Publication Abstracts

Silber et al. 2020

Silber, I., A.M. Fridlind, J. Verlinde, L.M. Russell, and A.S. Ackerman, 2020: Non-turbulent liquid-bearing polar clouds: Observed frequency of occurrence and simulated sensitivity to gravity waves. Geophys. Res. Lett., 125, no. 10, e2020GL087099, doi:10.1029/2020GL087099.

A common feature of polar liquid-bearing clouds (LBCs) is radiatively-driven turbulence, which may variously alter cloud lifecycle via vertical mixing, droplet activation, and subsequent feedbacks. However, polar LBCs are commonly initiated under stable, non-turbulent conditions. Using long-term data from the North Slope of Alaska and McMurdo, Antarctica, we show that non-turbulent conditions prevail in ∼25% of detected LBCs, surmised to be preferentially early in their lifecycle. We conclude that non-turbulent LBCs are likely common over the polar regions owing primarily to atmospheric temperature and stability. Such stable environments are known to support gravity wave activity. Using large-eddy simulations we find that short to intermediate period gravity waves may catalyze turbulence formation when aerosol particles available for activation are sufficiently small. We posit that the frequent occurrence of non-turbulent LBCs over the polar regions has implications for polar aerosol- cloud interactions and their parameterization in large-scale models.

Export citation: [ BibTeX ] [ RIS ]

BibTeX Citation

@article{si07300l,
  author={Silber, I. and Fridlind, A. M. and Verlinde, J. and Russell, L. M. and Ackerman, A. S.},
  title={Non-turbulent liquid-bearing polar clouds: Observed frequency of occurrence and simulated sensitivity to gravity waves},
  year={2020},
  journal={Geophys. Res. Lett.},
  volume={125},
  number={10},
  pages={e2020GL087099},
  doi={10.1029/2020GL087099},
}

[ Close ]

RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - si07300l
AU  - Silber, I.
AU  - Fridlind, A. M.
AU  - Verlinde, J.
AU  - Russell, L. M.
AU  - Ackerman, A. S.
PY  - 2020
TI  - Non-turbulent liquid-bearing polar clouds: Observed frequency of occurrence and simulated sensitivity to gravity waves
JA  - Geophys. Res. Lett.
VL  - 125
IS  - 10
SP  - e2020GL087099
DO  - 10.1029/2020GL087099
ER  -

[ Close ]

• Return to 2020 Publications

• Return to Publications Homepage