Cirrus clouds play an important role in the earth's energy balance. To quantify their impact, information is needed on their microstructure and more precisely on the number and size of the ice crystals. With the anthropogenic activity, more and more aerosol particles and water vapor are released even at the altitude where cirrus clouds are formed. Cirrus clouds formed in a polluted air mass may have different microphysical properties and, therefore, a different impact on the climate system via the changed radiative properties compared to background cirrus clouds. To study this aspect, the European project called the Interhemispheric Differences in Cirrus Properties due to Anthropogenic Emissions (INCA) measured the microphysical properties of cirrus clouds together with the physical and chemicals properties of aerosol particles in clean air (at Punta Arenas, Chile) and polluted air (at Prestwick, Scotland). The goal of the present work was to develop a detailed microphysics model for cirrus clouds for the interpretation and the generalization of the INCA observations. This model considers moist aerosol particles through the Externally Mixed (EXMIX) model, so that the chemical composition of solution droplets can be followed. Ice crystal formation is described through homogeneous or heterogeneous nucleation. The crystals then grow by deposition. With this model, the interactions between the microphysical processes, simulated ice crystal concentrations, and dimensional distributions of the INCA observations were studied, and explanations were provided for the observed differences between background and polluted cirrus clouds.
