Mesoscale Modeling During Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment

• Main Authors: Avramov, A., Harringston, J.Y., Verlinde, J.
• Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy. Office of Science.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania (United States) 2005
• Subjects: Removal; Beaufort Sea; Feedback; Clouds; Stratus Clouds; Nucleation; Environmental Impacts; Alaska; Radiative Cooling; Coastal Dynamics; Maintenance; 54 Environmental Sciences; Radiations; Simulation; Water Stratus Clouds; Precipitation; Arctic; north slope
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc778995/

Mixed-phase arctic stratus clouds are the predominant cloud type in the Arctic (Curry et al. 2000) and through various feedback mechanisms exert a strong influence on the Arctic climate. Perhaps one of the most intriguing of their features is that they tend to have liquid tops that precipitate ice. Despite the fact that this situation is colloidally unstable, these cloud systems are quite long lived - from a few days to over a couple of weeks. It has been hypothesized that mixed-phase clouds are maintained through a balance between liquid water condensation resulting from the cloud-top radiative cooling and ice removal by precipitation (Pinto 1998; Harrington et al. 1999). In their modeling study Harrington et al. (1999) found that the maintenance of this balance depends strongly on the ambient concentration of ice forming nucleus (IFN). In a follow-up study, Jiang et al. (2002), using only 30% of IFN concentration predicted by Meyers et al. (1992) IFN parameterization were able to obtain results similar to the observations reported by Pinto (1998). The IFN concentration measurements collected during the Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE), conducted in October 2004 over the North Slope of Alaska and the Beaufort Sea (Verlinde et al. 2005), also showed much lower values then those predicted (Prenne, pers. comm.) by currently accepted ice nucleation parameterizations (e.g. Meyers et al. 1992). The goal of this study is to use the extensive IFN data taken during M-PACE to examine what effects low IFN concentrations have on mesoscale cloud structure and coastal dynamics.