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Title: Impacts of Representing Heterogeneous Distribution of Cloud Liquid and Ice on Phase Partitioning of Arctic Mixed-Phase Clouds with NCAR CAM5

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jd030502· OSTI ID:1656596

In this study, we conduct sensitivity experiments with the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 to understand the impact of representing heterogeneous distribution between cloud liquid and ice on the phase partitioning in mixed-phase clouds through different perturbations on the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen (WBF) process. In two experiments, perturbation factors that are based on assumptions of pocket structure and the partial homogeneous cloud volume derived from the High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) Pole-to-Pole Observation (HIPPO) campaign are utilized. Alternately, a mass-weighted assumption is used in the calculation of WBF process to mimic the appearance of unsaturated area in mixed-phase clouds as the result of heterogeneous distribution. Model experiments are tested in both single column and weather forecast modes and evaluated against data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program's Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE) field campaign and long-term ground-based multisensor measurements. Model results indicate that perturbations on the WBF process can significantly modify simulated microphysical properties of Arctic mixed-phase clouds. The improvement of simulated cloud water phase partitioning tends to be linearly proportional to the perturbation magnitude that is applied in the three different sensitivity experiments. Cloud macrophysical properties such as cloud fraction and frequency of occurrence of low-level mixed-phase clouds are less sensitive to the perturbation magnitude than cloud microphysical properties. Moreover, this study indicates that heterogeneous distribution between cloud hydrometeors should be treated consistently for all cloud microphysical processes. The model vertical resolution is also important for liquid water maintenance in mixed-phase clouds.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704; AC52-07NA27344; OPP-1744965; AGS-1642291; DE‐SC0018926); DE‐SC0014239
OSTI ID:
1656596
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1577187; OSTI ID: 1642508
Report Number(s):
BNL-216306-2020-JAAM; LLNL-JRNL-796378
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, Issue 23; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 17 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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