cloud properties and humidity fields highlight the key role of the dynamical structure in controlling the formation, evolution and subsequent radiative properties of such high‐altitude clouds. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society

Cirrus Clouds and the Large-Scale Atmospheric State: Relationships Revealed by Six Years of Ground-Based Data

AbstractThe properties of cirrus clouds observed at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) in Oklahoma are documented from a nearly continuous 6-yr record of 35-GHz cloud radar data. Cirrus frequency over the ACRF is 23% and 28% of the time in the warm (May–September) and cold seasons (November–March), respectively, with maxima and minima during the period studied of 30% and 16% in the warm season and 34% and 24% in the cold seasons. Cirrus, as defined here, reveal a seasonal oscillation in their macroscale properties that can be traced to the seasonal deepening of the troposphere in the Southern Plains region. While the average bulk microphysical properties do not change significantly from season to season, the variability of certain parameters demonstrates seasonal change. It is shown that the properties of cirrus clouds vary perceptively with the large-scale vertical motion. Using NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data to define the large-scale meteorological state when cirrus are observed at the ACRF, the authors find that cirrus tend to exist within a maximum in upper-tropospheric humidity and downstream of the peak upper-tropospheric vertical motion. Cirrus that exist in large-scale ascent upstream of the synoptic-scale middle-tropospheric ridge axis are shown to have higher water contents than cirrus that exist in large-scale subsidence downstream of the ridge axis, although the overall nature of the statistical distributions of water contents do not change greatly, suggesting that it may be difficult to parameterize the properties of cirrus based solely on large-scale vertical motion. The layer-mean particle size, on the other hand, shows no such sensitivity to the large-scale vertical motion.

Association of Tropical Cirrus in the 10–15-km Layer with Deep Convective Sources: An Observational Study Combining Millimeter Radar Data and Satellite-Derived Trajectories

Abstract In this paper, millimeter cloud radar (MMCR) and Geosynchronous Meteorological Satellite (GMS) data are combined to study the properties of tropical cirrus that are common in the 10–15-km layer of the tropical troposphere in the western Pacific. Millimeter cloud radar observations collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program on the islands of Manus and Nauru in the western and central equatorial Pacific during a 12-month period spanning 1999 and 2000 show differences in cirrus properties: over Manus, where clouds above 7 km are observed 48% of the time, the cirrus are thicker and warmer on average and the radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity are larger; over Nauru clouds above 7 km are observed 23% of time. To explain the differences in cloud properties, the relationship between tropical cirrus and deep convection is examined by combining the radar observations with GMS satellite-derived back trajectories. Using a data record of 1 yr, it is found that 47% of the cirrus observed over Manus can be traced to a deep convective source within the past 12 h while just 16% of the cirrus observed over Nauru appear to have a convective source within the previous 12 h. Of the cirrus that can be traced to deep convection, the evolution of the radar-observed cloud properties is examined as a function of apparent cloud age. The radar Doppler moments and ice water path of the observed cirrus at both sites generally decrease as the cirrus age increase. At Manus, it is found that cirrus during boreal winter typically advect over the site from the southeast from convection associated with the winter monsoon, while during boreal summer, the trajectories are mainly from the northeast. The properties of these two populations of cirrus are found to be different, with the winter cirrus having higher concentrations of smaller particles. Examining statistics of the regional convection using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), it is found that the properties of the winter monsoon convection in the cirrus source region are consistent with more intense convection compared to the convection in the summer source region.

Development of a Detailed Microphysics Cirrus Model Tracking Aerosol Particles’ Histories for Interpretation of the Recent INCA Campaign

AbstractCirrus clouds play an important role in the earth’s energy balance. To quantify their impact, information is needed on their microstructure and more precisely on the number and size of the ice crystals. With the anthropogenic activity, more and more aerosol particles and water vapor are released even at the altitude where cirrus clouds are formed. Cirrus clouds formed in a polluted air mass may have different microphysical properties and, therefore, a different impact on the climate system via the changed radiative properties compared to background cirrus clouds. To study this aspect, the European project called the Interhemispheric Differences in Cirrus Properties due to Anthropogenic Emissions (INCA) measured the microphysical properties of cirrus clouds together with the physical and chemicals properties of aerosol particles in clean air (at Punta Arenas, Chile) and polluted air (at Prestwick, Scotland). The goal of the present work was to develop a detailed microphysics model for cirrus clouds for the interpretation and the generalization of the INCA observations. This model considers moist aerosol particles through the Externally Mixed (EXMIX) model, so that the chemical composition of solution droplets can be followed. Ice crystal formation is described through homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation. The crystals then grow by deposition. With this model, the interactions between the microphysical processes, simulated ice crystal concentrations, and dimensional distributions of the INCA observations were studied, and explanations were provided for the observed differences between background and polluted cirrus clouds.

High supersaturation and modes of ice nucleation in thin tropopause cirrus: Simulation of the 13 July 2002 Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers case

A unique and extensive data set of cirrus properties collected on 13 July 2002 during CRYSTAL‐FACE provides the framework for simulations using cloud models to interpret the observations and to develop recommendations for microphysical parameterizations in large‐scale models. Several outstanding issues in the simulations of cirrus clouds are addressed using detailed bin‐resolving and bulk microphysics models. A new heterogeneous ice nucleation formulation based on extended classical theory with simultaneous dependence on temperature and saturation ratio is applied for the first time to thin tropopause cirrus. The simulated cloud microphysical properties are similar to observations, suggesting that tropopause cirrus may potentially form as a result of heterogeneous immersion freezing of internally mixed aerosols serving as ice nuclei (IN). The potential for mixed aerosols to serve as IN in tropopause cirrus is consistent with measurements of comparable amounts of soluble and insoluble material in cirrus residues and aerosols during CRYSTAL‐FACE. Simulations using homogeneous nucleation theory are also able to produce comparable microphysical properties if the heterogeneous mode is turned off; hence the homogeneous mode cannot be excluded if insoluble material capable of serving as IN is not available. The calculated critical ice supersaturation for the onset of heterogeneous nucleation at these cold temperatures (∼200 K) was 70–80% (for the assumed aerosol nucleation parameters) and 15–20% higher for homogeneous nucleation. The calculated supersaturation relaxation time ranged from ∼1–2 hours in the center of the cloud to 3–6 hours near the boundaries, which may explain the high values of ice supersaturation (30–80%) observed in this cloud. Analysis of the supersaturation budget showed that supersaturation was generally nonequilibrium, and relaxation from the initial critical values to near equilibrium occurred only after several hours. The bulk model was able to simulate this case and in particular the slow crystal growth and large supersaturation because of its detailed treatment of ice nucleation and supersaturation. The fraction of condensed ice relative to excess vapor predicted by both models was 40–60% for several hours, indicating that bulk models with zero supersaturation (instantaneous condensation of all excess vapor) would substantially overpredict the ice water path and optical thickness.

A Near-Global Climatology of Single-Layer and Overlapped Clouds and Their Optical Properties Retrieved from Terra/MODIS Data Using a New Algorithm

Abstract Cloud overlapping has been a major issue in climate studies owing to a lack of reliable information available over both oceans and land. This study presents the first near-global retrieval and analysis of single-layer and overlapped cloud vertical structures and their optical properties retrieved by applying a new method to the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Taking full advantage of the MODIS multiple channels, the method can differentiate cirrus overlapping lower water clouds from single-layer clouds. Based on newly retrieved cloud products using daytime Terra/MODIS 5-km overcast measurements sampled in January, April, July, and October 2001, global statistics of the frequency of occurrence, cloud-top pressure/temperature (Pc/Tc), visible optical depth (τVIS), and infrared emissivity (ɛ) are presented and discussed. Of all overcast scenes identified over land (ocean), the MODIS data show 61% (52%) high clouds (Pc < 500 hPa), 39% (48%) lower clouds (Pc > 500 hPa), and an extremely low occurrence (<4%) of Pc between 500 and 600 hPa. A distinct bimodal distribution of Pc is found and peaks at ∼275 and ∼725 hPa for high and low clouds, thus leaving a minimum in cloud in the middle troposphere. Out of the 61% (52%) of high clouds identified by MODIS, retrievals reveal that 41% (35%) are thin cirrus clouds (ɛ < 0.85 and Pc < 500 hPa) and the remaining 20% (17%) are thick high clouds (ɛ ≥ 0.85). Out of the 41% (35%) of thin cirrus, 29% (27%) are found to overlap with lower water clouds and 12% (8%) are single-layer cirrus. Total low-cloud amount (single-layer plus overlapped) out of all overcast scenes is thus 68% (39% + 29%) over land and 75% (48% + 27%) over ocean, which is greater than the cloud amounts reported by the MODIS and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP). Both retrieved overlapping and nonoverlapping cirrus clouds show similar mean τVIS of ∼1.5 and mean ɛ of ∼0.5. The optical properties of single-layer cirrus and single-layer water clouds agree well with the MODIS standard retrievals. Because the MODIS retrievals do not differentiate between cirrus and lower water clouds in overlap situations, large discrepancies are found for emissivity, cloud-top height, and optical depth for high cirrus overlapping lower water clouds.

Temperature dependence of tropical cirrus properties and radiative effects

The temperature dependencies of cirrus properties are studied using a dual polarization lidar and Mesosphere Stratosphere Troposphere (MST) radar at the tropical station Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E). Cirrus clouds are generally observed in the altitude region 10 to 18 km, with midcloud temperature in the range −85° to −40°C. The cloud temperature decreases with increase in cloud altitude as expected. The mean cloud thickness is generally in the range 0.7 to 1.7 km. For temperatures in the range −75° to −50°C the cloud thickness is ∼1.7 km and shows a tendency to decrease at lower temperatures. The linear depolarization ratio (LDR) within the cloud shows a small increase with decrease in temperature. The cloud extinction and optical depth increases with increase in temperature. The temperature dependence of cirrus extinction/optical depth has been parameterized using different analytical forms such as exponential, linear, and polynomial, which shows that a second‐order polynomial function is well suited for describing the temperature dependence of extinction coefficient/optical depth of tropical cirrus. The climate sensitivity factor derived based on the empirical relations shows an increase with decrease in cloud optical depth. The present study, however, indicates that the cirrus becomes radiatively significant when its optical depth exceeds a threshold value of 0.03.

Cloud Properties Simulated by a Single-Column Model. Part I: Comparison to Cloud Radar Observations of Cirrus Clouds

Abstract This study describes and demonstrates a new method for identifying deficiencies in how cloud processes are represented in large-scale models. Kilometer-scale-resolving cloud radar observations and cloud-resolving model (CRM) simulations were used to evaluate the representation of cirrus clouds in the single-column model (SCM) version of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System model for a 29-day period during June and July 1997 at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program site in Oklahoma. To produce kilometer-scale cirrus statistics from the SCM results, synthetic subgrid-scale (SGS) cloud fields were generated using the SCM’s cloud fraction and hydrometeor content profiles, and the SCM’s cloud overlap and horizontal inhomogeneity assumptions. Three sets of SCM synthetic SGS cloud fields were analyzed. Two NOSNOW sets were produced in which clouds did not include snow; one set used random overlap, the other, maximum/random. In the SNOW set, clouds included snow and random overlap was used. The three sets were sampled in the same way as the cloud-radar-detected cloud fields and the CRM-simulated cloud fields. The mean cirrus cloud occurrence frequency for the SCM NOSNOW cloud fields agrees with the observed value as well as the CRM’s does, while that for SCM SNOW cloud fields is only half that observed. In most aspects, the SCM’s cirrus properties differ significantly from the cloud radar’s and the CRM’s, which generally agree. In comparison, there are too many physically thin SCM NOSNOW cirrus layers (most occupy only a single model layer) and too many physically thick SCM SNOW cirrus layers (most are thicker than 4 km). For the optically thin subset of cirrus layers, 1) the mean, mode, and median ice water path, and layer-mean ice water content (IWC) values for the SCM are significantly larger than the observed and CRM values; 2) the SCM layer-mean IWCs decrease with cloud physical thickness, opposite to the observations and CRM results; and 3) the range of layer-mean effective radii in the SCM thin cirrus is too narrow.

The dependence of cirrus infrared radiative properties on ice crystal geometry and shape of the size-distribution function

The concept of an effective diameter is often used to describe the radiative properties of cirrus, and is commonly applied in the retrieval of cirrus microphysical and/or macrophysical properties. In this paper the applicability of an effective-diameter concept at thermal wavelengths (4.0–30 µm) is further investigated. It is shown that at a wavelength of 8.2 µm the concept begins to break down for small ice crystal effective diameters (≤25 µm) and has completely broken down beyond a wavelength of 20 µm. At wavelengths in the far infrared (20–30 µm) the potential impact of ice crystal geometry and assumed size-distribution shape on brightness-temperature measurements is quantified. It is found that the brightness-temperature difference at a wavelength of 25 µm due to two different populations of ice crystal shapes, but with both populations having the same effective diameter and size-distribution shape, is ∼5 K. However, if both populations have the same ice crystal shape and effective diameter but different size-distribution shapes, then the brightness-temperature difference is about ∼9 K at the same wavelength. The impact of size-distribution shape on the brightness-temperature difference is almost twice as great as that of crystal shape. Given that there is sensitivity to the shape of the size-distribution function at far-infrared wavelengths, the potential for retrieving size-distribution shape using far-infrared brightness-temperature measurements is also investigated. The implications of these findings are that the concept of an effective diameter cannot be generally applied at infrared wavelengths unless a priori information is known about the shape of the size-distribution function. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society

An algorithm to determine cirrus properties from analysis of multiple-scattering influence on lidar signals

A Monte Carlo-based evaluation of the multiple-scattering influence on ground-based Raman lidar measurements is presented. The lidar returns from cirrus clouds are analyzed in order to evaluate vertical profiles of the extinction and backscattering coefficients. Results show that for the typical cirrus cloud, the presence of the multiple scattering can lead to an underestimation of the extinction coefficient by as large as 200% whereas the backscattering coefficient is almost unaffected for the Raman lidar technique. An algorithm to select one or a set of phase functions which fit to the lidar data is also presented. It is an iterative procedure based on Monte Carlo scattering simulation. By comparison of the experimental value of the lidar ratio, corrected for the multiple scattering influence, and the phase function used in the Monte Carlo simulation, one can determine a suitable phase function. The validity and sensitivity of the algorithm have been demonstrated by applying it to simulated cases. The application to some real cases indicates that our procedure allows for the establishing of a practical scattering model for the cirrus clouds.

Evaluation of Cirrus Cloud Properties Derived from MODIS Data Using Cloud Properties Derived from Ground-Based Observations Collected at the ARM SGP Site

AbstractThe Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA Terra satellite has been collecting global data since March 2000 and the one on the Aqua satellite since June 2002. In this paper, cirrus cloud properties derived from ground-based remote sensing data are compared with similar cloud properties derived from MODIS data on Terra. To improve the space–time correlation between the satellite and ground-based observations, data from a wind profiler are used to define the cloud advective streamline along which the comparisons are made. In this paper, approximately two dozen cases of cirrus are examined and a statistical approach to the comparison that relaxes the requirement that clouds occur over the ground-based instruments during the overpass instant is explored. The statistical comparison includes 168 cloudy MODIS overpasses of the Southern Great Plains (SGP) region and approximately 300 h of ground-based cirrus observations. The physical and radiative properties of cloud layers are derived from MODIS data separately by the MODIS Atmospheres Team and the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Science Team using multiwavelength reflected solar and emitted thermal radiation measurements. Using two ground-based cloud property retrieval algorithms and the two MODIS algorithms, a positive correlation in the effective particle size, the optical thickness, the ice water path, and the cloud-top pressure between the various methods is shown, although sometimes there are significant biases. Classifying the clouds by optical thickness, it is demonstrated that the regionally averaged cloud properties derived from MODIS are similar to those diagnosed from the ground. Because of a conservative approach toward identifying thin cirrus pixels over this region, the area-averaged cloud properties derived from the MODIS Atmospheres MOD06 product tend to be biased slightly toward the optically thicker pixels. This bias tendency has implications for model validation and parameterization development applied to thin cirrus retrieved over SGP-like land surfaces. A persistent bias is also found in the derived cloud tops of thin cirrus with both satellite algorithms reporting cloud top several hundred meters less than that reported by the cloud radar. Overall, however, it is concluded that the MODIS retrieval algorithms characterize with reasonable accuracy the properties of thin cirrus over this region.

Characterizing Tropical Cirrus Life Cycle, Evolution, and Interaction with Upper-Tropospheric Water Vapor Using Lagrangian Trajectory Analysis of Satellite Observations

Abstract Tropical cirrus evolution and its relation to upper-tropospheric water vapor (UTWV) are examined in the paper by analyzing satellite-derived cloud data, UTWV data from infrared and microwave measurements, and the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis wind field. Building upon the existing International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data and the Television and Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) product, a global (except polar region), 6-hourly cirrus dataset is developed from two infrared radiance measurements at 11 and 12 μm. The UTWV is obtained in both clear and cloudy locations by developing a combined satellite infrared and microwave-based retrieval. The analysis in this study is conducted in a Lagrangian framework. The Lagrangian trajectory analysis shows that the decay of deep convection is immediately followed by the growth of cirrostratus and cirrus, and then the decay of cirrostratus is followed by the continued growth of cirrus. Cirrus properties continuously evolve along the trajectories as they gradually thin out and move to the lower levels. Typical tropical cirrus systems last for 19–30 ± 16 h. This is much longer than cirrus particle lifetimes, suggesting that other processes (e.g., large-scale lifting) replenish the particles to maintain tropical cirrus. Consequently, tropical cirrus can advect over large distances, about 600–1000 km, during their lifetimes. For almost all current GCMs, this distance spans more than one grid box, requiring that the water vapor and cloud water budgets include an advection term. Based on their relationship to convective systems, detrainment cirrus are distinguished from in situ cirrus. It is found that more than half of the tropical cirrus are formed in situ well away from convection. The interaction between cirrus and UTWV is explored by comparing the evolution of the UTWV along composite clear trajectories and trajectories with cirrus. Cirrus are found to be associated with a moister upper troposphere and a slower rate of decrease of UTWV. Moreover, the elevated UTWV has a longer duration than cirrus. The amount of water in cirrus is too small for evaporation of cirrus ice particles to moisten the upper troposphere significantly (but cirrus may be an important water vapor sink). Rather, it is likely that the same transient motions that produce the cirrus also transport water vapor upward to maintain a larger UTWV.

Cirrus cloud microphysical and optical properties at southern and northern midlatitudes during the INCA experiment

Microphysical and optical measurements were performed in midlatitude cirrus clouds at temperatures between −33°C and −60°C during southern and northern Interhemispheric Differences in Cirrus Properties From Anthropogenic Emissions (INCA) field experiments carried out at equivalent latitudes (53°S and 55°N) from Punta Arenas in the Southern Hemisphere (SH, Chile) and Prestwick in the Northern Hemisphere (NH, Scotland). The aim of this paper is to analyze the microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds and to compare the results of the two campaigns. Compared with the mean properties of cirrus clouds in SH, the cirrus sampled in NH were characterized by a greater concentration of ice crystals (2.2 cm−3 versus 1.4 cm−3, respectively) with a lower effective diameter (36 μm versus 42 μm, respectively). A significant contrast in extinction coefficient was also evidenced with larger values in NH than in SH (0.61 km−1 versus 0.49 km1, respectively), whereas no significant differences in the ice water content were observed (8 mg m−3). The first measurements of the asymmetry parameter obtained in midlatitude cirrus clouds revealed rather uniform particle scattering properties (median g values between 0.76 and 0.78) with small differences between SH and NH (0.770 versus 0.767, respectively). No significant differences in crystal shape were evidenced between the two data sets. For similar environmental conditions (i.e., over a similar range of temperature and vertical velocity) and for given values of the relative humidity, the comparisons clearly show distinct differences between the microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds sampled in the SH and NH field experiments. These differences may be related to the contrasts in cirrus freezing thresholds in terms of relative humidity over ice for onset of clouds, which is about 20% lower in NH than in SH, as reported in previous INCA data analyses. Nevertheless, definite conclusions are hampered by the large natural variability of cirrus cloud properties and the limited number of flights performed, not forgetting both the actual freezing mechanisms and potential differences in small‐scale dynamical variability, which are still insufficiently understood.

Lidar remote sounding of cirrus clouds and comparison of simulated fluxes with surface and METEOSAT observations

Three cirrus cloud cases have been remotely sounded near Paris by a ground-based backscatter lidar and broadband radiometers. Some cirrus properties (optical depth, emissivity, height) are derived from these measurements and used to compare radiative transfer calculations to surface and METEOSAT observations of broadband irradiances. For a useful comparison, the three cirrus cases were selected to have different morphologies and optical properties: June 29, 1993—thin cirrus cloud (thickness 1.5 km, optical depth 0.22); September 6, 1993—thick cirrus cloud (thickness 5 km, optical depth 2.7); and November 16, 1993—inhomogeneous and geometrically thick cirrus cloud (thickness 3.5–6.5 km) but optically thin (optical depth 0.82). At surface, the differences between measurements and model range from 1.5 to 4 Wm −2 for longwave fluxes, and from 20 to 70 Wm −2 for shortwave fluxes. At the top of the atmosphere, the differences between METEOSAT measurements and model are in fair agreement for longwave fluxes (up to 50 Wm −2). However, unexpected high differences are found for shortwave fluxes (up to 144 Wm −2) due to cirrus clouds heterogeneities and uncertainties in their microphysical properties and especially the occurrence of high reflectivity due to horizontally oriented ice crystals at the cloud top, which are not taken into account by the Model presently.

Correlations between microphysical properties of large-scale semi-transparent cirrus and the state of the atmosphere

By making use of TOVS Path-B satellite retrievals and ECMWF reanalyses, correlations between bulk microphysical properties of large-scale semi-transparent cirrus (visible optical thickness between 0.7 and 3.8) and thermodynamic and dynamic properties of the surrounding atmosphere have been studied on a global scale. These clouds constitute about half of all high clouds. The global averages (from 60°N to 60°S) of mean ice crystal diameter, D e, and ice water path (IWP) of these clouds are 55 μm and 30 g m −2, respectively. IWP of these cirrus is slightly increasing with cloud-top temperature, whereas D e of cold cirrus does not depend on this parameter. Correlations between D e and IWp of large-scale cirrus seem to be different in the midlatitudes and in the tropics. However, we observe in general stronger correlations between D e and IWP and atmospheric humidity and winds deduced from the ECMWF reanalyses: D e and IWP increase both with increasing atmospheric water vapour. There is also a good distinction between different dynamical situations: In humid situations, IWP is on average about 10 gm −2 larger in regions with strong large-scale vertical updraft only that in regions with strong large-scale horizontal winds only, whereas the mean D e of cold large-scale cirrus decreases by about 10 μm if both strong large-scale updraft and horizontal winds are present.

The dependence of retrieved cirrus ice‐crystal effective dimension on assumed ice‐crystal geometry and size‐distribution function at solar wavelengths

AbstractThe dependence of retrieved ice‐crystal effective dimension on assumed ice‐crystal shape and size‐distribution function is investigated at solar wavelengths (0.87, 1.6 and 3.7 µm). The dual viewing Along Track Scanning Radiometer is used to retrieve ice‐crystal effective dimension using a method of Optimal Estimation over semi‐transparent cirrus located in the tropics and mid‐latitudes. The ice‐crystal effective dimension is defined in terms of the effective diameter and it is retrieved assuming roughened hexagonal ice aggregates, pristine hexagonal ice columns, and four‐branched bullet rosettes. It is shown that if a phase function that well represents the scattering properties of cirrus is applied to each crystal type then the retrieved ice‐crystal effective diameter is only weakly dependent on ice‐crystal shape and size‐distribution function. Absolute differences between retrieved ice‐crystal effective diameter assuming hexagonal ice columns and ice aggregates combined with a representative phase function are generally well within ±5 µm. The findings of this paper have the important implication that, in climate models, simulation of cirrus cloudy radiances at solar wavelengths might be made to be independent of assumed ice‐crystal shape and size‐distribution function. © Crown copyright, 2004.

The impact of aerosols and gravity waves on cirrus clouds at midlatitudes

We use a Lagrangian microphysical aerosol‐cloud model to simulate cirrus clouds along trajectories at northern hemisphere midlatitudes. The model is constrained by recent in situ observations in terms of aerosol size distributions, freezing relative humidities, cooling rates, and cirrus particle sedimentation rates. Key features include competition between insoluble and volatile aerosol particles and temperature perturbations induced by high‐frequency gravity waves. Recent analyses of field measurements have revealed the crucial roles both factors play in cirrus formation. We show that most cirrus form in synoptic cold pools, but with microphysical properties determined by mesoscale variability in vertical velocities. Heterogeneous ice nuclei (IN) present in concentrations probably typical for northern midlatitude background conditions (<0.01–0.03 cm−3) significantly modify cirrus properties but do not control cirrus formation. The key effect of IN on cirrus clouds is a reduction of the number of ice crystals. This indirect aerosol effect results in reduced cloud albedo due to increased effective radii and decreased ice water contents, as well as in nonlinear changes of cirrus occurrence, optical extinction, and fraction of clouds that are subvisible. The nonlinear dependence of the three latter quantities appears when IN concentrations rise above a threshold concentration of some 0.01 cm−3, the exact value depending on the cloud formation temperature, cooling rate, and IN freezing relative humidity. In such conditions, IN become the controlling factor in cirrus formation, diminishing the role of homogeneous freezing. Ice nuclei with freezing thresholds near ice saturation are capable of introducing strong changes of cloud properties, even at low concentrations. Optically thin and subvisible cirrus are particularly susceptible to IN. The presence of a small number of IN (0.001 cm−3) can significantly increase their occurrence frequencies. If such clouds predominantly form on IN, they might be affected by anthropogenic activities. Changes in upper tropospheric cooling rates and ice‐forming aerosols in a future climate may induce changes in cirrus occurrence that are comparable in magnitude to observed decadal trends in global cirrus cover.

On the distribution of relative humidity in cirrus clouds

Abstract. We have analysed relative humidity statistics from measurements in cirrus clouds taken unintentionally during the Measurement of OZone by Airbus In-service airCraft project (MOZAIC). The shapes of the in-cloud humidity distributions change from nearly symmetric in relatively warm cirrus (warmer than −40°C) to considerably positively skew (i.e. towards high humidities) in colder clouds. These results are in agreement to findings obtained recently from the INterhemispheric differences in Cirrus properties from Anthropogenic emissions (INCA) campaign (Ovarlez et al., 2002). We interprete the temperature dependence of the shapes of the humidity distributions as an effect of the length of time a cirrus cloud needs from formation to a mature equilibrium stage, where the humidity is close to saturation. The duration of this transitional period increases with decreasing temperature. Hence cold cirrus clouds are more often met in the transitional stage than warm clouds.