Comparison between Arctic and Antarctic cloud morphology, thermodynamic phase, and inversion coupling properties
Poster PDF
Authors
Israel Silber — Pennsylvania State University
Johannes Verlinde — The Pennsylvania State University
Edwin W. Eloranta — University of Wisconsin
Maria Paola Cadeddu — Argonne National Laboratory
Category
High-latitude clouds and aerosols
Description
Polar cloud processes, which are not yet fully understood, play a significant role in determination of the surface and atmospheric energy balance. The understanding of these processes relies heavily on field measurements that are relatively scarce in polar regions, especially over the Antarctic continent. The recent 1-year-long U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) field campaign at McMurdo Station has provided a hitherto unmatched multiple-instrument set of ground-based Antarctic cloud measurements. This unique set of measurements allows a comparison between Antarctic and Arctic cloud morphology, thermodynamic phase, and inversion coupling. Here, we evaluate the differences and similarities between clouds at Barrow, Alaska, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, by applying the same methodology on data gathered by identical instruments. We compare the cloud occurrence fraction, boundaries, persistence, as well as the configuration relative to temperature and moisture inversions.
