Similarities And Differences Of Marine Boundary Layer Cloud And Drizzle Properties Measured Over Two Hemispheres
Presenter: Alexa Marcovecchio1
Co-Author(s): -
Advisor(s): Dr. Xiquan Dong & Dr. Ali Behrangi
1Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona
Panapto Presentation Video
Poster PDF
Poster Session 1
Marine boundary layer clouds are difficult to model due to a lack of observations and process-level understanding of their microphysical properties. The DOE ARM East North Atlantic (ENA) atmospheric observatory provides sufficient ground-based measurements for retrieving cloud and drizzle microphysics. A retrieval algorithm for liquid clouds and drizzle developed using data from the ENA observatory will be applied to similar measurements during Measurements of Aerosols, Radiation, and Clouds over the Southern Ocean (MARCUS) over the Southern Ocean (SO). We will first examine whether the retrieved cloud properties during MARCUS are within a reasonable range compared to in-situ measurements during the SOCRATES aircraft-based field campaign. Then, we will analyze the similarities and differences in both cloud and drizzle properties over ENA and the SO. Previous studies show that these two regions have very different aerosol sources, which may lead to very different cloud microphysical properties and frequency of precipitation. This research seeks to improve our understanding of the physical processes that may cause cloud and drizzle properties to be similar to each other and whether or not aerosols are the only driver of significant differences between these properties.