Exploring the Cloud Top Phase Partitioning in Different Cloud Types Using Active and Passive Satellite Sensors

Abstract

Mixed-phase clouds, i.e., clouds in which ice particles and supercooled liquid water can coexist in the temperature range of approximately −40°C to 0°C, are not fully understood yet and therefore not well represented in weather and climate models (Forbes & Ahlgrimm, 2014; McCoy et al., 2016). Several studies have shown that mixed-phase clouds occur irrespective of the season, can be found in diverse locations, and can be associated with various cloud types (Korolev et al., 2017). Observations of mixed-phase clouds include active (e.g.

Detecting Supercooled Water Clouds Using Passive Radiometer Measurements

“…Noted that other cloud properties (e.g., solar and observational geometries, cloud effective radius, CTT and so on) are also changed for those simulations, but are not illustrated in the figure . Finally, we also consider using CTT because numerous researches have suggested a dependency between CTT and SWC occurrence frequency. To be more specific, the occurrence frequency of SWC increases as cloud temperature increases between 253 and 273 K (Bruno et al, 2021;Hogan et al, 2004;Hu et al, 2010). Hence, we use CTT from the VIIRS continuity cloud property product (CLDPROP) as a third variable in our detection algorithm for better accuracy.…”

“…Over the Southern Ocean where SWCs are prevalent in the long sustained cold stratiform clouds, SWCs contribute ∼30% of the total shortwave reflected radiation (Bodas‐Salcedo et al., 2016). Nevertheless, because SWCs are involved in complex gas‐liquid‐solid interactions and several competing processes, the representation of SWCs is a source of considerable uncertainty in numerical weather and climate models (Bruno et al., 2021; Tan et al., 2016). Furthermore, because supercooled water droplets can easily accumulate as ice on the surfaces of airplanes, enhancing the drag of the airfoil and causing the airplane to forfeit control, SWCs may cause aviation accidents (Feng et al., 2019).…”

“…Hu et al (2010) used cloud phase retrieved from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) together with Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GEOS)-5 temperature profiles to determine the existence of SWCs. Bruno et al (2021) further analyzed the relationship between cloud top temperature (CTT) and SWC fraction using CALIOP and AVHRR datasets, but also noticed the phase mismatch, especially for clouds with CTT between 233 and 273 K. Moreover, some passive radiometers, such as Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), produce SWC/mixed cloud masks in their cloud phase (CPH) products (Godin & Vicente, 2017;Kouki et al, 2016;Hubanks et al, 2019;Pavolonis, 2010;Wang, Letu, et al, 2019). Table S1 and Text S1 in Supporting Information S1 summary these SWC/mixed detection algorithms developed for different instruments, and the significant variations further indicate difficulties in SWC detection from passive radiometers.…”

Seasonal and Semi‐Diurnal Variations in Cloud‐Phase Characteristics Over the Southern Himalayas and Adjacent Regions as Observed by the Himawari‐8 Satellite

“…There have also been studies conducted to investigate the cloud top temperature over China and East Asia by using observations from geostationary and polar‐orbiting satellites (D. Chen et al., 2018). However, the cloud top phase is not completely dependent on the temperature (S. Yang & Zou, 2017) because the temperature in the range of −40 to 0°C, where the cloud phase may be water, ice, or mixed, depends not only on the cloud particle size and the number of ice nuclei but also on cloud dynamic and ice multiplication processes (Bruno et al., 2021; Bühl et al., 2016; McCoy et al., 2015; Solomon et al., 2018). Therefore, studies of cloud top temperature are insufficient for developing a cloud top phase climatology over the TP and its adjacent areas.…”

Constraining the Impact of Dust‐Driven Droplet Freezing on Climate Using Cloud‐Top‐Phase Observations

“…Although many natural and anthropogenic aerosols are known to act as INP, most evidence suggests that cloud glaciation at temperatures colder than −15°C is dominated by mineral dust (Kawamoto et al., 2020; Tan et al., 2014; Vergara‐Temprado et al., 2017; Villanueva et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2018). Ice cloud frequency and mineral dust concentrations observed from space are higher in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as during boreal and austral spring (Bruno et al., 2021; Cowie et al., 2014; Hu et al., 2010; Tan et al., 2014; Villanueva et al., 2021; Wu et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2018). In addition, dust emissions may have increased by about 25% since preindustrial times due to land use change (Stanelle et al., 2014).…”