Knopf, D. A., Silber, I., Riemer, N., Fridlind, A. M., & Ackerman, A. S. (2023). A 1D model for nucleation of ice from aerosol particles: An application to a mixed-phase Arctic stratus cloud layer. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 15, e2023MS003663. https://doi.
Knowledge gaps regarding long-lived Arctic mixed-phase clouds, wherein supercooled droplets and ice crystals coexist, lead to significant uncertainties when assessing Earth’s surface warming from increasing greenhouse gases. The longevity of such clouds, sustaining both liquid and ice crystal formation over many hours, is poorly represented across global climate models. Application of a simplified column model shows that the underlying freezing parameterization defines the number of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) available for ice formation, termed INP reservoir in this work. A time-dependent freezing description yields a substantially greater INP reservoir than time-independent approaches, and therefore greater ice formation over 10 hr, whereas other factors are less important. Future work will extend to additional environmental conditions and modeling approaches.
