scholarly journals Shape-temperature relationships of pristine ice crystals derived from polarimetric cloud radar observations during the ACCEPT campaign

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Myagkov ◽  
P. Seifert ◽  
U. Wandinger ◽  
J. Bühl ◽  
R. Engelmann
Keyword(s):  
Free Fall ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Crystal Shape ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Microwave Scattering ◽  
Cloud Radar ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. This paper presents first quantitative estimations of ice particle shape at the top of liquid-topped clouds. Analyzed ice particles were formed in the presence of supercooled water and in the temperature range from −20 to −3 °C. The estimation is based on polarizability ratios of ice particles measured by a Ka-band cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration, manufactured by METEK GmbH. For this study, 22 cases observed during the ACCEPT (Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques) field campaign were used. Polarizability ratios retrieved for cloud layers with the cloud top temperatures of ~−5, ~−8, ~−15, and ~−20 °C were 1.6, 0.9, 0.6, and 0.9, respectively. Such values correspond to prolate, quasi-isotropic, oblate, and quasi-isotropic particles, respectively. Data from a free-fall chamber were used for the comparison. A good agreement of detected shapes with well-known shape-temperature dependencies observed in laboratories was found. Polarizability ratios used for the analysis were estimated for areas located close to the cloud top where aggregation and riming processes do not strongly affect ice particles. We concluded, that in microwave scattering models ice particles detected in these areas can be assumed to have pristine shapes. It was also found that even slight variations of ambient conditions at the cloud top with temperatures warmer than ~−5 °C can lead to rapid changes of ice crystal shape.

scholarly journals Relationship between temperature and apparent shape of pristine ice crystals derived from polarimetric cloud radar observations during the ACCEPT campaign

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 3739-3754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Myagkov ◽  
Patric Seifert ◽  
Ulla Wandinger ◽  
Johannes Bühl ◽  
Ronny Engelmann
Keyword(s):  
Free Fall ◽  
Crystal Shape ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Axis Ratio ◽  
Microwave Scattering ◽  
Cloud Radar ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. This paper presents first quantitative estimations of apparent ice particle shape at the top of liquid-topped clouds. Analyzed ice particles were formed under mixed-phase conditions in the presence of supercooled water and in the temperature range from −20 to −3 °C. The estimation is based on polarizability ratios of ice particles measured by a Ka-band cloud radar MIRA-35 with hybrid polarimetric configuration. Polarizability ratio is a function of the geometrical axis ratio and the dielectric properties of the observed hydrometeors. For this study, 22 cases observed during the ACCEPT (Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques) field campaign were used. Polarizability ratios retrieved for cloud layers with the cloud-top temperatures of  ∼ −5,  ∼ −8,  ∼ −15, and  ∼ −20 °C were 1.6, 0.9, 0.6, and 0.9, respectively. Such values correspond to prolate, quasi-isotropic, oblate, and quasi-isotropic particles, respectively. Data from a free-fall chamber were used for the comparison. A good agreement of detected apparent shapes with well-known shape–temperature dependencies observed in laboratories was found. Polarizability ratios used for the analysis were estimated for areas located close to the cloud top, where aggregation and riming processes do not strongly affect ice particles. We concluded that, in microwave scattering models, ice particles detected in these areas can be assumed to have pristine shapes. It was also found that even slight variations of ambient conditions at the cloud top with temperatures warmer than  ∼ −5 °C can lead to rapid changes of ice crystal shape.

scholarly journals Establishment and preliminary application of forward modeling method for Doppler spectral density of ice particles

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Ding ◽  
Liping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Spectral Density ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Fall Velocity ◽  
Density Data ◽  
Cloud Radar ◽  
Backscattering Cross Section ◽  
Ice Particles

Abstract. Owing to the various shapes of ice particles, the relationships between fall velocity, backscattering cross-section, mass, and particle size are complicated, which affects the application of cloud radar Doppler spectral density data to retrieve the microphysical properties of ice crystals. In this paper, under the assumption of six particle shape types, the relationships between particle mass, fall velocity, backscattering cross-section, and particle size were established based on existing research. Variations of Doppler spectral density with the same particle size distribution (PSD) of different ice particle types are discussed, and the radar-retrieved liquid and ice PSDs, water content, and mean volume-weighted particle diameter are compared with airborne in situ observations in Xingtai, Hebei Province, China, in 2018. The results showed the following: (1) for particles with the same equivalent diameter (De), the fall velocity of aggregates is the largest, followed by hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates, sector plates, and stellar crystals, with ice spheres falling two to three times faster than ice crystals with the same De. Hexagonal columns have the largest backscattering cross-section, followed by stellar crystals and sector plates, and the backscattering cross-sections of hexagonal plates and two kinds of aggregates are very close to those of ice spheres. (2) The width of the simulated radar Doppler spectral density generated by various ice crystal types with the same PSD is mainly affected by particle fall velocity and increased fall velocity rates with increased particle size, as do PSDs retrieved from the same Doppler spectral density data. (3) PSD comparisons showed that each ice crystal type retrieved from the cloud radar corresponded well to aircraft observations within a certain scale range when assuming that only a certain type of ice crystals existed in the cloud, which can fully prove the feasibility of retrieving ice PSDs from reflectivity spectral density.

scholarly journals Establishment and Preliminary Application of the Forward Modeling Method for Doppler Spectral Density of Ice Particles

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3378
Author(s):  
Han Ding ◽  
Liping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Spectral Density ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Doppler Spectrum ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Fall Velocity ◽  
Cloud Radar ◽  
Backscattering Cross Section ◽  
Ice Particles

Owing to the various shapes of ice particles, the relationships between fall velocity, backscattering cross-section, mass, and particle size are complicated. This affects the application of cloud radar Doppler spectral density data in the retrieval of the microphysical properties of ice crystals. In this study, under the assumption of six particle shape types, the relationships between particle mass, fall velocity, backscattering cross-section, and particle size were established based on existing research. Variations of Doppler spectral density with the same particle size distribution (PSD) of different ice particle types are discussed. The radar-retrieved liquid and ice PSDs, water content, and mean volume-weighted particle diameter were compared with airborne in situ observations in the Xingtai, Hebei Province, China, in 2018. The results showed the following. (1) For the particles with the same equivalent diameter (De), the fall velocity of the aggregates was the largest, followed by hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates, sector plates, and stellar crystals, with the ice spheres falling two to three times faster than ice crystals with the same De. Hexagonal columns had the largest backscattering cross-section, followed by stellar crystals and sector plates, and the backscattering cross-sections of hexagonal plates and the two types of aggregates were very close to those of ice spheres. (2) The width of the simulated radar Doppler spectral density generated by various ice crystal types with the same PSD was mainly affected by the particle’s falling velocity, which increased with the particle size. Turbulence had different degrees of influence on the Doppler spectrum of different ice crystals, and it also brought large errors to the PSD retrieval. (3) PSD comparisons showed that each ice crystal type retrieved from the cloud radar corresponded well to aircraft observations within a certain scale range, when assuming that only a certain type of ice crystals existed in the cloud, which could fully prove the feasibility of retrieving ice PSDs from the reflectivity spectral density.

scholarly journals Microphysical properties and fall speed measurements of snow ice crystals using the Dual Ice Crystal Imager (D-ICI)

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1273-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kuhn ◽  
Sandra Vázquez-Martín
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Vertical Direction ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Double Exposure ◽  
Shape Information ◽  
Microphysical Properties ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Crystal Properties ◽  
Fall Speed

Abstract. Accurate predictions of snowfall require good knowledge of the microphysical properties of the snow ice crystals and particles. Shape is an important parameter as it strongly influences the scattering properties of the ice particles, and thus their response to remote sensing techniques such as radar measurements. The fall speed of ice particles is another important parameter for both numerical forecast models as well as representation of ice clouds and snow in climate models, as it is responsible for the rate of removal of ice from these models. We describe a new ground-based in situ instrument, the Dual Ice Crystal Imager (D-ICI), to determine snow ice crystal properties and fall speed simultaneously. The instrument takes two high-resolution pictures of the same falling ice particle from two different viewing directions. Both cameras use a microscope-like setup resulting in an image pixel resolution of approximately 4 µm pixel−1. One viewing direction is horizontal and is used to determine fall speed by means of a double exposure. For this purpose, two bright flashes of a light-emitting diode behind the camera illuminate the falling ice particle and create this double exposure, and the vertical displacement of the particle provides its fall speed. The other viewing direction is close-to-vertical and is used to provide size and shape information from single-exposure images. This viewing geometry is chosen instead of a horizontal one because shape and size of ice particles as viewed in the vertical direction are more relevant than these properties viewed horizontally, as the vertical fall speed is more strongly influenced by the vertically viewed properties. In addition, a comparison with remote sensing instruments that mostly have a vertical or close-to-vertical viewing geometry is favoured when the particle properties are measured in the same direction. The instrument has been tested in Kiruna, northern Sweden (67.8∘ N, 20.4∘ E). Measurements are demonstrated with images from different snow events, and the determined snow ice crystal properties are presented.

scholarly journals On the interpretation of an unusual in-situ measured ice crystal scattering phase function

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 9355-9364 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Baran ◽  
J.-F. Gayet ◽  
V. Shcherbakov
Keyword(s):  
Phase Function ◽  
Asymmetry Parameter ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Scattering Phase ◽  
Scattering Phase Function ◽  
Phase Functions

Abstract. In-situ Polar Nephelometer (PN) measurements of unusual ice crystal scattering phase functions, obtained near the cloud-top of a mid-latitude anvil cloud, at a temperature of about −58 °C, were recently reported by Gayet et al. (2012). The ice crystal habits that produced the phase functions consisted of aggregates of ice crystals and aggregates of quasi-spherical ice particles. The diameters of the individual quasi-spherical ice particles were estimated to be between about 15 μm and 20 μm. The measured-averaged scattering phase functions were featureless, at scattering angles less than about 100°, but an ice bow-like feature was noted between the scattering angles of about 120° to 160°. The estimated asymmetry parameter was 0.78 ± 0.04. In this paper, the averaged scattering phase function is interpreted in terms of a weighted habit mixture model. The model that provides the best overall fit to the measured scattering phase function comprises of highly distorted ten-element hexagonal ice aggregates and quasi-spherical ice particles. The smaller quasi-spherical ice crystals are represented by Chebyshev ice particles of order 3, and were assumed to have equivalent spherical diameters of 24 μm. The asymmetry parameter of the best overall model was found to be 0.79. It is argued that the Chebyshev-like ice particles are responsible for the ice bow-like feature and mostly dominate the scattered intensity measured by the PN. The results from this paper have important implications for climate modelling (energy balance of anvils), cloud physics and the remote sensing of cirrus properties.

scholarly journals On the interpretation of an unusual in-situ measured ice crystal scattering phase function

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 12485-12502 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Baran ◽  
J.-F. Gayet ◽  
V. Shcherbakov
Keyword(s):  
Phase Function ◽  
Asymmetry Parameter ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Scattering Phase ◽  
Scattering Phase Function ◽  
Phase Functions

Abstract. In-situ Polar Nephelometer (PN) measurements of unusual ice crystal scattering phase functions were recently reported by Gayet et al. (2012). The ice crystal habits that produced the phase functions were small chain-like aggregates, which had on their surfaces, smaller quasi-spherical ice crystals. The measured-averaged phase functions were featureless, at scattering angles less than about 100°, but an ice bow-like feature was noted between the scattering angles of about 120° to 160°. The estimated asymmetry parameter was 0.78 ± 0.04. In this paper, the phase function is interpreted in terms of a weighted habit mixture model. The best-fit model comprises of highly distorted ten element hexagonal ice aggregates, and the smaller quasi-spherical ice crystals are represented by Chebyshev ice particles. The weighted mean asymmetry parameter was found to be 0.81. It is argued that the Chebyshev-like ice particles are responsible for the ice bow-like feature and mostly dominate the scattered intensity measured by the PN. The results of this paper have important implications for climate modelling (energy balance of anvils) and the remote sensing of cirrus properties.

scholarly journals Box model trajectory studies of contrail formation using a particle-based cloud microphysics scheme

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Bier ◽  
Simon Unterstrasser ◽  
Xavier Vancassel
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Box Model ◽  
Radial Dependence ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Microphysics Scheme ◽  
Soot Particles

Abstract. We investigate the microphysics of contrail formation behind commercial aircraft by means of the particle-based LCM (Lagrangian Cloud Module) box model. We extend the original LCM to cover the basic pathway of contrail formation of soot particles being activated into liquid droplets that soon after freeze into ice crystals. In our particle-based microphysical approach, simulation particles are used to represent different particle types (soot, droplets, ice crystals) and properties (mass/radius, number). The box model is applied in two frameworks. In the classical framework, we prescribe the dilution along one average trajectory in a single box model run. In the second framework, we perform a large ensemble of box model runs using 25000 different trajectories inside an expanding exhaust jet as simulated by the LES (large-eddy simulation) model FLUDILES. In the ensemble runs, we see a strong radial dependence of the temperature and relative humidity evolution. Droplet formation on soot particles happens first near the plume edge and a few tenths of seconds later in the plume centre. Averaging over the ensemble runs, the number of formed droplets/ice crystals increases more smoothly over time than for the single box model run with the average dilution. Consistent with previous studies, contrail ice crystal number varies strongly with atmospheric parameters like temperature and relative humidity near the contrail formation threshold. Close to this threshold, the freezing fraction of soot particles depends strongly on the geometric-mean dry core radius and the hygroscopicity parameter of soot particles. This sensitivity is quite low at ambient conditions far away from the formation threshold. Absolute ice crystal numbers, on the other hand, are controlled by the soot number emission index for all atmospheric conditions. The comparison with a recent contrail formation study by Lewellen (2020) (using similar microphysics) shows a later onset of our contrail formation due to a weaker prescribed plume dilution. If we use the same dilution data, our and Lewellen's evolution in contrail ice nucleation show an excellent agreement cross-validating both microphysics implementations. This means that differences in contrail properties mainly result from different representations of the plume mixing and not from the microphysical modelling. The presented aerosol and microphysics scheme describing contrail formation is of intermediate complexity and thus suited to be incorporated in an LES model for 3D contrail formation studies explicitly simulating the jet expansion. The presented box model results will help interpreting the upcoming, more complex 3D results.

scholarly journals Particle Habit Imaging Using Incoherent Light: A First Step toward a Novel Instrument for Cloud Microphysics

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Schön ◽  
Martin Schnaiter ◽  
Zbigniew Ulanowski ◽  
Carl Schmitt ◽  
Stefan Benz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ccd Camera ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Resolving Power ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Incoherent Light ◽  
Cloud Particle ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
A Charge

Abstract The imaging unit of the novel cloud particle instrument Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering (PHIPS) probe has been developed to image individual ice particles produced inside a large cloud chamber. The PHIPS produces images of single airborne ice crystals, illuminated with white light of an ultrafast flashlamp, which are captured at a maximum frequency of ∼5 Hz by a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera with microscope optics. The imaging properties of the instrument were characterized by means of crystalline sodium hexafluorosilicate ice analogs, which are stable at room temperature. The optical resolving power of the system is ∼2 μm. By using dedicated algorithms for image processing and analysis, the ice crystal images can be analyzed automatically in terms of size and selected shape parameters. PHIPS has been operated at the cloud simulation chamber facility Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology at different temperatures between −17° and −4°C in order to study the influence of the ambient conditions, that is, temperature and ice saturation ratio, on ice crystal habits. The area-equivalent size distributions deduced from the PHIPS images are compared with the retrieval results from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) extinction spectroscopy in case of small (<20 μm) and with single particle data from the cloud particle imager in case of larger (>20 μm) ice particles. Good agreement is found for both particle size regimes.

scholarly journals On the Occurrence of Hollow Bullet Rosette– and Column-Shaped Ice Crystals in Midlatitude Cirrus

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 4514-4519 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. G. Schmitt ◽  
A. J. Heymsfield
Keyword(s):  
Cirrus Clouds ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Radiative Properties ◽  
Cirrus Cloud ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Particle Size Distributions ◽  
Polyvinyl Formal ◽  
Ice Particles ◽  
Cloud Ice ◽  
Parameter Values

Abstract Cirrus clouds in mid- and high latitudes are frequently composed of bullet rosette– and column-shaped ice crystals, which can have hollow ends. Bullet rosette–shaped ice crystals are composed of a number of bullets radiating from a central point. Research has shown that the light-scattering properties of ice particles with hollow ends are different from the scattering properties of solid ice particles. Knowledge of the frequency of occurrence of hollow particles is important to more accurately calculate the radiative properties of cirrus clouds. This note presents the results of a survey of cirrus cloud ice crystal replicas imaged from balloon-borne Formvar (polyvinyl formal) replicators. Fifty percent to 80% of the replicated bullet rosette– and column-shaped particles had hollow ends. In bullets longer than 150 μm in length, the length of the hollows of the bullets averaged 88% of the total length of the bullet. The combined length of both hollow portions of column-shaped ice crystals varied from 50% of the length of the column for 30-μm-long columns to 80% of the length of the columns longer than 200 μm. Asymmetry parameter values estimated from cirrus cloud aircraft particle size distributions are higher by 0.014 when hollow crystals are considered. This difference leads to a 2.5 W m−2 increase for hollow crystals at the surface for a 0.5 optical depth cloud, demonstrating the importance of the incorporation of hollow particle scattering characteristics into radiative transfer calculations.

scholarly journals Comparison of Ice Crystals Grown from Vapour in Varying Conditions

1985 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 242-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takira Yamashtta ◽  
Asaharu Asano ◽  
Takayuki Ohno
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Thin Plate ◽  
Free Fall ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Ice Crystal

In a static supercooled cloud dendrites hardly grow at about -15°C except at the pointed tip of a needle-like ice crystal or an isolated thin plate-like ice crystal. When ice crystals are moved slowly in a static supercooled cloud, dendrites grow at about -15° C and the α-axis growth rate increases as the velocity of the dendrites increases; at velocities higher than 20 cm/s, however, the a-axis growth rate decreases as the velocity increases due to the influence of heavy riming. The maximum a-axis growth rate in a supercooled cloud is observed at about -15°C in experiments growing ice crystals in free fall.

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