Cirrus cloud observations over different meteorological and aerosol conditions

 

Authors

George P. Kablick III — University of Maryland
Zhanqing Li — University of Maryland

Category

Aerosol-Cloud-Radiation Interactions

Description

This poster presents a global analysis of cirrus clouds with A-Train observations for different meteorological regimes and background aerosol conditions. Baseline properties are established for cirrus in the tropics and midlatitudes, focusing on active convection and convective detrainment in both regions, and large-scale frontal cyclones in the mid-latitudes. Comparisons are made with cases that have increased aerosol loading from either dust or smoke entrainment. For cirrus with increased aerosol loading, CALIPSO total attenuated backscatter and MODIS radiances are consistent with dense, optically thick clouds, but CloudSat equivalent reflectivities become negligible for cases with the most extreme aerosol amounts. This may indicate that aerosols are affecting the ice particle size distribution by increasing the number concentration and decreasing the effective radius.