Long-Term Statistics of Arctic Mixed-Phase Cloud Properties Retrieved

From Doppler Spectra

Alexis N. Ortiz, Johannes Verlinde, Yaosheng Chen

Abstract
Mixed-phase clouds in the Arctic are highly influential within determining the surface
radiation budget, yet are poorly understood. These clouds contain both liquid water droplets and
ice crystals in the same volume, each with different impacts on the radiation budget. In order to
study the surface budget, it is necessary to separate and analyze the properties from each
phase. Using Ka-band zenith radar (KAZR) Doppler velocity spectra from the Atmospheric
Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program North Slope of Alaska (NSA) site, we separated
contributions from the cloud liquid drop and the ice precipitation modes based on a continuous
wavelet transform and fuzzy logic techniques (Yu et al., 2014). Cloud liquid drop and
precipitation reflectivities, vertical air motions, and reflectivity-weighted mean fall velocities are
retrieved for 836 hours of observations of single-layer mixed-phase clouds from September to
December, 2011 to 2014. Our analysis reveal a relationship between the maximum precipitation
reflectivities and minimum cloud temperature similar to that of the temperature dependence of
ice crystal vapor depositional mass growth reported by Chen and Lamb (1994). These findings
could be the result of a temperature dependence of the ice crystal mass growth in the observed
clouds, although other factors such as various scattering processes could also play a role.

Additional results suggest a temperature dependence between maximum precipitation

reflectivities and mean vertical velocities in mixed-phase clouds, revealing that clouds with
temperatures between -20C and -12C were most likely to contain stronger downdrafts and
larger ice particulates. However, future research is needed to validate these results as well as to
achieve greater understanding of these influential clouds in the radiation budget.
Introduction
Mixed-phase clouds, those that are composed of supercooled liquid water droplets and
ice particles in the same volume of air, play an important role in the radiation budget over the
Arctic region. Since these clouds are made up of both liquid water and ice particles,
differentiating the contributions from each precipitation mode is essential for expanding our
understanding of mixed-phase clouds within the radiation budget. Previous studies have
discovered that mixed-phase clouds are often found in multiple layers, containing complicated
ice growth processes (Herman and Goody 1976; Pinto et al. 2001; Verlinde et al. 2013). Most
global models do not have the ability to interpret such complex growth processes, and instead
incorrectly treat ice particulates as spheres. In short, there is a severe lack of understanding of
the development of mixed-phase clouds and the processes that occur within them.
However, recent funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric
Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program led to the installation of the ARM Climate Research
Facility at Barrow, Alaska, on the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) in 2011 (Bharadwaj et al. 2011).
This Ka-band zenith pointing radar collected data describing the characteristics of mixed phase
clouds over the region. From 2011 to 2014, analyzing the KAZR data using a continuous

Gaussian wavelet transform and fuzzy logic techniques which were suitable for conditions only
containing a single, stratiform layer of mixed-phase clouds over the NSA site, we concluded that
there were 836 available hours worth of data. This data was analyzed for comparisons between
radar reflectivities and minimum cloud temperatures, suggesting that there is a relationship
between the maximum precipitation reflectivity and minimum cloud temperature, to that of ice
crystal mass growth by vapor deposition and the temperature reported by Chen and Lamb
(1994). Our results reveal a greater understanding of the processes that occur within mixedphase clouds over the Arctic region and will allow us to better parameterize these processes
within our global models, resulting in greater accuracy of the global radiation budget.
Data and Methods
Most of our data was collected via the KAZR instrument at the NSA site in Barrow,
Alaska. This zenith pointing radar operates at a frequency of approximately 35 GHz, remotely
probing the composition of mixed-phase clouds at millimeter wavelengths. From September to
December, 2011 to 2014, the instrument collected doppler radar reflectivities of both the cloud
liquid water droplets and ice crystals, in addition to the vertical velocities of these particles. In
addition, microwave radiometers and radiosondes located at the ARM Climate Research site in
Barrow, AK were used to collect additional information about the cloud structure, such as cloudbase and cloud-top heights, liquid water paths, and cloud thicknesses. This background
information is needed to ensure that the mixed-phase clouds were single-layer, and not multilayer, as our applied algorithm is not designed to analyze multi-layer mixed-phase clouds. Once
our data was collected, we ran a few algorithms in MATLAB to concatenate the available hours

that were single-layer mixed-phase clouds. We then de-noised the spectra values, and applied a
Gaussian continuous wavelet transform and fuzzy logic techniques to separate the cloud liquid
drop mode and the precipitation mode from one another.
Our case selection consisted of cloud layer temperatures between -40C and 0C, with a
standard deviation of cloud base heights less than 50 meters. Cloud liquid water paths were
greater than 25 g m^-2, cloud top heights were lower than 2500 m, and cloud thicknesses were
between 200 and 2000 m. We then ran statistical comparisons between maximum reflectivities
(dBZ) of the cloud liquid drop mode and the precipitation mode against the minimum cloud
temperature (C). In addition, we generated comparisons between mean vertical velocities in the
cloud layer (m/s) against cloud thicknesses (m). Lastly, we examined a possible temperature
dependence on ice crystal mass growth by comparing maximum precipitation reflectivities
against maximum cloud liquid drop reflectivities at various temperatures, as well as against fall
velocities. Our hypothesis was that we would see enhanced fall velocities and higher
reflectivities in temperatures between -20C and -10C, as Chen and Lamb (1994) had
suggested that ice
crystal mass growth
is most prominent in
this temperature
interval.

Results

From the KAZR instrument at the NSA site, we were able to analyze the frequency of
joint distribution between the maximum precipitation reflectivity (dBZ) and minimum cloud
temperatures (C) gathered from radiosonde data. Using bin widths of 1 dBZ and 1C
respectively, we discovered that the highest frequency distribution was located between the
temperatures of -20C and -10C, with a smaller secondary peak near -5C. When comparing
maximum cloud liquid drop reflectivity (dBZ) against minimum cloud temperature, there was
very little variance in cloud reflectivity, with peak values occurring in the -10C to 0C range, but

no distinct parabolic shape in the data was observed.

Next, we wanted to determine that if given the same maximum cloud liquid drop
reflectivity, would there be a noticeable difference in maximum precipitation reflectivity, at
various temperatures. At minimum cloud temperatures less than -20C, we observed the highest
frequency of maximum precipitation reflectivity around -20 dBZ, with a range of large
frequencies between -30 and -10 dBZ. At minimum cloud temperatures between -20C and
-12C, the highest frequency of maximum precipitation reflectivity was most concentrated
between 0 and -10 dBZ, with some observations greater than 0 dBZ. Between -12C and -7C,

the greatest frequency of joint distribution was between -30 dBZ and -20 dBZ, while the range of
-7C and -3C showed similar results in the -30 dBZ to -20 dBZ range. It should be noted that
the greatest values of joint frequency distribution between maximum precipitation reflectivity and
cloud liquid drop reflectivity were between temperatures of -20C and -12C, and that much of
the data was located in higher maximum precipitation values, as opposed to the rest of the other

temperature profiles, where the greatest frequency distribution was located at lower maximum
precipitation reflectivity values.
We also compared the frequency of joint distribution between precipitation reflectivity
and fall velocity at various temperatures, searching for which temperature range would produce
the largest fall velocities, signaling larger particulates. For minimum cloud temperatures less
than -20C, the highest frequency between precipitation reflectivities and fall velocities were
observed around velocities of 0.5 m/s and reflectivities between -20 dBZ and -10 dBZ. In the
temperature range of -20C and -12C, there was a large swath of high frequency values with

fall velocities between 0.5 m/s and 1 m/s, with precipitation reflectivities most common between
0 dBZ and -10 dBZ, but noticeable reflectivities present even up to 10 dBZ. For temperatures
between -12C and -7C, highest frequencies were observed when fall velocities were near 0.5
m/s and precipitation reflectivities between -30 dBZ and -20 dBZ. For temperatures between
-7C and -3C, most common frequencies were observed with fall velocities near 0.5 m/s and
precipitation reflectivities near -30 dBZ. It should be noted that the temperature range of -20C
to -12C recorded the highest frequency values of all the other temperature profiles, while the
warmest temperature profile (-7C to -3C) generated the lowest frequency values. Also, every
profile except the warmest profile appeared to show a slight linear trend between fall velocity
and precipitation reflectivity, whereas the warmest profile showed constant fall velocities of 0.5

m/s for all precipitation reflectivities.

Next, we compared the frequency distributions between cloud thicknesses and mean
vertical velocities in the cloud layer, in an attempt to observe any trend suggesting that either
larger or smaller particulates were observable in updrafts or downdrafts. With bin widths of 30 m

for cloud thickness and 0.025 m/s for mean vertical velocity, we observed a circular pattern for
the frequency values, with the highest values centered around cloud thicknesses of 400 m and
vertical velocities near 0 m/s. When normalizing the data for velocity bin widths, the highest
frequencies were observed for cloud thicknesses around 500 m for all mean vertical velocities,
with no observable trend. Similarly, when breaking these results down by minimum cloud
temperatures, for temperatures between -20C and -12C, there was no observable largest
frequencies, however, moderate frequencies were observed between cloud thicknesses of 800
m and 1200 m. When comparing cloud thickness with mean vertical velocity for temperatures
less than -20C or greater than
-12C, the largest frequencies
were evident in the 500m
cloud thickness band, but
consistent with all mean
vertical velocities.
We also compared mean
vertical velocities in the cloud
layer against the minimum cloud temperature, in an attempt to reveal any additional
relationships between features in the updrafts or downdrafts of the cloud layer. There was no
distinguishable pattern in the frequency of joint distribution plot, although the highest frequency
values occurred when the minimum cloud temperature was near -10C with a secondary peak
around -15C. However, when normalizing by the velocity bins, there was a very apparent peak

in frequency when the minimum cloud temperature was -15C with mean vertical velocities
around -0.6 m/s, the strongest downdrafts values within our plot. There was also a consistent
frequency value for the entire velocity profile between -5C and -10C. Further investigating into
downdrafts and mean vertical velocities, we decided to compare the mean vertical velocities
against maximum precipitation reflectivity. Our results displayed a fairly spherical pattern, with
frequency values suggesting a slight relationship between the two variables. As maximum
precipitation increases from -30 dBZ to 0 dBZ, mean vertical velocities decreased from ~0 m/s
to -0.6 m/s. When normalizing by velocity bins, there was a very evident pattern between the
two variables. Large frequency values were evident for maximum precipitation values between
-25 dBZ and -15dBZ with mean vertical velocities between 0 m/s and 0.6 m/s, whereas for
maximum precipitation reflectivity values between -20 dBZ and 10 dBZ, mean vertical velocities
decreased from 0 m/s to -0.6 m/s as precipitation reflectivity values increased. This pattern was
observable in all four minimum cloud temperature ranges: < 20C, -20C ~ -12C, -12C ~ -7C,
and -7C ~ -3C. However, for minimum cloud temperatures between -20C and -12C,
maximum frequency values were observed for reflectivities near 0 dBZ, with mean vertical
velocities near -0.6 m/s.

Discussion
Analyzing the relationship between maximum precipitation reflectivity and minimum
cloud temperature, it appears that there is a striking resemblance to that of the ice crystal mass
growth by vapor deposition and the temperature reported as suggested in Chen and Lamb

(1994). Shown below, Chen and Lamb suggested the greatest mass of ice crystals for cloud
temperatures near -15C, with a secondary peak between -10C and -5C. Our results, below,
support this claim as there is a similar parabolic pattern peaking at -15C and decreasing as
temperature increases, with a secondary smaller peak near -5C. These findings suggest that in
this temperature range, within single-layer mixed-phase clouds in the Arctic, ice crystals are
created via vapor deposition at the rate suggested by Chen and Lamb. However, when
comparing the maximum cloud liquid drop reflectivity to minimum cloud temperature, there was
no such resemblance to Chen and Lambs findings. This is valid, as the precipitation reflectivity
mode encapsulates larger ice crystals, which would grow according to Chen and Lambs
findings, and therefore shows a similar pattern, whereas the liquid cloud drop mode consists of
smaller liquid water droplets, which do not grow in size according the rate suggested by vapor
deposition.
When analyzing the relationship between maximum precipitation reflectivity and
maximum cloud liquid drop reflectivity, we divided our findings into four separate profiles

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determined by various cloud temperatures. Our

findings suggested that given the same
maximum cloud liquid drop reflectivites, clouds
with minimum temperatures between -20C
and -12C tended to produce larger maximum
precipitation reflectivities, as opposed to any
other cloud temperature range. Again, this is supported by the prediction that ice mass growth
occurs most significantly within this temperature range. Similarly, this temperature range also
produced the highest fall velocities, again suggesting that larger ice particles or aggregates are
present in Arctic single-layer mixed-phase clouds between the temperatures of -20C and -12C.
Furthermore, research conducted in 2014 by Chen, Yu, and Verlinde suggests that within
the updrafts of mixed-phase clouds in the Arctic, the mean updraft speed increases with cloud
thickness. However, when including the most recent data from the NSA site in Barrow, Alaska,
our findings suggest that no such relationship exists, as there is simply a constant mean vertical
velocity at cloud thicknesses of 500 m, with no observable trend as cloud thickness increases.
However, when comparing mean vertical velocity with maximum precipitation reflectivity, there
does appear to be a relationship between downdrafts and precipitation reflectivities when both
increase. When normalizing the data, this relationship becomes even more apparent. This
suggests that as precipitation reflectivites increase, starting around -30 dBZ, so does the mean
downdraft speed of these ice particulates. When splitting these figures up by temperature
profiles, the highest frequency values are observed for very high precipitation reflectivites and

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strong downdrafts in the temperature range of -20C and -12C. This agrees with both Chen and
Lambs and our own results, as larger ice particulates would be present in this temperature
range, resulting in greater downdrafts as the ice particle increases its downward speed as mass
increases.

Conclusion
This study explores the relationships between the macro and micro-physics,
thermodynamics, dynamics and additional features of single-layer mixed-phase clouds in the
Arctic. Using collected data from the KAZR at the NSA site in Barrow, Alaska during the months
of September to December, 2011 to 2014, we applied an algorithm based on the Gaussian
continuous wavelet transform and fuzzy logic techniques, in order to accurately separate the
contributions from the cloud liquid drop mode and the precipitation mode. Upon comparisons
between the maximum precipitation reflectivities and minimum cloud temperature, we witnessed
a remarkable resemblance to that of Chen and Lambs ice mass growth findings. We concluded
that within mixed-phase clouds in the Arctic, it is likely that ice particulates at various
temperatures increase in mass by vapor deposition at the rate suggested by Chen and Lamb,
with the greatest ice crystal mass located within single-layer mixed-phase clouds with minimum
temperatures near -15C. Additionally, our results revealed that mixed-phase clouds within the
temperatures of -20C and -12C were most likely to produce the largest precipitation
reflectivites and fall velocities, validating the conclusion that larger ice particulates, or
aggregates were present in clouds at these temperatures. However, most recent available data

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disproved past results, which suggested that within the updrafts of these mixed-phase clouds,
the mean updraft speed increased with cloud thickness. No relationship was apparent; however,
comparisons between mean vertical velocity and minimum cloud temperature suggests that the
strongest downdrafts are found in mixed-phase clouds with temperatures near -15C, further
validating our results. Additionally, we discovered a strong relationship between mean vertical
velocities in downdrafts and larger maximum precipitation reflectivites, which suggested that
downdraft speeds increase as precipitation reflectivites increase. This pattern was most evident
in cloud temperatures between -20C and -12C, which displayed the largest frequencies for
vertical velocities near -0.6 m/s and precipitation reflectivites near 0 dBZ, suggesting that there
are large ice particulates with large downdraft speeds in these mixed-phase clouds, increasing
their mass growth according to Chen and Lambs findings.

Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation through Grant AGS1263225, in partnership with the Undergraduate Research Experience hosted by the
Pennsylvania State University. Significant contributions were made possible with the help of
Johannes Verlinde and Yaosheng Chen.

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