Contrasting Local and Long-Range Transported Warm Ice-Nucleating Particles During an Atmospheric River in Coastal California, USA

Martin, Andrew; Cornwell, Gavin C.; Beall, Charlotte M.; Cannon, Forest; Reilly, Sean P.; Schaap, Bas; Lucero, Dolan; Creamean, Jessie M.; Ralph, F. Martin; Mix, H.; Prather, Kimberly A.

doi:10.5194/acp-2018-702

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Datasets and code used to create analyses supporting this study are hosted within the University of California San Diego Library Digital Collections. https://doi.org/10.6075/J05X274R (Martin et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting local and long-range-transported warm ice-nucleating particles during an atmospheric river in coastal California, USA

et al. 2019

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Abstract. Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) have been found to influence the amount, phase and efficiency of precipitation from winter storms, including atmospheric rivers. Warm INPs, those that initiate freezing at temperatures warmer than −10 ∘C, are thought to be particularly impactful because they can create primary ice in mixed-phase clouds, enhancing precipitation efficiency. The dominant sources of warm INPs during atmospheric rivers, the role of meteorology in modulating transport and injection of warm INPs into atmospheric river clouds, and the impact of warm INPs on mixed-phase cloud properties are not well-understood. In this case study, time-resolved precipitation samples were collected during an atmospheric river in northern California, USA, during winter 2016. Precipitation samples were collected at two sites, one coastal and one inland, which are separated by about 35 km. The sites are sufficiently close that air mass sources during this storm were almost identical, but the inland site was exposed to terrestrial sources of warm INPs while the coastal site was not. Warm INPs were more numerous in precipitation at the inland site by an order of magnitude. Using FLEXPART (FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model) dispersion modeling and radar-derived cloud vertical structure, we detected influence from terrestrial INP sources at the inland site but did not find clear evidence of marine warm INPs at either site. We episodically detected warm INPs from long-range-transported sources at both sites. By extending the FLEXPART modeling using a meteorological reanalysis, we demonstrate that long-range-transported warm INPs were observed only when the upper tropospheric jet provided transport to cloud tops. Using radar-derived hydrometeor classifications, we demonstrate that hydrometeors over the terrestrially influenced inland site were more likely to be in the ice phase for cloud temperatures between 0 and −10 ∘C. We thus conclude that terrestrial and long-range-transported aerosol were important sources of warm INPs during this atmospheric river. Meteorological details such as transport mechanism and cloud structure were important in determining (i) warm INP source and injection temperature and (ii) ultimately the impact of warm INPs on mixed-phase cloud properties.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting local and long-range-transported warm ice-nucleating particles during an atmospheric river in coastal California, USA

et al. 2019

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“…Events like these, both the multiyear drought and subsequent flooding, highlight the importance of understanding the controlling mechanisms for precipitation in this region and improving our ability to forecast changes to these mechanisms. While the availability of condensable water vapor is crucial to the intense rain and snow events associated with ARs (Ralph et al, ), the role of aerosol particles, especially those capable of initiating ice crystal formation, is less well understood and has been the focus of recent study (Ault et al, ; Creamean et al, ; Creamean et al, ; Fan et al, ; Fan et al, ; Martin et al, ; Rosenfeld et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Ice Nucleating Particles in and Around California Winter Storms

et al. 2019

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A major component of California's yearly precipitation comes from wintertime atmospheric river events which bring large amounts of moisture from the tropics up to the midlatitudes. Understanding these systems, specifically the effects of aerosol particles on precipitation associated with these storms, was a major focus of the 2015 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment, which was part of the wintertime California Water 2015 campaign. The measurement campaign provided sampling platforms on four aircraft, including the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Aerial Facility G‐1, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ronald H. Brown research vessel and at a ground station in Bodega Bay, CA. Measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) were made with the Colorado State University Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber aboard the G‐1, and aerosol filters were collected on the G‐1, at the Bodega Bay site and on the Ronald H. Brown for postprocessing via immersion freezing in the Colorado State University Ice Spectrometer. Aerosol composition was measured aboard the G‐1 with the Aerosol Time‐of‐Flight Mass Spectrometer. Here we present INP concentrations and aerosol chemical compositions during the course of the aircraft campaign. During the atmospheric river event, we found that marine aerosol was the main aerosol type and that marine INPs were dominant at cloud activation temperatures, which is in stark contrast to the dominance of dust INPs during the atmospheric river events in the California Water 2011 campaign.

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“…These improved reconstructions will open the door for additional avenues of research, such as the interaction between different types of ice nucleating particles (INPs) and precipitation processes. Work on the same landfalling AR examined here showed that INPs in this precipitation event varied both in source (long-range transported mineral dust vs. locally-emitted terrestrial biological INPs) and abundance and were spatially inhomogeneous [27]. Further, these biological INPs were found to have a greater impact on cloud ice than long-range transported INPs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…During the period 15 UTC to 21 UTC on 5 March (Figure 1b,c), IVT progressively increased to nearly 750 kg m −1 s −1 , and vapor flux below 1 km MSL increased and turned parallel to the coastal mountain terrain. A coastal barrier jet was present during this time period, with maximum strength at 21 UTC on 5 March [27]. At the end of this period, between 20-22 UTC on 5 March, the cloud structure broke down and rain droplet size decreased to below disdrometer measurable sensitivity.…”

Section: Stable Isotope and Meteorological Chronologymentioning

confidence: 88%

“…IVT from NARR and rawinsondes was used as an indicator of AR conditions, with a minimum threshold equal to 250 kg m −1 s −1 following Rutz et al, 2014 [21]. Integrated vapor flux below 1 km is a proxy for orographic precipitation forcing [25], and its direction can in some cases indicate the presence of terrain-parallel barrier jets [26,27]. The equivalent potential temperature was used to diagnose the position and timing of cold fronts [28].…”

Section: Site Description and Meteorological Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating the Roles of Rainout and Post-Condensation Processes in a Landfalling Atmospheric River with Stable Isotopes in Precipitation and Water Vapor

Mix

Reilly

Martin³

et al. 2019

Atmosphere

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Atmospheric rivers (ARs), and frontal systems more broadly, tend to exhibit prominent “V” shapes in time series of stable isotopes in precipitation. Despite the magnitude and widespread nature of these “V” shapes, debate persists as to whether these shifts are driven by changes in the degree of rainout, which we determine using the Rayleigh distillation of stable isotopes, or by post-condensation processes such as below-cloud evaporation and equilibrium isotope exchange between hydrometeors and surrounding vapor. Here, we present paired precipitation and water vapor isotope time series records from the 5–7 March 2016, AR in Bodega Bay, CA. The stable isotope composition of surface vapor along with independent meteorological constraints such as temperature and relative humidity reveal that rainout and post-condensation processes dominate during different portions of the event. We find that Rayleigh distillation controls during peak AR conditions (with peak rainout of 55%) while post-condensation processes have their greatest effect during periods of decreased precipitation on the margins of the event. These results and analyses inform critical questions regarding the temporal evolution of AR events and the physical processes that control them at local scales.

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Contrasting Local and Long-Range Transported Warm Ice-Nucleating Particles During an Atmospheric River in Coastal California, USA

Cited by 4 publications

References 32 publications

Contrasting local and long-range-transported warm ice-nucleating particles during an atmospheric river in coastal California, USA

Contrasting local and long-range-transported warm ice-nucleating particles during an atmospheric river in coastal California, USA

Characteristics of Ice Nucleating Particles in and Around California Winter Storms

Evaluating the Roles of Rainout and Post-Condensation Processes in a Landfalling Atmospheric River with Stable Isotopes in Precipitation and Water Vapor

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