On the Relationship Between Condensed Water Content and Liquid‐Ice Mixing Homogeneity in Mixed‐Phase Stratiform Clouds

Abstract

AbstractAs a key factor influencing the cloud life cycle and radiative properties, liquid‐ice mass partitioning remains a major source of uncertainties in modeling mixed‐phase clouds. One of the unresolved problems is that liquid‐ice mixing is highly inhomogeneous, but it has not been well understood and quantified for parameterization. In this study, the liquid‐ice mixing homogeneity (χ) is quantified using the information‐theoretic entropy based on airborne measurements. It is demonstrated that χ is positively correlated with the condensed water content (CWC). Cloud regions with low χ are consist of liquid and ice clusters. With the increase in χ, the size and frequency of continuous mixed‐phase clusters increase. For a given CWC, χ is lower at relatively warm temperatures as sedimentation of large ice crystals can enhance the inhomogeneity. The strong positive relationship between CWC and χ indicates CWC should be considered when parameterizing the liquid‐ice mixing in models.