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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.

Aerosol–cloud interactions present a large source of uncertainties in atmospheric and climate models. One of the main challenges to simulate ice clouds is to reproduce the right ice nucleating particle concentration. In this study, we derive a parameterization for immersion freezing according to the classical nucleation theory. Our objective was to constrain this parameterization with observations taken over the Canadian Arctic during the Amundsen summer 2014 and 2016 campaigns. We found a linear dependence of contact angle and temperature. Using this approach, we were able to reproduce the scatter in ice nucleated particle concentrations within a factor 5 of observed values with a small negative bias. This parameterization would be easy to implement in climate and atmospheric models, but its representativeness has to first be validated against other datasets.

Abstract. In the Arctic, during polar night and early spring, ice clouds are separated into two leading types of ice clouds (TICs): (1) TIC1 clouds characterized by a large concentration of very small crystals and TIC2 clouds characterized by a low concentration of large ice crystals. Using a suitable parameterization of heterogeneous ice nucleation is essential for properly representing ice clouds in meteorological and climate models and subsequently understanding their interactions with aerosols and radiation. Here, we describe a new parameterization for ice crystal formation by heterogeneous nucleation in water-subsaturated conditions coupled to aerosol chemistry in the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem). The parameterization is implemented in the Milbrandt and Yau (2005a, b) two-moment cloud microphysics scheme, and we assess how the WRF-Chem model responds to the run-time interaction between chemistry and the new parameterization. Well-documented reference cases provided us with in situ data from the spring 2008 Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) over Alaska. Our analysis reveals that the new parameterization clearly improves the representation of the ice water content (IWC) in polluted or unpolluted air masses and shows the poor performance of the reference parameterization in representing ice clouds with low IWC. The new parameterization is able to represent TIC1 and TIC2 microphysical characteristics at the top of the clouds, where heterogenous ice nucleation is most likely occurring, even with the known bias of simulated aerosols by WRF-Chem over the Arctic.

Abstract. A far infrared radiometer (FIRR) dedicated to measuring radiation emitted by clear and cloudy atmospheres was developed in the framework of the Thin Ice Clouds in Far InfraRed Experiment (TICFIRE) technology demonstration satellite project. The FIRR detector is an array of 80 × 60 uncooled microbolometers coated with gold black to enhance the absorptivity and responsivity. A filter wheel is used to select atmospheric radiation in nine spectral bands ranging from 8 to 50 µm. Calibrated radiances are obtained using two well-calibrated blackbodies. Images are acquired at a frame rate of 120 Hz, and temporally averaged to reduce electronic noise. A complete measurement sequence takes about 120 s. With a field of view of 6°, the FIRR is not intended to be an imager. Hence spatial average is computed over 193 illuminated pixels to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and consequently the detector resolution. This results in an improvement by a factor of 5 compared to individual pixel measurements. Another threefold increase in resolution is obtained using 193 non-illuminated pixels to remove correlated electronic noise, leading an overall resolution of approximately 0.015 W m−2 sr−1. Laboratory measurements performed on well-known targets suggest an absolute accuracy close to 0.02 W m−2 sr−1, which ensures atmospheric radiance is retrieved with an accuracy better than 1 %. Preliminary in situ experiments performed from the ground in winter and in summer on clear and cloudy atmospheres are compared to radiative transfer simulations. They point out the FIRR ability to detect clouds and changes in relative humidity of a few percent in various atmospheric conditions, paving the way for the development of new algorithms dedicated to ice cloud characterization and water vapor retrieval.

Abstract. The first airborne measurements of the Far-InfraRed Radiometer (FIRR) were performed in April 2015 during the panarctic NETCARE campaign. Vertical profiles of spectral upwelling radiance in the range 8–50 µm were measured in clear and cloudy conditions from the surface up to 6 km. The clear sky profiles highlight the strong dependence of radiative fluxes to the temperature inversion typical of the Arctic. Measurements acquired for total column water vapour from 1.5 to 10.5 mm also underline the sensitivity of the far-infrared greenhouse effect to specific humidity. The cloudy cases show that optically thin ice clouds increase the cooling rate of the atmosphere, making them important pieces of the Arctic energy balance. One such cloud exhibited a very complex spatial structure, characterized by large horizontal heterogeneities at the kilometre scale. This emphasizes the difficulty of obtaining representative cloud observations with airborne measurements but also points out how challenging it is to model polar clouds radiative effects. These radiance measurements were successfully compared to simulations, suggesting that state-of-the-art radiative transfer models are suited to study the cold and dry Arctic atmosphere. Although FIRR in situ performances compare well to its laboratory performances, complementary simulations show that upgrading the FIRR radiometric resolution would greatly increase its sensitivity to atmospheric and cloud properties. Improved instrument temperature stability in flight and expected technological progress should help meet this objective. The campaign overall highlights the potential for airborne far-infrared radiometry and constitutes a relevant reference for future similar studies dedicated to the Arctic and for the development of spaceborne instruments.

Abstract. Motivated by the need to predict how the Arctic atmosphere will change in a warming world, this article summarizes recent advances made by the research consortium NETCARE (Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments) that contribute to our fundamental understanding of Arctic aerosol particles as they relate to climate forcing. The overall goal of NETCARE research has been to use an interdisciplinary approach encompassing extensive field observations and a range of chemical transport, earth system, and biogeochemical models. Several major findings and advances have emerged from NETCARE since its formation in 2013. (1) Unexpectedly high summertime dimethyl sulfide (DMS) levels were identified in ocean water (up to 75 nM) and the overlying atmosphere (up to 1 ppbv) in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). Furthermore, melt ponds, which are widely prevalent, were identified as an important DMS source (with DMS concentrations of up to 6 nM and a potential contribution to atmospheric DMS of 20 % in the study area). (2) Evidence of widespread particle nucleation and growth in the marine boundary layer was found in the CAA in the summertime, with these events observed on 41 % of days in a 2016 cruise. As well, at Alert, Nunavut, particles that are newly formed and grown under conditions of minimal anthropogenic influence during the months of July and August are estimated to contribute 20 % to 80 % of the 30–50 nm particle number density. DMS-oxidation-driven nucleation is facilitated by the presence of atmospheric ammonia arising from seabird-colony emissions, and potentially also from coastal regions, tundra, and biomass burning. Via accumulation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), a significant fraction of the new particles grow to sizes that are active in cloud droplet formation. Although the gaseous precursors to Arctic marine SOA remain poorly defined, the measured levels of common continental SOA precursors (isoprene and monoterpenes) were low, whereas elevated mixing ratios of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) were inferred to arise via processes involving the sea surface microlayer. (3) The variability in the vertical distribution of black carbon (BC) under both springtime Arctic haze and more pristine summertime aerosol conditions was observed. Measured particle size distributions and mixing states were used to constrain, for the first time, calculations of aerosol–climate interactions under Arctic conditions. Aircraft- and ground-based measurements were used to better establish the BC source regions that supply the Arctic via long-range transport mechanisms, with evidence for a dominant springtime contribution from eastern and southern Asia to the middle troposphere, and a major contribution from northern Asia to the surface. (4) Measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the Arctic indicate that a major source of these particles is mineral dust, likely derived from local sources in the summer and long-range transport in the spring. In addition, INPs are abundant in the sea surface microlayer in the Arctic, and possibly play a role in ice nucleation in the atmosphere when mineral dust concentrations are low. (5) Amongst multiple aerosol components, BC was observed to have the smallest effective deposition velocities to high Arctic snow (0.03 cm s−1).