Studies of Arctic Mixed-Phase Clouds from SHEBA/FIRE/ACE: May 1–10 Case Study

This investigation analyzes the full arsenal of data from the FIRE Arctic Clouds Experiment (FIRE/ACE) to provide a detailed depiction of Arctic mixed-phase clouds. Recent advances in radar retrievals for ice-only clouds hold promise for mixed-phase clouds because radar is primarily sensitive to the presence of the ice crystals. The retrieval from surface-based measurements of the liquid component is more difficult, but several different approaches are possible. Extensive in situ datasets gathered during eight FIRE/ACE flights through mixed-phase clouds by the NCAR C-130 and the University of Washington aircraft are analyzed to assess and improve upon the retrievals from surface-based measurements. A preliminary analysis on one case study (May 1-10) indicated that a complete characterization of mixed-phase clouds over successive days is possible. For this case, the liquid contributed over 99\% of the cloud optical depth, with most of the liquid situated near cloud top. Nevertheless, the radar retrieval of the ice component compared well with values derived from aircraft data. At the meeting, the most interesting results derived from the combined aircraft-surface measurements will be presented.