Data in Nairy et al. (2024) publication entitled "Ice Crystal Chain Aggregates in Florida Cirrus Cloud Anvils - 3 August 2019 Case Study"

Document Type

Data

Publication Date

10-2024

Keywords

Cirrus Clouds, North Dakota Citation Research Aircraft, Chain Aggregates, Electric Fields

Abstract

High magnitude electric fields within thunderstorms promote the formation of chain aggregates composed of individual plate-like ice crystals. However, the chain aggregation process is not well understood, which inhibits its inclusion in cloud models. Omission of the chain aggregation process can result in cloud radiative uncertainties and inaccurate assessments of the cirrus cloud environment for supersonic flight. To obtain additional cirrus cloud observations within thunderstorms, the North Dakota Citation Research Aircraft sampled convection-associated, cirrus cloud anvils during a summer 2019 field project in Florida (CapeEx19). The 3 August 2019 CapeEx19 flight has the highest concentrations of chain aggregates near the storm core, with a decrease away from the storm core. The chain aggregates contain individual crystal elements that grew under different temperature regimes and approximately 90 percent of the chain aggregates lack the presence of any riming. Electric fields are stronger closer to the storm core (on the order of 101 kV m-1), which suggests that the chain aggregates observed near the storm core may have formed in the enhanced electric field regions, likely above regions of high concentrations of supercooled liquid water. Additionally, the ratio of the concentration of chain aggregates with respect to non-chain aggregates increases away from the storm core (up to a certain distance) on constant altitude flight legs. The increase in the ratio heading away from the core agrees with in-situ Particle Habit Imaging and Polar scattering (PHIPS) probe observations, which supports the hypothesis that the chain aggregation process is also occurring in the cirrus anvil region where the electric fields are lower in magnitude.

Department/Program

Atmospheric Sciences

Instruments

Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering (PHIPS) Probe, Nevzorov Total and Liquid Water Content Probe, Cloud Aersol and Precipitation Spectrometer with Depolarization (CAPS) Probe, Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP), Applanix Position and Orientation System for Airborne Vehicles, Rosemount Total Temperature Probe, Cloud and Precipitation Radar with Discrete Hydrometeor Detection (CPR-HD) Radar

Processing Level

Level 4

Projects

CapeEx19 Field Project

File Types

ASCII, PNG, MAT, NetCDF4, MDV, SH

DOI

10.31356/data031

Location

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station/Kennedy Space Center, Florida; Titusville, Florida

North Boundary

29 Degrees 0 Minutes North Latitude

West Boundary

81 Degrees 0 Minutes West Longitude

East Boundary

79 Degrees 30 Minutes West Langitude

South Boundary

27 Degrees 45 Minutes North Latitude

Temporal Resolution

1 Hz

Start Date

3-8-2019 2:25 PM

End Date

3-8-2019 11:59 PM

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS