ALBERT

Description: In situ airborne sampling of refractory black carbon (rBC) particles and Ice Nuclei (IN) was conducted in and near an extratropical cyclonic storm in the western Pacific Ocean during the Pacific Dust Experiment, PACDEX, in the spring of 2007. Airmass origins were from Eastern Asia. Clouds associated primarily with the warm sector of the storm were sampled at various locations and altitudes. Cloud hydrometeors were evaporated by a counterflow virtual impactor (CVI) and the residuals were sampled by a single particle soot photometer (SP2) instrument, a continuous flow diffusion chamber ice nucleus detector (CFDC) and collected for electron microscope analysis. In clouds containing large ice particles, multiple residual particles were observed downstream of the CVI for each ice particle sampled on average. The fraction of rBC compared to total particles in the residual particles increased with decreasing condensed water content, while the fraction of IN compared to total particles did not, suggesting that the scavenging process for rBC is different than for IN. In the warm sector storm midlevels at temperatures where heterogeneous freezing is expected to be significant (here −24 to −29 °C), IN concentrations from ice particle residuals generally agreed with simultaneous measurements of total ice concentrations or were higher in regions where aggregates of crystals were found, suggesting heterogeneous freezing as the dominant ice formation process in the mid levels of these warm sector clouds. Lower in the storm, at warmer temperatures, ice concentrations were affected by aggregation and were somewhat less than measured IN concentrations at colder temperatures. The results are consistent with ice particles forming at storm mid-levels by heterogeneous freezing on IN, followed by aggregation and sedimentation to lower altitudes. Compositional analysis of the aerosol and back trajectories of the air in the warm sector suggested a possible biomass burning source for much of the aerosol. Comparison of the particles from the CFDC with the other aerosol in the residuals of ice particles suggested that the largest portion of IN had similar inferred origins (from biomass burning with minor amounts of rBC) as the other aerosol, but contained slightly elevated amounts of calcium and less influence from sea salt.

Description: Thunderstorm anvils were studied during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry experiment (DC3), using in situ measurements and observations of ice particles and NOx together with radar and lightning mapping array measurements. A characteristic ice particle and NOx signature was found in the anvils from three storms, each containing high lightning flash rates in the storm core prior to anvil sampling. This signature exhibits high concentrations of frozen droplets (as measured by a Cloud Droplet Probe) coincident with lower NOx on the edges of the anvil. The central portion of these anvils exhibited a high degree of aggregation of these frozen droplets and higher levels of NOx. In contrast, a deep convective cell with low lightning flash rates had high concentrations of frozen droplets in its anvil's central region. A conceptual model for these results is presented. The abundance of frozen drop (chain) aggregates vs. individual frozen droplets in the central anvil region of the strong thunderstorms that were studied appears to be related to the degree of electrification (marked by increased lightning flash rates). Accordingly, the highest NOx concentrations coexist with regions where the most aggregation of frozen droplets has occurred. These observations between anvil microphysics and lightning/NOx signatures suggest that lightning data may be an important tool to characterize or infer the microphysical, radiative and chemical properties of thunderstorm anvils.

Description: This study examines the occurrence and morphology of frozen drop aggregates in thunderstorm anvils from the US Midwest and describes the environmental conditions where they are found. In situ airborne data collected in anvils using several particle imaging and sizing probes and bulk total water instrumentation during the 2012 Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Experiment are examined for the presence of frozen drop aggregates. These types of particles, especially chains of frozen drops, have been only rarely reported before and are hypothesized to aggregate due to electrical forces in the clouds. They were identified in nine of the anvil cases examined to-date, suggesting that they are common features in Midwestern anvils. High concentrations of individual frozen droplets occurred on the tops and edges of one particular set of anvils, while regions closer to the center and bottom of the anvils exhibited fewer frozen drops and more frozen drop aggregates. Bulk ice water content measurements across these anvils could only be explained by contributions from both small particles (frozen droplets) and large particles (large aggregates of frozen droplets). Dual Doppler radar analysis confirmed the presence of deep and strong (〉 15 m s−1) updrafts in the parent cloud of one of the anvils. These features contrast with previous anvil measurements in tropical/maritime anvils that evidently do not exhibit the same frequency of frozen drop aggregates.

Description: This study examines the occurrence and morphology of frozen-drop aggregates in thunderstorm anvils from the United States Midwest and describes the environmental conditions where they are found. In situ airborne data collected in anvils using several particle imaging and sizing probes and bulk total water instrumentation during the 2012 Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry experiment are examined for the presence of frozen-drop aggregates. Chains of frozen drops have been only rarely reported before and are hypothesized to aggregate due to electrical forces in the clouds. They were identified in nine of the anvil cases examined to date, suggesting that they are common features in these Midwestern anvils. High concentrations of individual frozen droplets occurred on the tops and edges of one particular set of anvils, while regions closer to the center and bottom of these anvils exhibited fewer frozen drops and more frozen-drop aggregates. Bulk ice water content measurements across these anvils could only be explained by contributions from both small particles (frozen droplets) and large particles (large aggregates of frozen droplets). Dual Doppler radar analysis confirmed the presence of deep and strong (〉 15 m s−1) updrafts in the parent cloud of one of the anvils. These features contrast with previous anvil measurements in tropical/maritime anvils that evidently do not exhibit the same frequency of frozen-drop aggregates.

Description: In situ airborne sampling of refractory black carbon (rBC) particles and Ice Nuclei (IN) was conducted in and near an extratropical cyclonic storm in the Western Pacific Ocean during the Pacific Dust Experiment, PACDEX, in the spring of 2007. Airmass origins were from Eastern Asia. Cloud hydrometeors were evaporated by a counterflow virtual impactor and the residue was sampled by a single particle soot photometer (SP2) instrument and a continuous flow diffusion chamber ice nucleus detector. Clouds associated primarily with the warm sector of the storm were sampled at various locations and altitudes. In storm midlevels at temperatures where heterogeneous freezing is expected to be significant (here −24 to −29 °C), IN measurements from ice particle residues generally agreed well with simultaneous measurements of total ice concentrations provided that the measurements were made at ambient temperatures similar to those in the CFDC chamber, suggesting heterogeneous freezing as the dominant ice formation process in the mid levels of these warm sector clouds. Lower in the storm, at warmer temperatures (−22 to −6.4 °C), ice particle concentrations were similar to IN concentrations at CFDC chamber temperatures representative of colder temperatures. This is consistent with ice particles forming at storm mid-levels by heterogeneous freezing on IN, followed by sedimentation to lower altitudes. Homogeneous freezing did not appear to contribute significantly to midlevel ice concentrations and rime-splintering was also unlikely due to the absence of significant supercooled liquid water in the warm sector clouds. IN number concentrations were typically about a~factor of five to ten lower than simultaneous measurements of rBC concentrations in cloud.