Ice-nucleating particle concentration impacts cloud properties over Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, in COSMO-CLM<sup>2</sup>

<p>Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) have an important function in the freezing of clouds but are rare in East Antarctica. At the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station, immersion freezing INP concentrations between <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: F. Sauerland, N. Souverijns, A. Possner, H. Wex, P. Van Overmeiren, A. Mangold, K. Van Weverberg, N. van Lipzig
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2024-12-01
Series:Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Online Access:https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/24/13751/2024/acp-24-13751-2024.pdf
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Summary:<p>Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) have an important function in the freezing of clouds but are rare in East Antarctica. At the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station, immersion freezing INP concentrations between <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mn mathvariant="normal">6</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn mathvariant="normal">10</mn><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">6</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="42pt" height="14pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="6ce2bd4a2453ff1f01ee11c1b9313333"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="acp-24-13751-2024-ie00001.svg" width="42pt" height="14pt" src="acp-24-13751-2024-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg></span></span> and <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mn mathvariant="normal">5</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mn mathvariant="normal">10</mn><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="42pt" height="14pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="0e05550f1fe703b9e5d4004578344828"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="acp-24-13751-2024-ie00002.svg" width="42pt" height="14pt" src="acp-24-13751-2024-ie00002.png"/></svg:svg></span></span> <span class="inline-formula">L<sup>−1</sup></span> have been observed with an activation temperature of <span class="inline-formula">−20</span> <span class="inline-formula">°C</span>. These low concentrations offer a possible explanation for the occurrence of supercooled liquid water in clouds observed using the station's micro rain radar and ceilometer. We used the model of the Consortium for Small-scale Modeling (COSMO) in climate mode (CLM) coupled to the Community Land Model (CLM) (COSMO-CLM<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span>) with an added aerosol-cycle module to test the cloud phase's sensitivity in response to varying prescribed INP concentrations. We tested two cases, one in austral summer and one in austral winter, and analysed the differences resulting from INP concentration changes for an area around the station and over the Southern Ocean within the selected domain. Our results show a strong influence of the INP concentration on the liquid water path in both regions, with higher concentrations reducing the amount of liquid water. Over the Southern Ocean, this effect is stronger during winter: during summer, a significant portion of water remains in liquid state regardless of INP concentration. Over the continent, this effect is stronger during summer: temperatures in winter frequently fall below <span class="inline-formula">−37</span> <span class="inline-formula">°C</span>, allowing homogeneous freezing. The largest increase in the liquid water fraction of total cloud hydrometeor mass is simulated over the Southern Ocean in winter, from <span class="inline-formula">9.8</span> % in the highest tested INP concentration to <span class="inline-formula">50.3</span> % in the lowest. The radiative effects caused by the INP concentration changes are small, with less than <span class="inline-formula">3</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> difference in the averages between different concentrations.</p>
ISSN:1680-7316
1680-7324