Finlon et al. (2025) Influence of Cloud Microphysical Properties on Airborne Lidar Measurements: Results From the IMPACTS Field Campaign

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-26
• Authors: Joseph A. Finlon, John E. Yorks, Shawn Wagner, Christian Nairy, Patrick Selmer, E. P. Nowottnick, David J. Delene, Lynn A. McMurdie
• DOI: 10.1029/2025jd044591

Research Groups

NASA (implied by P-3 and ER-2 aircraft operations during the IMPACTS field campaign)

Short Summary

This study utilized airborne lidar and in-situ measurements during the IMPACTS campaign to characterize ice and supercooled liquid water clouds. It established distinct lidar signatures (backscatter, color ratio, depolarization) for ice-dominated regions compared to supercooled liquid water, linking them to particle size and morphology.

Objective

• To establish relationships between airborne lidar measurements (backscatter coefficient, color ratio, volume depolarization ratio) and in-situ cloud microphysical properties (particle size, morphology, temperature, supercooled liquid water presence) in ice and mixed-phase clouds.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Airborne measurements providing vertical and horizontal context through clouds.
• Temporal Scale: 3.3 hours of observations across 16 distinct events.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: β-δ frameworks, triple-wavelength frameworks involving χ.
• Data sources: Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) from NASA ER-2 aircraft, Cloud Particle Imager (CPI) from NASA P-3 aircraft, in-situ temperature and supercooled liquid water (SCLW) measurements from NASA P-3 aircraft.

Main Results

• Compared to supercooled liquid water (SCLW) regions, regions dominated by ice typically exhibited:
  • Lower backscatter coefficient (β) (<10⁻² km⁻¹ sr⁻¹).
  • Lower 532/355-nm color ratio (χ) (<0.3).
  • Greater volume depolarization ratio (δ) (>0.2).
• Ice-dominated regions were associated with particle sizes that were, on average, 105% larger and area ratios that were 40% lower.

Contributions

• Established relationships between lidar measurements and in-situ cloud properties, providing a foundation for developing future cloud phase and particle habit algorithms for airborne and spaceborne lidar data.

Funding

• Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Finlon2025Influence,
  author = {Finlon, Joseph A. and Yorks, John E. and Wagner, Shawn and Nairy, Christian and Selmer, Patrick and Nowottnick, E. P. and Delene, David J. and McMurdie, Lynn A.},
  title = {Influence of Cloud Microphysical Properties on Airborne Lidar Measurements: Results From the IMPACTS Field Campaign},
  journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025jd044591},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jd044591}
}