Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe Research Articles

Influence of air mass origin on microphysical properties of low-level clouds in a subarctic environment

Abstract. In this work, an analysis was performed to investigate how different long-range transport air masses can affect the microphysical properties of low-level clouds in a clean subarctic environment. The cloud measurements included in situ and remote sensing ground-based techniques and were conducted during eight Pallas Cloud Experiments (PaCEs) held in the autumn between 2004 and 2019. Each PaCE was carried out at the Pallas Atmosphere-Ecosystem Supersite, located in the Finnish subarctic region. Two cloud spectrometer ground setups were installed on the roof of the station to measure cloud microphysical properties: the cloud, aerosol and precipitation spectrometer (CAPS) and the forward-scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP). Air mass histories were analyzed using the Lagrangian FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model (FLEXPART) in order to investigate the differences between five distinct source regions (“Arctic”, “Eastern”, “Southern”, “Western” and “Local”). We observed clear differences in the cloud microphysical properties for the air mass source regions. Arctic air masses were characterized by low liquid water content (LWC), low cloud droplet number concentration (Nc) and comparatively large median volume and effective droplet diameter. The Western region (marine North Atlantic) differed from the Arctic by both higher Nc and LWC. The Eastern region (continental Eurasia) only had a little higher LWC than the Arctic but substantially higher Nc and a smaller droplet diameter. The Southern region (continental Europe) had high Nc and LWC and a very similar droplet diameter to the Eastern region. Finally, the relationship between Nc and droplet size (i.e., the Twomey effect) was characterized for the different source regions, indicating that all region clouds were sensitive to increases in Nc.

In situ cloud ground-based measurements in the Finnish sub-Arctic: intercomparison of three cloud spectrometer setups

Abstract. Continuous, semi-long-term, ground-based in situ cloud measurements were conducted during the Pallas Cloud Experiment (PaCE) in 2013. The measurements were carried out in Finnish sub-Arctic region at Sammaltunturi station (67∘58′ N, 24∘07′ E; 560 m a.s.l.), part of Pallas Atmosphere – Ecosystem Supersite and Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) program. The main motivation of the campaign was to conduct in situ cloud measurements with three different cloud spectrometer probes and perform an evaluation of their ground-based setups. Therefore, we mutually compared the performance of the cloud and aerosol spectrometer (CAS), the cloud droplet probe (CDP) and the forward-scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP-100) (DMT; Boulder, CO, USA). We investigated how different meteorological parameters affect each instrument's ground-based setup operation and quantified possible biases and discrepancies of different microphysical cloud properties. Based on the obtained results we suggested limitations for further use of the instrument setups in campaigns where the focus is on investigating aerosol–cloud interactions. Measurements in this study were made by instruments owned by the Finnish Meteorological Institute and results concern their operation in sub-Arctic conditions with frequently occurring supercooled clouds. The measured parameter from each instrument was the size distribution, and additionally we derived the number concentration, the effective diameter, the median volume diameter and the liquid water content. A complete intercomparison between the CAS probe and the FSSP-100 ground setups and additionally between the FSSP-100 and the CDP probe ground setups was made and presented. Unfortunately, there was not a sufficient amount of common data to compare all three probes together due to operational problems of the CDP ground setup in sub-zero conditions. The CAS probe that was fixed to one direction lost a significant number of cloud droplets when the wind direction was out of wind iso-axial conditions in comparison with the FSSP-100 and the CDP, which were both placed on a rotating platform. We revealed that CAS and FSSP-100 had good agreement in deriving sizing parameters (effective diameter and median volume diameter from 5 to 35 µm) even though CAS was losing a significant amount of cloud droplets. The most sensitive derived parameter was liquid water content, which was strongly connected to the wind direction and temperature.

Porous aerosol in degassing plumes of Mt. Etna and Mt. Stromboli

Abstract. Aerosols of the volcanic degassing plumes from Mt. Etna and Mt. Stromboli were probed with in situ instruments on board the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt research aircraft Falcon during the contrail, volcano, and cirrus experiment CONCERT in September 2011. Aerosol properties were analyzed using angular-scattering intensities and particle size distributions measured simultaneously with the Polar Nephelometer and the Forward Scattering Spectrometer probes (FSSP series 100 and 300), respectively. Aerosols of degassing plumes are characterized by low values of the asymmetry parameter (between 0.6 and 0.75); the effective diameter was within the range of 1.5–2.8 µm and the maximal diameter was lower than 20 µm. A principal component analysis applied to the Polar Nephelometer data indicates that scattering features of volcanic aerosols of different crater origins are clearly distinctive from angular-scattering intensities of cirrus and contrails. Retrievals of aerosol properties revealed that the particles were "optically spherical" and the estimated values of the real part of the refractive index are within the interval from 1.35 to 1.38. The interpretation of these results leads to the conclusion that the degassing plume aerosols were porous with air voids. Our estimates suggest that aerosol particles contained about 18 to 35 % of air voids in terms of the total volume.

Quantitative evaluation of seven optical sensors for cloud microphysical measurements at the Puy-de-Dôme Observatory, France

Abstract. Clouds have an important role in Earth's radiative budget. Since the late 1970s, considerable instrumental developments have been made in order to quantify cloud microphysical and optical properties, for both airborne and ground-based applications. Intercomparison studies have been carried out in the past to assess the reliability of cloud microphysical properties inferred from various measurement techniques. However, observational uncertainties still exist, especially for droplet size distribution measurements and need to be reduced. In this work, we discuss results from an intercomparison campaign, performed at the Puy de Dôme in May 2013. During this campaign, a unique set of cloud instruments was operating simultaneously in ambient air conditions and in a wind tunnel. A Particle Volume Monitor (PVM-100), a Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP), a Fog Monitor (FM-100), and a Present Weather Detector (PWD) were sampling on the roof of the station. Within a wind tunnel located underneath the roof, two Cloud Droplet Probes (CDPs) and a modified FSSP (SPP-100) were operating. The main objectives of this paper are (1) to study the effects of wind direction and speed on ground-based cloud observations, (2) to quantify the cloud parameters discrepancies observed by the different instruments, and (3) to develop methods to improve the quantification of the measurements. The results revealed that all instruments showed a good agreement in their sizing abilities, both in terms of amplitude and variability. However, some of them, especially the FM-100, the FSSP and the SPP, displayed large discrepancies in their capability to assess the magnitude of the total number concentration of the cloud droplets. As a result, the total liquid water content can differ by up to a factor of 5 between the probes. The use of a standardization procedure, based on data of integrating probes (PVM-100 or visibilimeter) and extinction coefficient comparison substantially enhanced the instrumental agreement. During this experiment, the total concentration agreed in variations with the visibilimeter, except for the FSSP, so a corrective factor can be applied and it ranges from 0.44 to 2.2. This intercomparison study highlights the necessity to have an instrument which provides a bulk measurement of cloud microphysical or optical properties during cloud ground-based campaigns. Moreover, the FM and FSSP orientation was modified with an angle ranging from 30 to 90° angle with wind speeds from 3 to 7 m s−1. The results show that the induced number concentration loss is between 29 and 98 % for the FSSP and between 15 and 68 % for the FM-100. In particular, FSSP experiments showed strong discrepancies when the wind speed was lower than 3 m s−1 and/or when the angle between the wind direction and the orientation of the instruments is greater than 30°. An inadequate orientation of the FSSP towards the wind direction leads to an underestimation of the measured effective diameter.

Response of FSSP-100 and PVM-100A to Small Ice Crystals

Abstract Correction factors Cf are derived for ice-crystal volume and effective radius Re, measured by Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP) and Particulate Volume Monitor (PVM) that are known to overestimate both parameters for nonspherical particles. Correction factors are based on ice-crystal volume and the projected area of randomly oriented model ice crystals with column, rosette, capped-column, and dendrite habits described by Takano and Liou. In addition, Cf are calculated for oblate and prolate spheroids. To test Cf, both probes are compared to small, predominately solid hexagonal ice-crystal plates and columns generated in the Colorado State University (CSU) Dynamic Cloud Chamber (DCC). The tendency of heat released by the PVM (placed inside the chamber) to evaporate ice crystals and the smaller upper size range of the PVM than the size range of the FSSP caused large differences in the probes’ outputs for most comparisons in the DCC. Correction factors improved the accuracy of Re measured by the FSSP for the solid hexagonal crystals, and both probes produced similar results for the projected area and ice water content when crystal sizes fell within the probes’ size ranges. The modification for minimizing ice-crystal shattering and the application of Cf for forward scatter probes such as the FSSP suggests the probes’ improved usefulness for measuring small ambient ice crystals.

Nitric acid trihydrate nucleation and denitrification in the Arctic stratosphere

Abstract. Nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles in the polar stratosphere have been shown to be responsible for vertical redistribution of reactive nitrogen (NOy). Recent observations by Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard the CALIPSO satellite have been explained in terms of heterogeneous nucleation of NAT on foreign nuclei, revealing this to be an important formation pathway for the NAT particles. In state of the art global- or regional-scale models, heterogeneous NAT nucleation is currently simulated in a very coarse manner using a constant, saturation-independent nucleation rate. Here we present first simulations for the Arctic winter 2009/2010 applying a new saturation-dependent parametrisation of heterogeneous NAT nucleation rates within the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS). The simulation shows good agreement of chemical trace species with in situ and remote sensing observations. The simulated polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) optical properties agree much better with CALIOP observations than those simulated with a constant nucleation rate model. A comparison of the simulated particle size distributions with observations made using the Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP) aboard the high altitude research aircraft Geophysica, shows that the model reproduces the observed size distribution, except for the very largest particles above 15 μm diameter. The vertical NOy redistribution caused by the sedimentation of the NAT particles, in particular the denitrification and nitrification signals observed by the ACE-FTS satellite instrument and the in situ SIOUX instrument aboard the Geophysica, are reproduced by the improved model, and a small improvement with respect to the constant nucleation rate model is found.

Reply to comment by Yangang Liu et al. on “Cloud droplet spectral width relationship to CCN spectra and vertical velocity”

Reply to comment by Yangang Liu et al. on “Cloud droplet spectral width relationship to CCN spectra and vertical velocity”

Microphysical responses to catalysis during a stratocumulus aircraft seeding experiment over the Sanjiangyuan region of China

This study explores the microphysical responses to a cloud seeding operation in the Sanjiangyuan region, China. The cloud seeding was performed using a zigzag flight pattern, while the detection phase was accomplished using a back-and-forth flight pattern through the top of a stratocumulus layer. Global Position System (GPS) and Particle Measuring System (PMS) data obtained during the operation are used to determine the effective cloud area before and after the operation, differentiate the phase states of cloud particles, and analyze changes in the concentrations of liquid cloud particles and ice crystals, the evolution of the cloud particle spectrum, and the content of supercooled water. The median diameter of liquid cloud particles in the area of the cloud-seeding operation was 3.5-18.5 µm, most cloud particles observed in the 21.5-45.5-µm size regime were ice crystals, while all particles of size 50 µm and above were in the ice phase. Changes in the concentration and typical diameter of cloud particles within 36 km downwind of the cloud-seeding operation did not exceed natural fluctuations in the cloud area before the operation; however, the concentration of liquid cloud particles decreased substantially in areas with high concentrations of supercooled water (concentrations of supercooled water exceeding 0.01 g m−3). The concentration of ice crystals within the measuring range of the Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP) increased substantially, the water content of ice-phase particles increased, and the average supercooled water content in the cloud decreased from (68.3±23.1)% before the operation to (34.2±12.4)%. The effects of cloud seeding were more pronounced in parts of the cloud where the content of supercooled water was higher. Little to no effects were observed in parts of the cloud with low concentrations of supercooled water.

Quantification of the Effects of Shattering on Airborne Ice Particle Measurements

Abstract Ice particle shattering poses a serious problem to the airborne characterization of ice cloud microstructure. Shattered ice fragments may contaminate particle measurements, resulting in artificially high concentrations of small ice. The ubiquitous observation of small ice particles has been debated over the last three decades. The present work is focused on the study of the effect of shattering based on the results of the Airborne Icing Instrumentation Evaluation (AIIE) experiment flight campaign. Quantitative characterization of the shattering effect was studied by comparing measurements from pairs of identical probes, one modified to mitigate shattering using tips designed for this study (K-tips) and the other in the standard manufacturer’s configuration. The study focused on three probes: the forward scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP), the optical array probe (OAP-2DC), and the cloud imaging probe (CIP). It has been shown that the overestimation errors of the number concentration in size distributions measured by 2D probes increase with decreasing size, mainly affecting particles smaller than approximately 500 μm. It was found that shattering artifacts may increase measured particle number concentration by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. However, the associated increase of the extinction coefficient and ice water content derived from 2D data is estimated at only 20%–30%. Existing antishattering algorithms alone are incapable of filtering out all shattering artifacts from OAP-2DC and CIP measurements. FSSP measurements can be completely dominated by shattering artifacts, and it is not recommended to use this instrument for measurements in ice clouds, except in special circumstances. Because of the large impact of shattering on ice measurements, the historical data collected by FSSP and OAP-2DC should be reexamined by the cloud physics community.

Modification and Tests of Particle Probe Tips to Mitigate Effects of Ice Shattering

Abstract Ice particle shattering may significantly contaminate measurements taken by airborne particle probes in ice clouds. Environment Canada and the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) undertook efforts to modify and test probe tips in order to mitigate the effect of shattering on measurements. This work presents an overview of the results obtained during the design work on the particle probe arm tips. Even though this work was focused on the modifications of three of the probes—Particle Measuring Systems Inc. (PMS) Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe and optical array probe, and Droplet Measurement Technologies (DMT) Cloud Imaging Probe—the outcomes of this work bear a general character and are applicable to other similar instruments. The results of the airflow analysis around the probe’s housing and the simulations of particle bouncing from the probe tips are discussed here. The originally designed and modified tips were tested in a high-speed wind tunnel in ice and liquid sprays. The ice particle bouncing processes as well as patterns of water shedding over the surface of the probes arms were studied with the help of a high-speed video camera. It was found that at aircraft speed, after bouncing from a solid surface, ice particles may travel several centimeters across the airflow and bounce forward up to 1 cm. For the first time it has been directly documented with high-speed video recording that the sample volumes of particle probes with the originally designed tips are contaminated by shattered and bounced particles. A set of recommendations on the existing modification and the design of future particle probe housings is presented.

In situ measurements of tropical cloud properties in the West African Monsoon: upper tropospheric ice clouds, Mesoscale Convective System outflow, and subvisual cirrus

Abstract. In situ measurements of ice crystal size distributions in tropical upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UT/LS) clouds were performed during the SCOUT-AMMA campaign over West Africa in August 2006. The cloud properties were measured with a Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP-100) and a Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP) operated aboard the Russian high altitude research aircraft M-55 Geophysica with the mission base in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. A total of 117 ice particle size distributions were obtained from the measurements in the vicinity of Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS). Two to four modal lognormal size distributions were fitted to the average size distributions for different potential temperature bins. The measurements showed proportionately more large ice particles compared to former measurements above maritime regions. With the help of trace gas measurements of NO, NOy, CO2, CO, and O3 and satellite images, clouds in young and aged MCS outflow were identified. These events were observed at altitudes of 11.0 km to 14.2 km corresponding to potential temperature levels of 346 K to 356 K. In a young outflow from a developing MCS ice crystal number concentrations of up to (8.3 ± 1.6) cm−3 and rimed ice particles with maximum dimensions exceeding 1.5 mm were found. A maximum ice water content of 0.05 g m−3 was observed and an effective radius of about 90 μm. In contrast the aged outflow events were more diluted and showed a maximum number concentration of 0.03 cm−3, an ice water content of 2.3 × 10−4 g m−3, an effective radius of about 18 μm, while the largest particles had a maximum dimension of 61 μm. Close to the tropopause subvisual cirrus were encountered four times at altitudes of 15 km to 16.4 km. The mean ice particle number concentration of these encounters was 0.01 cm−3 with maximum particle sizes of 130 μm, and the mean ice water content was about 1.4 × 10−4 g m−3. All known in situ measurements of subvisual tropopause cirrus are compared and an exponential fit on the size distributions is established for modelling purposes. A comparison of aerosol to ice crystal number concentrations, in order to obtain an estimate on how many ice particles may result from activation of the present aerosol, yielded low ratios for the subvisual cirrus cases of roughly one cloud particle per 30 000 aerosol particles, while for the MCS outflow cases this resulted in a high ratio of one cloud particle per 300 aerosol particles.

Deployment of a Tethered-Balloon System for Microphysics and Radiative Measurements in Mixed-Phase Clouds at Ny-Ålesund and South Pole

Abstract A tethered-balloon system capable of making microphysical and radiative measurements in clouds is described and examples of measurements in boundary layer stratus clouds in the Arctic and at the South Pole are presented. A 43-m3 helium-filled balloon lofts an instrument package that is powered by two copper conductors in the tether. The instrument package can support several instruments, including, but not limited to, a cloud particle imager; a forward-scattering spectrometer probe; temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind sensors; ice nuclei filters; and a 4-π radiometer that measures actinic flux at 500 and 800 nm. The balloon can stay aloft for an extended period of time (in excess of 24 h) and conduct vertical profiles up to about 1–2 km, contingent upon payload weight, wind speed, and surface elevation. Examples of measurements in mixed-phase clouds at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (79°N), and at the South Pole are discussed. The stratus clouds at Ny-Ålesund ranged in temperature from 0° to −10°C and were mostly mixed phase with heavily rimed ice particles, even when cloud-top temperatures were warmer than −5°C. Conversely, mixed-phase clouds at the South Pole contained regions with only water drops at temperatures as cold as −32°C and were often composed of pristine ice crystals. The radiative properties of mixed-phase clouds are a critical component of radiative transfer in polar regions, which, in turn, is a lynch pin for climate change on a global scale.

Development of a Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe

Forward scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) is one of the most important instruments in the weather modification activities. A prototype of a FSSP for routine observation of cloud droplet was presented in this paper. In this system, a single-mode 685 nm diode laser with single-mode fiber output coupling was used as a transmitter, a square pinhole combining with a 4f optical system were used to obtain homogeneous illumination, the illuminating laser was abandoned by the hole on the 45°reflective mirror, and the depth of field of this system was controlled by a 200 µm pinhole placed on the focal plane of the collecting system. Both the scheme of optical design and the experiments were presented in this paper. The experiments showed, the laser beam was close to flat-top, the illuminating laser can be abandoned efficiently, the scheme of controlling the depth of field was reasonable. Simulation experiments using pinholes of different sizes indicated that the prototype had the ability to detect cloud droplets.

Evidence for ice particles in the tropical stratosphere from in-situ measurements

Abstract. In-situ ice crystal size distribution measurements are presented within the tropical troposphere and lower stratosphere. The measurements were performed using a combination of a Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP-100) and a Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP), which were installed on the Russian high altitude research aircraft M55 "Geophysica" during the SCOUT-O3 campaign in Darwin, Australia. One of the objectives of the campaign was to characterise the Hector convective system, which appears on an almost daily basis during the pre-monsoon season over the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. In total 90 encounters with ice clouds, between 10 and 19 km altitude were selected from the dataset and were analysed. Six of these encounters were observed in the lower stratosphere, up to 1.4 km above the local tropopause. Concurrent lidar measurements on board "Geophysica" indicate that these ice clouds were a result of overshooting convection. Large ice crystals, with a maximum dimension up to 400 μm, were observed in the stratosphere. The stratospheric ice clouds included an ice water content ranging from 7.7×10−5 to 8.5×10−4 g m−3 and were observed at ambient relative humidities (with respect to ice) between 75 and 157%. Three modal lognormal size distributions were fitted to the average size distributions for different potential temperature intervals, showing that the shape of the size distribution of the stratospheric ice clouds are similar to those observed in the upper troposphere. In the tropical troposphere the effective radius of the ice cloud particles decreases from 100 μm at about 10 km altitude, to 3 μm at the tropopause, while the ice water content decreases from 0.04 to 10−5 g m−3. No clear trend in the number concentration was observed with altitude, due to the thin and inhomogeneous characteristics of the observed cirrus clouds. The ice water content calculated from the observed ice crystal size distribution is compared to the ice water content derived from two hygrometer instruments. This independent measurement of the ice water content agrees within the combined uncertainty of the instruments for ice water contents exceeding 3×10−4g m−3. Stratospheric residence times, calculated based on gravitational settling, and evaporation rates show that the ice crystals observed in the stratosphere over the Hector storm system had a high potential of humidifying the stratosphere locally. Utilizing total aerosol number concentration measurements from a four channel condensation particle counter during two separate campaigns, it can be shown that the fraction of ice particles to the number of aerosol particles remaining ranges from 1:300 to 1:30 000 for tropical upper tropospheric ice clouds with ambient temperatures below −75°C.

On the importance of small ice crystals in tropical anvil cirrus

Abstract. In situ measurements of ice crystal concentrations and sizes made with aircraft instrumentation over the past two decades have often indicated the presence of numerous relatively small (< 50 μm diameter) crystals in cirrus clouds. Further, these measurements frequently indicate that small crystals account for a large fraction of the extinction in cirrus clouds. The fact that the instruments used to make these measurements, such as the Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP) and the Cloud Aerosol Spectrometer (CAS), ingest ice crystals into the sample volume through inlets has led to suspicion that the indications of numerous small-crystals could be artifacts of large-crystal shattering on the instrument inlets. We present new aircraft measurements in anvil cirrus sampled during the Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4) campaign with the 2-Dimensional Stereo (2D-S) probe, which detects particles as small as 10 μm. The 2D-S has detector "arms" instead of an inlet tube. Since the 2D-S probe surfaces are much further from the sample volume than is the case for the instruments with inlets, it is expected that 2D-S will be less susceptible to shattering artifacts. In addition, particle inter-arrival times are used to identify and remove shattering artifacts that occur even with the 2D-S probe. The number of shattering artifacts identified by the 2D-S interarrival time analysis ranges from a negligible contribution to an order of magnitude or more enhancement in apparent ice concentration over the natural ice concentration, depending on the abundance of large crystals and the natural small-crystal concentration. The 2D-S measurements in tropical anvil cirrus suggest that natural small-crystal concentrations are typically one to two orders of magnitude lower than those inferred from CAS. The strong correlation between the CAS/2D-S ratio of small-crystal concentrations and large-crystal concentration suggests that the discrepancy is likely caused by shattering of large crystals on the CAS inlet. We argue that past measurements with CAS in cirrus with large crystals present may contain errors due to crystal shattering, and past conclusions derived from these measurements may need to be revisited. Further, we present correlations between CAS spurious concentration and 2D-S large-crystal mass from spatially uniform anvil cirrus sampling periods as an approximate guide for estimating quantitative impact of large-crystal shattering on CAS concentrations in previous datasets. We use radiative transfer calculations to demonstrate that in the maritime anvil cirrus sampled during TC4, small crystals indicated by 2D-S contribute relatively little cloud extinction, radiative forcing, or radiative heating in the anvils, regardless of anvil age or vertical location in the clouds. While 2D-S ice concentrations in fresh anvil cirrus may often exceed 1 cm−3, and are observed to exceed 10 cm−3 in turrets, they are typically ~0.1 cm−3 and rarely exceed 1 cm−3 (<1.4% of the time) in aged anvil cirrus. We hypothesize that isolated occurrences of higher ice concentrations in aged anvil cirrus may be caused by ice nucleation driven by either small-scale convection or gravity waves. It appears that the numerous small crystals detrained from convective updrafts do not persist in the anvil cirrus sampled during TC-4.

The Effects of Precipitation on Cloud Droplet Measurement Devices

Abstract Aircraft in situ observations of precipitation during the Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean (RICO) field project are used to study and parameterize the effects of precipitation on cloud probes. Specifically, the effects of precipitation on the Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe, the King cloud liquid water hot-wire probe, and the particle volume monitor are parameterized as linear functions of the precipitation water content.

Laboratory Studies of Scattering Properties of Polluted Cloud Droplets: Implications for FSSP Measurements

Abstract Laboratory experiments were conducted in the Mainz vertical wind tunnel to study the effects of pollutants dissolved or suspended in cloud droplets on the droplet size measurements of a Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP). The FSSP is a widely used instrument to derive microphysical properties of atmospheric clouds. Individual droplets of different well-defined sizes were freely falling at their terminal velocities in the wind tunnel while the intensity of radiation emitted by the He–Ne laser of the FSSP and scattered by the droplets was measured. For this purpose, the FSSP was adapted and mounted to the wind tunnel. The intensity of radiation scattered by the droplets in the FSSP measurement is principally used to derive the droplet size. The droplets contained soluble ammonium sulfate or suspended absorbent graphite particles as pollutants in concentrations that were higher than usually found in atmospheric cloud droplets. The results of the measurements and corresponding simulations indicate that for high pollutant concentrations, the scattered laser radiation detected by the FSSP depends significantly on the refractive index of the droplet (i.e., on the concentration of soluble or insoluble pollutants). However, for the lower pollutant concentrations usually observed in atmospheric cloud droplets, the need for correcting the droplet sizes measured with the FSSP for the effects of the pollutions can be avoided.

Entrainment, Mixing, and Microphysics in Trade-Wind Cumulus

The vertical evolution of microphysics in trade-wind cumuli (Cu) observed from the NCAR C-130 research aircraft during one flight of the RICO (Rain in Cumulus Over the Ocean) study is analyzed. Conditional sampling of > 200 Cu traversed on this flight is used to chose Cu for which the aircraft penetrated single and growing Cu turrets about 250-m below cloud top where maximum LWC is often found and where radar has often observed initial stages of precipitation. The vertical evolution of the sampled set of Cu was assumed to follow Lagrangian behavior. The entrainment rate, entrained parcel scales, mixing mechanisms, and effects on the droplet size distribution are measured and evaluated. A parcel model is applied over the 1100-m maximum Cu height of the traverses to determine the relationship between the observed large number of small droplets and the fewer ultra-giant sea-salt nuclei (UGN) in order to assess the role of these nuclei in evolving the size spectrum and in causing a growing “drizzle tail”. New insight on these topics is obtained by using the PVM (Particle Volume Monitor) probe to measure incloud microphysics with 10-cm resolution.The results include the following: Entrainment causes primarily dilution of the drops without significant size changes, thus either extreme inhomogeneous mixing or more likely homogeneous mixing resulting from mixing with cool and humid entrained air take place. The entrained parcels are surprisingly small following lognormal behavior and decaying rapidly upon entering the Cu, as a result super-adiabatic drops are not evident. The entrained parcels are consistent with the Bragg-scattering “mantle echo” often observed by radar in small Cu. The FSSP (Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe) droplet spectra are nearly constant with height. These “self-preserving” spectra are a result of an approximate balance between dilution by entrainment of droplets originating at cloud base, droplet activation on entrained CCN (cloud condensation nuclei), and detrainment and coalescence losses. Sea-salt nuclei follow Woodcock’s wind dependence, and are shown with the parcel model to play an important role in forming the observed drizzle that increases with cloud height. Accretion is the dominant coalescence mechanism near cloud top in these Cu.

Ice properties of single‐layer stratocumulus during the Mixed‐Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment: 1. Observations

During the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program's Mixed‐Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M‐PACE) in fall 2004, the University of North Dakota Citation measured 53 profiles within single‐layer stratus clouds by executing spiral ascents and descents over Barrow and Oliktok Point, Alaska, and by flying ramped ascents and descents between. Cloud phase was identified from an algorithm that uses voltage change from the Rosemount ice detector, the size distribution (SD) shape measured by the Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP), and manual identification of particles imaged by the Cloud Particle Imager, the two‐dimensional cloud probe (2DC) and the high‐volume precipitation sampler (HVPS). Size and mass distribution functions were derived using data from the FSSP, one‐dimensional cloud probe, 2DC and HVPS in conjunction with total water content (TWC) measured by the Counterflow Virtual Impactor. With clouds defined as locations where TWC > 0.001 g m−3, there were a total of 513 30‐s averaged SDs in single‐layer clouds, of which 71% were in mixed‐phase parcels, 23% in ice‐phase and 6% in liquid‐phase. The mixed‐phase parcels were dominated by contributions from liquid drops, with the liquid mass fraction fl having averages and standard deviations of 0.89 ± 0.18 with 75% of cases having fl > 0.9. For these single‐layer clouds, fl increased with normalized cloud altitude zn, defined as linearly increasing from 0 at cloud base to 1 at cloud top with fl averaging 0.96 ± 0.13 near zn = 1 and 0.70 ± 0.30 near zn = 0. The effective radius of water droplets rew increased with zn, from an average of 6.9 ± 1.8 μm near zn = 0 to 11.4 ± 2.4 μm near zn = 1, whereas the effective radius of ice crystals rei (25.2 ± 3.9 μm) was nearly independent of zn. The averaged cloud droplet number concentration and concentrations of ice crystals with maximum dimensions greater than 53 μm were 43.6 ± 30.5 × 103 L−1 and 2.8 ± 6.9 L−1, respectively, and nearly independent of zn. In contrast to past measurements in mixed‐phase clouds combined from many geographical locations where fl increased with temperature, fl decreased from −12° to −3°C as clouds typically consisted of a liquid topped layer with precipitating ice below.

On measurements of small ice particles in clouds

For many years it has been recognized that some aircraft cloud microphysical measurements may be contaminated by ice hydrometeors shattering on probe inlets. Small ice particle concentrations measured by the forward scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) have been commonly accepted but are especially liable to overestimates. This study investigates this result for two additional airborne microphysical sensors, the cloud and aerosol spectrometer (CAS) and the cloud integrating nephelometer (CIN). The results indicate that conclusions from previous studies of the radiative effects of small ice particles need to be reevaluated. A model has been developed describing probe responses to different combinations of ice water content (IWC) and large ice particle concentrations that may be useful in identifying areas where contributions from small particles are significant.