Analysis of cirrus cloud particle size distributions from SPARTICUS
Authors
Gerald Mace — University of Utah
Michael Christian Schwartz — Space Dynamics Laboratory
Category
Cloud Properties
Description
The ARM Small Particles in Cirrus (SPARTICUS) campaign collected 150 hours of midlatitude cirrus cloud in situ measurements during the period January to June 2010. Cirrus particle size distributions (PSDs) are constructed with measurements made via the 2D Stereo Probe (2D-S). The PSDs are fit using modified gamma distributions, according to two methods. First, bimodal fits are made using a mixture of two modified gamma distributions; and second, unimodal fits are made using a single modified gamma distribution that contains an added location parameter. A covariance analysis of the fit parameters is demonstrated, and efficacies of the two fitting methods are compared. A covariance analysis of several microphysical parameters, i.e., ice water content, extinction coefficient, and total number concentration, is also demonstrated.
