Developing and bounding ice particle mass- and area-dimension expressions for use in atmospheric models and remote sensing
- Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV (United States); Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States).
- Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV (United States)
Here, ice particle mass- and projected area-dimension (m-D and A-D) power laws are commonly used in the treatment of ice cloud microphysical and optical properties and the remote sensing of ice cloud properties. Although there has long been evidence that a single m-D or A-D power law is often not valid over all ice particle sizes, few studies have addressed this fact. This study develops self-consistent m-D and A-D expressions that are not power laws but can easily be reduced to power laws for the ice particle size (maximum dimension or D) range of interest, and they are valid over a much larger D range than power laws. This was done by combining ground measurements of individual ice particle m and D formed at temperature T < –20 °C during a cloud seeding field campaign with 2-D stereo (2D-S) and cloud particle imager (CPI) probe measurements of D and A, and estimates of m, in synoptic and anvil ice clouds at similar temperatures. The resulting m-D and A-D expressions are functions of temperature and cloud type (synoptic vs. anvil), and are in good agreement with m-D power laws developed from recent field studies considering the same temperature range (–60 °C < T < –20 °C).
- Research Organization:
- Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Reno, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI ID:
- 1258751
- Journal Information:
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Vol. 16, Issue 7; ISSN 1680-7324
- Publisher:
- European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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