Quantitative measurement of the microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds with four different in situ probes: Evidence of small ice crystals

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Read Full Article (file size: 186290 bytes) Cited by GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 29, NO. 24, 2230, doi:10.1029/2001GL014342, 2002 Quantitative measurement of the microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds with four different in situ probes: Evidence of small ice crystals Jean-François Gayet Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique, UMR/CNRS no 6016, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Fd, France Frédérique Auriol Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique, UMR/CNRS no 6016, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Fd, France Andreas Minikin Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany Johan Ström Institut of Applied Environmental Research, Stockholm University, Sweden Marco Seifert Institut of Applied Environmental Research, Stockholm University, Sweden Radovan Krejci Institut of Applied Environmental Research, Stockholm University, Sweden Andreas Petzold Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany Guy Febvre Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique, UMR/CNRS no 6016, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Fd, France Ulrich Schumann Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany Abstract Original microphysical and optical measurements were obtained in cirrus clouds on the Southern and Northern hemispheres during the INCA experiments using four independent techniques: (1) the Counterflow Virtual Impactor, (2) the PMS FSSP-300, (3) the PMS 2D-C and (4) the Polar Nephelometer probes. The combination of these four techniques provides a description of particles within a diameter range varying from a few micrometers (typically 3 μm) to 800 μm. Because of the presence of small ice crystals in cirrus clouds, it is particularly important to overcome the limited accuracy of the sensors used in the experiments for the cloud microphysical measurements. Representative examples of combined results suggest that the available measurements are reliable and can be used for the ongoing comparison between the results from the SH and NH campaigns. The results give the definite picture that the observations of numerous (5 to 10 cm⁻³) small ice crystals in cirrus clouds are a relatively common microphysical feature. Published 28 December 2002. Index Terms: 0320 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Cloud physics and chemistry; 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801); 0394 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Instruments and techniques. Read Full Article (file size: 186290 bytes) Cited by Citation: Gayet, J., F. Auriol, A. Minikin, J. Ström, M. Seifert, R. Krejci, A. Petzold, G. Febvre, and U. Schumann (2002), Quantitative measurement of the microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds with four different in situ probes: Evidence of small ice crystals, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(24), 2230, doi:10.1029/2001GL014342. Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union.

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