A Comparative Study of Cloud Properties Between Northern and Southern High Latitudes Based on ARM Observations and EAMv2 Simulations

Journal Article · 23 April 2025 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024jd041588 · OSTI ID:2562753

Desai, N. ^[1]; Diao, Minghui  ^[2]; Shi, Y.  ^[3]; Liu, X.  ^[4]

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1. San Jose State University, CA (United States); San Jose State University
2. San Jose State University, CA (United States)
3. Texas A & M University, College Station, TX (United States); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
4. Texas A & M University, College Station, TX (United States)

Earth's high-latitude regions show a considerable amount of cloud coverage, which significantly affects global radiation budgets. Here, in this study, we examine ground- and ship-based remote sensing observations from two Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) field campaigns conducted in the high-latitude regions of Northern and Southern Hemispheres (NH and SH). A comparison of macrophysical properties for low, mid-level, high, and deep clouds shows that the cloud top heights and thickness values are higher in the Arctic for each cloud type compared with the Southern Ocean and Antarctic regions, possibly due to higher sea surface temperatures in the north Atlantic. The Arctic also shows lower ice phase occurrence frequencies compared with the SH high latitudes for low clouds. For high, mid-level and deep clouds, the cloud phase distributions as a function of temperature show small geographical variabilities. The observations are then compared with the Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) to evaluate the representations of these cloud properties. Here, the results show that the model captures cloud base and top heights well and reproduces the differences in cloud macrophysical properties between the two hemispheres. But the model underestimates ice phase frequencies for all cloud types. Such model cloud phase bias is strongly correlated with positive relative humidity biases and negative aerosol number concentration biases, indicating an important role of relative humidity and aerosols in modulating cloud phase partitioning in the model.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center; San Jose State University, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
• Contributing Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231; SC0021211; SC0023155; SC0024439
• OSTI ID: 2562753
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 130; ISSN 2169-897X
• Publisher: American Geophysical Union; WileyCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English