Radiative Properties Of Ice Clouds Research Articles

Investigation of ice cloud modeling capabilities for the irregularly shaped Voronoi ice scattering models in climate simulations

Abstract. Both weather–climate models and ice cloud remote sensing applications need to obtain effective ice crystal scattering (ICS) properties and the parameterization scheme. An irregularly shaped Voronoi ICS model has been suggested to be effective in remote sensing applications for several satellite programs, e.g., Himawari-8, GCOM-C (Global Change Observation Mission–Climate) and EarthCARE (Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer). As continuation work of Letu et al. (2016), an ice cloud optical property parameterization scheme (Voronoi scheme) of the Voronoi ICS model is employed in the Community Integrated Earth System Model (CIESM) to simulate the optical and radiative properties of ice clouds. We utilized the single-scattering properties (extinction efficiency, single-scattering albedo and asymmetry factor) of the Voronoi model from the ultraviolet to the infrared, combined with 14 408 particle size distributions obtained from aircraft measurements to complete the Voronoi scheme. The Voronoi scheme and existing schemes (Fu, Mitchell, Yi and Baum-yang05) are applied to the CIESM to simulate 10-year global cloud radiative effects during 2001–2010. Simulated globally averaged cloud radiative forcings at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) for Voronoi and the other four existing schemes are compared to the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) product. The results show that the differences in shortwave and longwave globally averaged cloud radiative forcing at the TOA between the Voronoi scheme simulations and EBAF products are 1.1 % and 1.4 %, which are lower than those of the other four schemes. Particularly for regions (from 30∘ S to 30∘ N) where ice clouds occur frequently, the Voronoi scheme provides the closest match with EBAF products compared with the other four existing schemes. The results in this study fully demonstrated the effectiveness of the Voronoi ICS model in the simulation of the radiative properties of ice clouds in the climate model.

Annual and seasonal mean tropical and subtropical precipitation bias in CMIP5 and CMIP6 models

Annual and seasonal mean tropical and subtropical precipitation biases in present-day climate simulations by phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) models are evaluated. We analyze 23 CMIP6 models, which are grouped into those without (NOS) and with (SON) falling ice (snow) radiative effects (FIREs). The SON group is further divided according to treatments of ice-cloud radiative properties with separate (SON2) and combined cloud ice and snow contents (SON1). SON2 mitigates precipitation bias drastically relative to NOS, but SON1 overestimates precipitation in the subtropics, which deteriorates its performance relative to SON2 and NOS. Large offsets between SON2 and SON1 and between SON and NOS contribute to the slight improvement of CMIP6 relative to CMIP5, largely due to the contribution of SON2. The different treatments of ice-cloud radiative properties between SON2 and SON1 seem to be potentially linked to differences in precipitation biases. Results suggest that further in-depth investigation of cloud ice–radiation–circulation interactions is required.

A Review of Ice Cloud Optical Property Models for Passive Satellite Remote Sensing

The current wealth of spaceborne passive and active measurements from ultraviolet to the infrared wavelengths provides an unprecedented opportunity to construct ice cloud bulk optical property models that lead to consistent ice cloud property retrievals across multiple sensors and platforms. To infer the microphysical and radiative properties of ice clouds from these satellite measurements, the general approach is to assume an ice cloud optical property model that implicitly assumes the habit (shape) and size distributions of the ice particles in these clouds. The assumption is that this ice optical property model will be adequate for global retrievals. In this review paper, we first summarize the key optical properties of individual particles and then the bulk radiative properties of their ensemble, followed by a review of the ice cloud models developed for application to satellite remote sensing. We illustrate that the random orientation condition assumed for ice particles is arguably justified for passive remote sensing applications based on radiometric measurements. The focus of the present discussion is on the ice models used by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) science teams. In addition, we briefly review the ice cloud models adopted by the Polarization and Directionality of the Earth’s Reflectance (POLDER) and the Himawari-8 Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) for ice cloud retrievals. We find that both the MODIS Collection 6 ice model and the CERES two-habit model result in spectrally consistent retrievals.

Added value of far‐infrared radiometry for remote sensing of ice clouds

AbstractSeveral cloud retrieval algorithms based on satellite observations in the infrared have been developed in the last decades. However, these observations only cover the midinfrared (MIR, λ < 15 μm) part of the spectrum, and none are available in the far‐infrared (FIR, λ≥ 15 μm). Using the optimal estimation method, we show that adding a few FIR channels to existing spaceborne radiometers would significantly improve their ability to retrieve ice cloud radiative properties. For clouds encountered in the polar regions and the upper troposphere, where the atmosphere is sufficiently transparent in the FIR, using FIR channels would reduce by more than 50% the uncertainties on retrieved values of optical thickness, effective particle diameter, and cloud top altitude. Notably, this would extend the range of applicability of current retrieval methods to the polar regions and to clouds with large optical thickness, where MIR algorithms perform poorly. The high performance of solar reflection‐based algorithms would thus be reached in nighttime conditions. Since the sensitivity of ice cloud thermal emission to effective particle diameter is approximately 5 times larger in the FIR than in the MIR, using FIR observations is a promising venue for studying ice cloud microphysics and precipitation processes. This is highly relevant for cirrus clouds and convective towers. This is also essential to study precipitation in the driest regions of the atmosphere, where strong feedbacks are at play between clouds and water vapor. The deployment in the near future of a FIR spaceborne radiometer is technologically feasible and should be strongly supported.

Improved ice particle optical property simulations in the ultraviolet to far-infrared regime

To derive the bulk radiative properties of ice clouds, aircraft contrails and snow grains, which are fundamental to atmospheric radiative transfer calculations in downstream applications, it is necessary to accurately simulate the scattering of light by individual ice particles. An ice particle optical property database reported in 2013 (hereafter, TAMUice2013) is updated (hereafter, TAMUice2016) to incorporate recent advances in computation of the optical properties of nonspherical particles. Specifically, we employ the invariant imbedding T-matrix (II-TM) method to compute the optical properties of particles with small to moderate size parameters. Both versions use the Improved Geometric Optics Method (IGOM) to compute the optical properties of large ice crystals, but TAMUice2016 improves the treatment of inhomogeneous waves inside the scattering particles in the case where ice is absorptive such as at infrared wavelengths. To bridge the gap between the extinction efficiencies computed from the II-TM and the IGOM, TAMUice2016 includes spectrally dependent higher order terms of the edge effect in addition to the first order counterpart considered in TAMUice2013. Furthermore, the differences between TAMUice2013 and TAMUice2016 are quantified with respect to the computation of the bulk optical properties of ice clouds.

On the radiative properties of ice clouds: Light scattering, remote sensing, and radiation parameterization

Presented is a review of the radiative properties of ice clouds from three perspectives: light scattering simulations, remote sensing applications, and broadband radiation parameterizations appropriate for numerical models. On the subject of light scattering simulations, several classical computational approaches are reviewed, including the conventional geometric-optics method and its improved forms, the finite-difference time domain technique, the pseudo-spectral time domain technique, the discrete dipole approximation method, and the T-matrix method, with specific applications to the computation of the single-scattering properties of individual ice crystals. The strengths and weaknesses associated with each approach are discussed. With reference to remote sensing, operational retrieval algorithms are reviewed for retrieving cloud optical depth and effective particle size based on solar or thermal infrared (IR) bands. To illustrate the performance of the current solar- and IR-based retrievals, two case studies are presented based on spaceborne observations. The need for a more realistic ice cloud optical model to obtain spectrally consistent retrievals is demonstrated. Furthermore, to complement ice cloud property studies based on passive radiometric measurements, the advantage of incorporating lidar and/or polarimetric measurements is discussed. The performance of ice cloud models based on the use of different ice habits to represent ice particles is illustrated by comparing model results with satellite observations. A summary is provided of a number of parameterization schemes for ice cloud radiative properties that were developed for application to broadband radiative transfer submodels within general circulation models (GCMs). The availability of the single-scattering properties of complex ice habits has led to more accurate radiation parameterizations. In conclusion, the importance of using nonspherical ice particle models in GCM simulations for climate studies is proven.

Sensitivity of modeled far-IR radiation budgets in polar continents to treatments of snow surface and ice cloud radiative properties

While most general circulation models assume spectrally independent surface emissivity and nonscattering clouds in their longwave radiation treatment, spectral variation of the index of refraction of ice indicates that in the far IR, snow surface emissivity can vary considerably and ice clouds can cause nonnegligible scattering. These effects are more important for high-elevation polar continents where the dry and cold atmosphere is not opaque in the far IR. We carry out sensitivity studies to show that in a winter month over the Antarctic Plateau including snow surface spectral emissivity and ice cloud scattering in radiative transfer calculation reduces net upward far-IR flux at both top of atmosphere and surface. The magnitudes of such reductions in monthly mean all-sky far-IR flux range from 0.72 to 1.47 Wm−2, with comparable contributions from the cloud scattering and the surface spectral emissivity. The reduction is also sensitive to sizes of both snow grains and cloud particles.

Parameterization of Shortwave and Longwave Radiative Properties of Ice Clouds for Use in Climate Models

AbstractClimate modeling and prediction require that the parameterization of the radiative effects of ice clouds be as accurate as possible. The radiative properties of ice clouds are highly sensitive to the single-scattering properties of ice particles and ice cloud microphysical properties such as particle habits and size distributions. In this study, parameterizations for shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) radiative properties of ice clouds are developed for three existing schemes using ice cloud microphysical properties obtained from five field campaigns and broadband-averaged single-scattering properties of nonspherical ice particles as functions of the effective particle size De (defined as 1.5 times the ratio of total volume to total projected area), which include hexagonal solid columns and hollow columns, hexagonal plates, six-branch bullet rosettes, aggregates, and droxtals.A combination of the discrete ordinates radiative transfer model and a line-by-line model is used to simulate ice cloud radiative forcing (CRF) at both the surface and the top of the atmosphere (TOA) for the three redeveloped parameterization schemes. The differences in CRF for different parameterization schemes are in the range of −5 to 5 W m−2. In general, the large differences in SW and total CRF occur for thick ice clouds, whereas the large differences in LW CRF occur for ice clouds with small ice particles (De less than 20 μm). The redeveloped parameterization schemes are then applied to the radiative transfer models used for climate models. The ice cloud optical and microphysical properties from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud product over a granule and the collocated atmospheric profiles from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) product are input into these radiative transfer models to compare the differences in CRF between the redeveloped and existing parameterization schemes. Although differences between these schemes are small in the LW CRF, the differences in the SW CRF are quite large.

Dependence of ice crystal optical properties on particle aspect ratio

The single-scattering properties of randomly oriented hexagonal ice crystals have been extensively used to study the bulk radiative properties of ice clouds. It has been reported in the literature that the asymmetry factors of these particles vary with their aspect ratios in a “V-pattern” with the minimum at a unit aspect ratio. However, this phenomenon was not explained in the previous studies. The present paper reports on an in-depth analysis of the optical properties of hexagonal ice crystals. It is shown that the delta-transmission is primarily responsible for the aforementioned “V-pattern” variation of the asymmetry factor as a function of the aspect ratio. Additionally, the term (1− f δ ) g is also partially responsible for the large values of the total asymmetry factor in the case of small aspect ratios, where f δ indicates the ratio of the amount of the energy associated with the delta-transmission rays to the total amount of the scattered energy and g is the asymmetry factor associated with the geometric optics rays.

Testing and Comparing the Modified Anomalous Diffraction Approximation

Abstract The modified anomalous diffraction approximation (MADA) is used to predict absorption and extinction in water and ice clouds, but it does not predict the scattering phase function or asymmetry parameter g. In conjunction with g parameterizations, it has been used in satellite remote sensing and to treat the radiative properties of ice clouds in global climate models. However, it has undergone only limited testing. This study 1) compares extinction efficiencies (Qext) predicted by MADA for a laboratory grown ice cloud against corresponding Qext measurements over the wavelength range 2–14 μm; 2) tests absorption efficiencies (Qabs) and Qext predicted by MADA against those predicted by T-matrix theory and the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method; and 3) compares MADA with three popular schemes used for predicting the radiative properties of cirrus clouds. In addition, the photon tunneling process may contribute up to 45% of the absorption in water clouds at some terrestrial wavelengths, but its role in ice clouds is uncertain since it depends on particle shape. For the first time, the efficiency of photon tunneling was parameterized in terms of ice particle shape. Finally, an alternate formulation of MADA that offers some physical insights is presented. MADA errors relative to the Qext measurements were 3.0% on average, while mean MADA errors relative to Qabs from T-matrix, over the wavelength range 2–18 μm (size parameter range 2–22), were 5.9%. The mean error for the single scattering albedo relative to T-matrix calculations was 2.5%. MADA absorption errors relative to FDTD over the wavelength range 3–100 μm were no greater than 15% for six ice particle shapes. Finally, the absorption coefficients predicted by MADA and two other popular parameterizations generally agreed within 5%.

Independent Evaluation of the Ability of Spaceborne Radar and Lidar to Retrieve the Microphysical and Radiative Properties of Ice Clouds

Abstract The combination of radar and lidar in space offers the unique potential to retrieve vertical profiles of ice water content and particle size globally, and two algorithms developed recently claim to have overcome the principal difficulty with this approach—that of correcting the lidar signal for extinction. In this paper “blind tests” of these algorithms are carried out, using realistic 94-GHz radar and 355-nm lidar backscatter profiles simulated from aircraft-measured size spectra, and including the effects of molecular scattering, multiple scattering, and instrument noise. Radiation calculations are performed on the true and retrieved microphysical profiles to estimate the accuracy with which radiative flux profiles could be inferred remotely. It is found that the visible extinction profile can be retrieved independent of assumptions on the nature of the size distribution, the habit of the particles, the mean extinction-to-backscatter ratio, or errors in instrument calibration. Local errors in retrieved extinction can occur in proportion to local fluctuations in the extinction-to-backscatter ratio, but down to 400 m above the height of the lowest lidar return, optical depth is typically retrieved to better than 0.2. Retrieval uncertainties are greater at the far end of the profile, and errors in total optical depth can exceed 1, which changes the shortwave radiative effect of the cloud by around 20%. Longwave fluxes are much less sensitive to errors in total optical depth, and may generally be calculated to better than 2 W m−2 throughout the profile. It is important for retrieval algorithms to account for the effects of lidar multiple scattering, because if this is neglected, then optical depth is underestimated by approximately 35%, resulting in cloud radiative effects being underestimated by around 30% in the shortwave and 15% in the longwave. Unlike the extinction coefficient, the inferred ice water content and particle size can vary by 30%, depending on the assumed mass–size relationship (a problem common to all remote retrieval algorithms). However, radiative fluxes are almost completely determined by the extinction profile, and if this is correct, then errors in these other parameters have only a small effect in the shortwave (around 6%, compared to that of clear sky) and a negligible effect in the longwave.

Spectral signature of ice clouds in the far‐infrared region: Single‐scattering calculations and radiative sensitivity study

We investigate the spectral signature of ice clouds in the far‐infrared (far‐IR) spectral region from 100 to 667 cm−1 (15–100 μm). Individual particle scattering properties (extinction efficiency, absorption efficiency, and the asymmetry factor of the scattering phase function) are calculated for small particles using circular cylinders and for large crystals using hexagonal columns. The scattering properties are computed for particle sizes over a size range from 1 to 10,000 μm in maximum dimension from a combination of the T‐matrix method, the Lorenz‐Mie theory, and an improved geometric optics method. Bulk scattering properties are derived subsequently for 30 particle size distributions, with effective particle sizes ranging from 15 to 150 μm, obtained from various field campaigns for midlatitude and tropical cirrus clouds. Furthermore, a parameterization of the bulk scattering properties is developed. The radiative properties of ice clouds and the clear‐sky optical thickness computed from the line‐by‐line method are input to a radiative transfer model to simulate the upwelling spectral radiance in the far‐IR spectral region at the research aircraft height (20 km). On the basis of the simulations, we investigate the sensitivity of far‐IR spectra to ice cloud optical thickness and effective particle size. The brightness temperature difference (BTD) between 250 and 559.5 cm−1 is shown to be sensitive to optical thickness for optically thin clouds (visible optical thickness τ < 2). At the other extreme, for optically thick ice clouds (τ > 8), the BTD between 250 and 410.2 cm−1 is shown to be sensitive to the effective particle size up to a limit of 100 μm.

Effective Diameter in Radiation Transfer: General Definition, Applications, and Limitations

Although the use of an effective radius for radiation transfer calculations in water clouds has been common for many years, the export of this concept to ice clouds has been fraught with uncertainty, due to the nonspherical shapes of ice particles. More recently, a consensus appears to be building that a general definition of effective diameter Deff should involve the ratio of the size distribution volume (at bulk density) to projected area. This work further endorses this concept, describes its physical basis in terms of an effective photon path, and demonstrates the equivalency of a derived Deff definition for both water and ice clouds. Effective photon path is the unifying underlying principle behind this universal definition of Deff. Simple equations are formulated in terms of Deff, wavelength, and refractive index, giving monochromatic coefficients for absorption and extinction, babs and bext, throughout the geometric optics, Mie, and Rayleigh regimes. These expressions are tested against Mie theory, showing the limitations of the use of Deff as well as its usefulness. For water clouds, the size distribution N(D) exhibits relatively little dispersion around the mean diameter in comparison with ice clouds. For this reason, a single particle approximation for babs based on Deff compares well with babs predicted from Mie theory, providing a new and efficient means of treating radiation transfer at terrestrial wavelengths. The Deff expression for bext agrees well with Mie theory only under specific conditions: 1) absorption is substantial or 2) absorption occurs in the Rayleigh regime, or 3) size parameter xe * 50, where xe 5 pDeff/ l. Since the Deff expressions for babs and bext are single particle solutions, it is not surprising that agreement with Mie theory is best when the size distribution dispersion is reduced, approaching the single particle limit. For ice clouds, it is demonstrated that the Deff expressions for babs and bext are probably inadequate for most applications, at least at terrestrial wavelengths. This is due to the bimodal nature of ice particle size spectra N(D) with relatively high concentrations of small ( D , 100 mm) ice crystals. These small crystals have relatively low absorption efficiencies, causing the N(D)-integrated babs to be lower than babs based on Deff. This difference in N(D) dispersion between water and ice clouds makes it desirable to use an explicit solution to the absorption and extinction coefficients when calculating the radiative properties of ice clouds. Analytical solutions to the integral definitions ofbabs and bext are provided in the appendix, which may not be too computationally expensive for many applications. Most schemes for predicting ice cloud radiative properties are founded on the assumption that the dependence of babs and bext on the size distribution can be described solely in terms of Deff and ice water content (IWC). This assumption was tested by comparing the N(D) area-weighted efficiencies for absorption and extinction, abs and ext, for three N(D) that have the same IWC and Deff, but for which N(D) shape differs. Analytical QQ solutions for babs and bext were used, which explicitly treat N(D) shape, over a wavelength range of 1.0 to 1000 mm. For a chosen Deff value, uncertainties (percent differences) resulting only from N(D) shape differences reached 44% for abs, 100% for ext, and 48% for the single scattering albedo vo for terrestrial radiation. This QQ sensitivity to N(D) shape has implications relating to the formulation of schemes predicting ice cloud radiative properties, as well as satellite remote sensing of cloud properties.

Parameterization of Ice Cloud Radiative Properties and Its Application to the Potential Climatic Importance of Mixed-Phase Clouds

Abstract It is often assumed, in modeling and radiation budget simulation, that clouds below the cirrus level are entirely in the liquid phase. There is substantive evidence from observations that low and middle clouds are often of mixed phase. Using a light-scattering program for hexagonal crystals, the authors update a parameterization of the radiative properties of ice clouds from an earlier study and use the new parameterization to investigate the role of mixed-phase clouds in three arms: (i) the interpretation of ISCCP optical depth, (ii) the simulation of the earth radiation budget, and (iii) the sensitivity of a simple radiative-convective model to an increase in CO2. In all cases, mixed-phase clouds are shown to have the potential to significantly modify the results obtained using liquid phase clouds. A precise quantification is not yet possible as the dependence of the fraction of ice and liquid water in mixed-phase clouds on atmospheric properties, and the way in which the ice and liquid water a...

Parameterization of the Radiative Properties of Cirrus Clouds

Abstract A new approach for parameterization of the broadband solar and infrared radiative properties of ice clouds has been developed. This parameterization scheme integrates in a coherent manner the δ-four-stream approximation for radiative transfer, the correlated k-distribution method for nongray gaseous absorption, and the scattering and absorption properties of hexagonal ice crystals. A mean effective size is used, representing an area-weighted mean crystal width, to account for the ice crystal size distribution with respect to radiative calculation. Based on physical principles, the basic single-scattering properties of ice crystals, including the extinction coefficient divided by ice water content single-scattering albedo, and expansion coefficients of the phase function, can be parameterized using third-degree polynomials in terms of the mean effective size. In the development of this parameterization the results computed from a light scattering program that includes a Geometric ray-tracing progr...

On the effects of ice crystal porosity on the radiative characteristics of cirrus clouds

This paper attempts to illustrate how the porous nature of ice crystals might influence the relationships between the radiative properties of ice clouds and the ice water path. Solutions of the electromagnetic wave equation were obtained for a simplified, hollow, infinitely long circular cylinder. On the basis of these solutions it was implied that the effects of ice crystal porosity on the particle‐scattering parameters can be expected to be small and that the major influence of porosity on radiation‐ice water path (IWP) relationships will be primarily on the definition of IWP. It is suggested that this effect probably accounts for the existing discrepancy noted in this paper between the theoretical and observed ε‐IWP relationships.

Effects of horizontal orientation on the radiative properties of ice clouds

Transfer of radiation through cirrus consisting of non-spherical ice crystals randomly oriented in a plane (2D model) is solved by using the discrete-ordinates method. The model is employed to determine the radiative flux properties and the intensity distribution of cirrus for both solar and thermal infrared radiation. Comparison of the 2D cloud model with the conventional 3D cloud model, i. e., randomly oriented in a three- dimensional space, shows that the preferential orientation of ice crystals has a substantial effect on the cloud solar albedo. The difference in the cloud albedo computed from the two models can be as large as 8% for a cirrus of 2 km thickness. On the thermal infrared side, although the flux emission for cirrus is less effected by the orientation of ice crystals, the difference in the upward radiance using 2D and 3D models is also significant.

Calculations of the variability of ice cloud radiative properties at selected solar wavelengths

This study shows that there is surprising little difference in values of reflectance, absorptance, and transmittance for many of the intermediate-size particle spectra. Parrticle size distributions with mode radii ranging from approximately 50 to 300 microAm, irrespective of particle shape and nearly independent of the choice of size distribution representation, give relatively similar flux values. The very small particle sizes, however, have significantly larger values of reflectance and transmittance with corresponding smaller values of absorptance than do the larger particle sizes. The very large particle modes produce very small values of reflectance and transmittance along with very large values of absorptance. Such variations are particularly noticeable when plotted as a function of wavelength.