Characterization of the Spatial Distribution of the Thermodynamic Phase Within Mixed-Phase Clouds Using Satellite Observations

Models assume that mixed-phase clouds consist of uniformly mixed ice crystals and liquid cloud droplets when observations have shown that they consist of clusters, or "pockets," of ice crystals and liquid cloud droplets. We characterize the spatial distribution of cloud phase over the Arctic and the Southern Ocean using active satellite observations and determine the relative importance of collocated meteorological parameters and aerosols from reanalysis to predict how uniformly mixed mixed-phase clouds are for the first time. We performed a multi-linear regression fit to the data set to predict the spatial distribution of the ice and liquid pockets. Contrary to what models suggest, mixed-phase clouds are rarely perfectly homogeneous. Our results suggest that high temperatures are associated with homogeneously mixed ice and liquid pockets. We also find that a high mixing ratio of black carbon is associated with heterogeneously mixed ice and liquid pockets. The representation of clouds in numerical models remains one of the largest uncertainties in predicting our future climate. Clouds can consist solely of liquid droplets, ice crystals, or the coexistence of both hydrometeor types. The latter cloud type is referred to as mixed phase. Climate models assume that liquid droplets and ice crystals are uniformly mixed in space in mixed-phase clouds, but observations show that mixed-phase clouds are organized in separate pockets of clustered liquid droplets and ice crystals. This difference in representation has a large impact on the lifetime of clouds and on their role in climate change. Using satellite observations over the Arctic and the Southern Ocean, we quantify the spatial distribution of ice and liquid in clouds. We used a statistical method to determine the relationship between meteorology and aerosols and the spatial distribution of ice and liquid. Our results suggest that high temperatures are associated with homogeneously mixed mixed-phase clouds and high concentrations of soot are associated with heterogeneously mixed mixed-phase clouds. Furthermore, pockets of liquid within ice clouds are larger than pockets of ice within liquid clouds. These results will improve the representation of mixed-phase clouds in large-scale models. Space-based observations and reanalysis are considered to determine the factors that control how mixed mixed-phase clouds areLiquid dominated clouds contain small and isolated ice pockets whereas ice dominated clouds contain large and isolated liquid pocketsTemperature and black carbon play an important role in controlling the cloud phase spatial distribution and increasing phase heterogeneity