Special Issue "Properties of Cirrus Cloud by Lidars: Observation and Theory"

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Atmospheric Techniques, Instruments, and Modeling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 9 June 2023 | Viewed by 2076

Special Issue Editors

Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hefei, China
Interests: lidar remote sensing climate change air quality detectors experimental physics climatology remote sensing geophysics optics atmospheric physics
Atmospheric Radiation Research Center, V. E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS, Akad. Zuev sq. 1, 634055 Tomsk, Russia
Interests: scattering; climatology; optics; photonics; atmosphere; meteorology; optics and photonics; optical physics; diffraction; applied optics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cirrus clouds cover over 30% of the Earth’s surface and have a significant impact on the radiative budget of our planet and, consequently, on the climate. The radiative characteristics of cirrus clouds (coefficients of scattering and extinction, as well as phase functions and scattering matrixes for various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation) and microphysical aspects (i.e., number density, size, shape and spatial orientation of the ice crystals) must be studied because of the strong spatial and temporal variability of the clouds. A lack of knowledge concerning the radiative characteristics of cirrus clouds is one of the main sources of uncertainty in modern numerical models of the Earth’s radiative balance. Therefore, a number of international groups have dedicated their research to cirrus cloud characteristics over the course of the last 20 years. In this Special Issue, studies on the microphysical and radiative characteristics of cirrus clouds are welcomed, either via direct data collection from aircrafts or by ground-based lidar and radar soundings, as well as the remote sensing of cirrus clouds from satellites. Additionally, the numerical calculation of the optical characteristics of cirrus clouds, the microphysical characteristics of cirrus clouds, comparisons of experimental data with data banks obtained from theoretical calculations, and the parametric use of cirrus clouds for improving models are all appropriate research topics.

Dr. Zhenzhu Wang
Dr. Alexander Konoshonkin
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • cirrus clouds
  • ice crystals
  • lidars
  • radars
  • optics
  • microphysics
  • scattering characteristics
  • theoretical calculations
  • modeling

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
A Study on the Wide Range of Relative Humidity in Cirrus Clouds Using Large-Ensemble Parcel Model Simulations
Atmosphere 2023, 14(3), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14030583 - 17 Mar 2023
Viewed by 307
Abstract
This study investigates the possible mechanisms related to the wide range of relative humidity in cirrus clouds (RHi). Under the closed adiabatic assumption, the impacts of vertical motion and ice crystal deposition/sublimation on RHi are investigated through in situ observations [...] Read more.
This study investigates the possible mechanisms related to the wide range of relative humidity in cirrus clouds (RHi). Under the closed adiabatic assumption, the impacts of vertical motion and ice crystal deposition/sublimation on RHi are investigated through in situ observations and parcel model simulations. Vertical motion is an active external force that changes the RHi, and ice crystal deposition/sublimation plays a role in mitigating the change in the RHi. They are the two most important mechanisms involved in controlling the RHi fluctuation during cirrus evolution and could well explain the wide range of RHi in wave-related cirrus clouds. Furthermore, a comparison of statistical cloud characteristics from both observations and simulations shows that a very low value (e.g., 0.001) for the water vapor ice deposition coefficient is highly unlikely. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties of Cirrus Cloud by Lidars: Observation and Theory)
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Article
Depolarization Ratio for Randomly Oriented Ice Crystals of Cirrus Clouds
Atmosphere 2022, 13(10), 1551; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13101551 - 22 Sep 2022
Viewed by 659
Abstract
The depolarization ratio and backscattering cross sections have been calculated for shapes and size of ice crystals that are typical in cirrus clouds. The calculations are performed in the physical-optics approximation. It is shown that the depolarization ratio approaches some constant when the [...] Read more.
The depolarization ratio and backscattering cross sections have been calculated for shapes and size of ice crystals that are typical in cirrus clouds. The calculations are performed in the physical-optics approximation. It is shown that the depolarization ratio approaches some constant when the size of the crystals becomes much larger than the incident wavelength. For the transparent ice crystals, when absorption is absent, the magnitude of this constant strongly depends on crystal shapes. This fact allows inferring the crystal shape from magnitudes of the depolarization ratio in lidar signals. For the lidar wavelengths, where absorption of light is considerable, the depolarization ratio of lidar signals can be used for inferring crystal sizes. Such results are important for the development of algorithms interpreting the signals obtained by both ground-based and space-borne lidars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties of Cirrus Cloud by Lidars: Observation and Theory)
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Article
Coherent Backscattering by Large Ice Crystals of Irregular Shapes in Cirrus Clouds
Atmosphere 2022, 13(8), 1279; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13081279 - 12 Aug 2022
Viewed by 663
Abstract
All elements of the scattering matrix have been numerically studied for particles of irregular shapes whose size is much larger than incident wavelength. The calculations are performed in the physical optics approximation for a particle size of 20 μm at a wavelength of [...] Read more.
All elements of the scattering matrix have been numerically studied for particles of irregular shapes whose size is much larger than incident wavelength. The calculations are performed in the physical optics approximation for a particle size of 20 μm at a wavelength of 0.532 μm. Here the scattered intensity reveals the backscattering coherent peak. It is shown that the polarization elements of the matrix reveal the surges within the backscattering peak. The angular width of the surges does not practically depend on particle shape, but depends on the particle size. It is shown that these surges are created by interference between the conjugate scattered waves propagating in the inverse directions. The results obtained are of interest for interpretation of lidar measurements in cirrus clouds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties of Cirrus Cloud by Lidars: Observation and Theory)
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