Nikolov et al. (2026) How Complete Is Cloud Glaciation?

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

Identification

• Journal: Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich)
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-08
• Authors: Dragomir Nikolov, Ulrike Lohmann, Diego Villanueva
• DOI: 10.3929/ethz-c-000791686

Research Groups

Not available from the provided text.

Short Summary

This study analyzes satellite observations of individual cloud tops to track their temporal phase evolution and quantify glaciation. It finds that most glaciation events do not result in complete freezing but induce a sustained shift in cloud properties within the mixed-phase regime, correlating with higher concentrations of ice-nucleating particles.

Objective

• To analyze the temporal phase evolution of individual cloud tops and quantify the extent of glaciation using satellite observations.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Individual cloud tops
• Temporal Scale: Hours, resolving minute-scale phase evolution

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None explicitly mentioned as used in this study; focus on observational analysis.
• Data sources: Satellite observations

Main Results

• Most glaciation events do not lead to complete freezing of cloud droplets.
• Glaciation events induce a sustained shift in cloud properties while clouds remain in the mixed-phase regime (from 273.15 K to 235.15 K).
• A positive correlation exists between higher hemispheric and seasonal concentrations of ice-nucleating particles and the occurrence rate of glaciation.

Contributions

• Provides a novel analysis of the temporal phase evolution and quantification of glaciation using satellite observations.
• Reveals that glaciation often results in a sustained mixed-phase state rather than complete freezing, challenging previous assumptions.
• Establishes a correlation between ice-nucleating particle concentrations and glaciation occurrence rates.
• Generates phase-evolution and glaciation data sets valuable for evaluating the simulation of mixed-phase cloud evolution and phase heterogeneity in weather and climate models.

Funding

Not available from the provided text.

Citation

@article{Nikolov2026How,
  author = {Nikolov, Dragomir and Lohmann, Ulrike and Villanueva, Diego},
  title = {How Complete Is Cloud Glaciation?},
  journal = {Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich)},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3929/ethz-c-000791686},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-c-000791686}
}