Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment
Low-level mixed-phase clouds (MPCs) are common in the Arctic. Both local and large-scale phenomena influence the properties and lifetime of MPCs. Arctic fjords are characterized by complex terrain and large variations in surface properties. Yet, not many studies have investigated the impact of local...
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ftnonlinearchiv:oai:noa.gwlb.de:cop_mods_00051009 2023-05-15T14:56:49+02:00 Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment Gierens, Rosa Kneifel, Stefan Shupe, Matthew D. Ebell, Kerstin Maturilli, Marion Löhnert, Ulrich 2020-03 electronic https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00051009 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00050666/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/20/3459/2020/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf eng eng Copernicus Publications Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics -- http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/volumes_and_issues.html -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2069847 -- 1680-7324 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00051009 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00050666/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/20/3459/2020/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess CC-BY article Verlagsveröffentlichung article Text doc-type:article 2020 ftnonlinearchiv https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020 2022-02-08T22:36:37Z Low-level mixed-phase clouds (MPCs) are common in the Arctic. Both local and large-scale phenomena influence the properties and lifetime of MPCs. Arctic fjords are characterized by complex terrain and large variations in surface properties. Yet, not many studies have investigated the impact of local boundary layer dynamics and their relative importance on MPCs in the fjord environment. In this work, we used a combination of ground-based remote sensing instruments, surface meteorological observations, radiosoundings, and reanalysis data to study persistent low-level MPCs at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, for a 2.5-year period. Methods to identify the cloud regime, surface coupling, and regional and local wind patterns were developed. We found that persistent low-level MPCs were most common with westerly winds, and the westerly clouds had a higher mean liquid (42 g m−2) and ice water path (16 g m−2) compared to those with easterly winds. The increased height and rarity of persistent MPCs with easterly free-tropospheric winds suggest the island and its orography have an influence on the studied clouds. Seasonal variation in the liquid water path was found to be minimal, although the occurrence of persistent MPCs, their height, and their ice water path all showed notable seasonal dependency. Most of the studied MPCs were decoupled from the surface (63 %–82 % of the time). The coupled clouds had 41 % higher liquid water path than the fully decoupled ones. Local winds in the fjord were related to the frequency of surface coupling, and we propose that katabatic winds from the glaciers in the vicinity of the station may cause clouds to decouple. We concluded that while the regional to large-scale wind direction was important for the persistent MPC occurrence and properties, the local-scale phenomena (local wind patterns in the fjord and surface coupling) also had an influence. Moreover, this suggests that local boundary layer processes should be described in models in order to present low-level MPC properties accurately. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA Arctic Svalbard Ny-Ålesund Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 20 6 3459 3481 |
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Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA |
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English |
topic |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
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article Verlagsveröffentlichung Gierens, Rosa Kneifel, Stefan Shupe, Matthew D. Ebell, Kerstin Maturilli, Marion Löhnert, Ulrich Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment |
topic_facet |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
description |
Low-level mixed-phase clouds (MPCs) are common in the Arctic. Both local and large-scale phenomena influence the properties and lifetime of MPCs. Arctic fjords are characterized by complex terrain and large variations in surface properties. Yet, not many studies have investigated the impact of local boundary layer dynamics and their relative importance on MPCs in the fjord environment. In this work, we used a combination of ground-based remote sensing instruments, surface meteorological observations, radiosoundings, and reanalysis data to study persistent low-level MPCs at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, for a 2.5-year period. Methods to identify the cloud regime, surface coupling, and regional and local wind patterns were developed. We found that persistent low-level MPCs were most common with westerly winds, and the westerly clouds had a higher mean liquid (42 g m−2) and ice water path (16 g m−2) compared to those with easterly winds. The increased height and rarity of persistent MPCs with easterly free-tropospheric winds suggest the island and its orography have an influence on the studied clouds. Seasonal variation in the liquid water path was found to be minimal, although the occurrence of persistent MPCs, their height, and their ice water path all showed notable seasonal dependency. Most of the studied MPCs were decoupled from the surface (63 %–82 % of the time). The coupled clouds had 41 % higher liquid water path than the fully decoupled ones. Local winds in the fjord were related to the frequency of surface coupling, and we propose that katabatic winds from the glaciers in the vicinity of the station may cause clouds to decouple. We concluded that while the regional to large-scale wind direction was important for the persistent MPC occurrence and properties, the local-scale phenomena (local wind patterns in the fjord and surface coupling) also had an influence. Moreover, this suggests that local boundary layer processes should be described in models in order to present low-level MPC properties accurately. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gierens, Rosa Kneifel, Stefan Shupe, Matthew D. Ebell, Kerstin Maturilli, Marion Löhnert, Ulrich |
author_facet |
Gierens, Rosa Kneifel, Stefan Shupe, Matthew D. Ebell, Kerstin Maturilli, Marion Löhnert, Ulrich |
author_sort |
Gierens, Rosa |
title |
Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment |
title_short |
Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment |
title_full |
Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment |
title_fullStr |
Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex Arctic environment |
title_sort |
low-level mixed-phase clouds in a complex arctic environment |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00051009 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00050666/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/20/3459/2020/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Ny-Ålesund |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Ny-Ålesund |
genre |
Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
op_relation |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics -- http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/volumes_and_issues.html -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2069847 -- 1680-7324 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00051009 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00050666/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/20/3459/2020/acp-20-3459-2020.pdf |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3459-2020 |
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Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
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20 |
container_issue |
6 |
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3459 |
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