Impacts of thermodynamics and aerosol particles on Arctic mixed-phase cloud microphysics over different surface conditions

• Main Authors: Arteaga, D., Wobrock, W., Banson, S., Dupuy, R., Mioche, G., Tridon, F., Baray, J., Jourdan, O., Planche, C.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Arctic; Morrison; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5016539

Different physical processes associated with surface and thermodynamical conditions as well as aerosol concentrations influence the formation and persistence of mixed-phase clouds (MPCs) in the Arctic. This study focuses on the impact of thermodynamical conditions and aerosol concentrations (cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particles (INP)) on cloud microphysical properties. Two Arctic mixed-phase cloud systems measured the 17 June 2017 during the ACLOUD airborne campaign are simulated with the WRF model. In situ microphysical observations of cloud number and mass concentrations performed by aircraft microphysics probes are compared to WRF outputs. To investigate the effect of changing surfaces, two types of scenarios were studied: over sea ice and over open ocean. The MPC over open ocean is characterized by a higher liquid water content (LWC) and a lower ice water content (IWC) compared to the MPC over sea ice. Two microphysics schemes were tested: the two-moment schemes of Morrison and Milbrandt. Sensitivity studies have been carried out to investigate the impact of the thermodynamics, the surface properties and the aerosol loading on the LWC and the IWC. The first sensitivity test shows the large impact of the thermodynamics on the cloud properties since using the ERA5 reanalysis data with different vertical levels for initialization impact the simulated LWC and IWC profiles. Additional studies have been performed highlighting the important role of the CCN and INP on the formation and properties of the studied MPCs.