Simulating Arctic Ice Clouds during Spring Using an Advanced Ice Cloud Microphysics in the WRF Model

• Published in: Atmosphere
• Main Authors: Keita, Setigui A., Girard, Eric, Raut, Jean-Christophe, Pelon, Jacques, Blanchet, Jean-Pierre, Lemoine, Olivier, Onishi, Tatsuo
• Other Authors: Centre ESCER, Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal (UQAM), TROPO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département des sciences de la terre et de l'atmosphère Montréal (SCTA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: Arctic ice clouds; cloud microphysics; numerical modeling; WRF; classical nucleation theory; ice nuclei acidification; [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-AO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics [physics.ao-ph]; [SDU.STU.ME]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Meteorology; Arctic; polar night; Alaska
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-02202892; https://insu.hal.science/insu-02202892/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-02202892/file/atmosphere-10-00433-v2.pdf; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10080433

International audience Two Types of Ice Clouds (TICs) have been characterized in the Arctic during the polar night and early spring. TIC-1 are composed by non-precipitating small ice crystals of less than 30 µm in diameter. The second type, TIC-2, are characterized by a low concentration of large precipitating ice crystals (>30 µm). Here, we evaluate the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model performance both in space and time after implementing a parameterization based on a stochastic approach dedicated to the simulation of ice clouds in the Arctic. Well documented reference cases provided us in situ data from the spring of 2008 Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) campaign over Alaska. Simulations of the microphysical properties of the TIC-2 clouds on 15 and 25 April 2008 (polluted or acidic cases) and TIC-1 clouds on non-polluted cases are compared to DARDAR (raDAR/liDAR) satellite products. Our results show that the stochastic approach based on the classical nucleation theory, with the appropriate contact angle, is better than the original scheme in WRF model to represent TIC-1 and TIC-2 properties (ice crystal concentration and size) in response to the IN acidification.