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Exploring the phase partitioning in different cloud types using active and passive satellite sensors
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  • Olimpia Bruno,
  • Quentin Coopman,
  • Corinna Hoose,
  • Trude Storelvmo,
  • Martin Stengel
Olimpia Bruno
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Quentin Coopman
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
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Corinna Hoose
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
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Trude Storelvmo
University of Oslo
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Martin Stengel
Deutscher Wetterdienst
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Abstract

One of the largest uncertainties in numerical weather prediction and climate models is the representation of mixed-phase clouds, in which supercooled liquid water and ice can coexist. The aim of our study is to understand how the supercooled liquid fraction (SLF) in clouds with temperature from -40°C to 0°C is related to temperature, geographical location, and cloud type. Our analysis contains a comparison of four satellite-based datasets, one derived from active and three from passive satellite sensors, and focuses on SLF distribution near-globally, but also stratified by hemisphere and continental/maritime regions. Despite the SLF differences found among the datasets, they commonly indicate an increase of SLF with COT, and generally larger SLF in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere (up to about 20% difference), with the exception of continental low-level clouds, for which the opposite is true.