Cloud and precipitation properties from ground-based remote-sensing instruments in East Antarctica

Abstract. A new comprehensive cloud–precipitation–meteorological observatory has been established at Princess Elisabeth base, located in the escarpment zone of Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica. The observatory consists of a set of ground-based remote-sensing instruments (ceilometer, infrared pyrometer and vertically profiling precipitation radar) combined with automatic weather station measurements of near-surface meteorology, radiative fluxes, and snow height. In this paper, the observatory is presented and the potential for studying the evolution of clouds and precipitating systems is illustrated by case studies. It is shown that the synergetic use of the set of instruments allows for distinguishing ice, liquid-containing clouds and precipitating clouds, including some information on their vertical extent. In addition, wind-driven blowing snow events can be distinguished from deeper precipitating systems. Cloud properties largely affect the surface radiative fluxes, with liquid-containing clouds dominating the radiative impact. A statistical analysis of all measurements (in total 14 months mainly during summer–beginning of winter) indicates that these liquid-containing clouds occur during as much as 20% of the cloudy periods. The cloud occurrence shows a strong bimodal distribution with clear-sky conditions 51% of the time and complete overcast conditions 35% of the time. Snowfall occurred during 17% of the cloudy periods with a predominance of light precipitation and only rare events with snowfall >1 mm h−1 water equivalent (w.e.). Three of such intense snowfall events occurred during 2011 contributing to anomalously large annual surface mass balance (SMB). Large accumulation events (>10 mm w.e. day−1) during the radar-measurement period of 26 months were always associated with snowfall, but at the same time other snowfall events did not always lead to accumulation. The multiyear deployment of a precipitation radar in Antarctica allows for assessing the contribution of the snowfall to the local SMB and comparing it to the other SMB components. During 2012, snowfall rate was 110 ± 20 mm w.e. yr−1, from which surface and drifting snow sublimation removed together 23%. Given the measured yearly SMB of 52 ± 3 mm w.e., the residual term of 33 ± 21 mm w.e. yr−1 was attributed to the wind-driven snow erosion. In general, this promising set of robust instrumentation allows for improved insight into cloud and precipitation processes in Antarctica and can be easily deployed at other Antarctic stations.

[1]  R. Rasmussen,et al.  The Estimation of Snowfall Rate Using Visibility , 1999 .

[2]  E. van Meijgaard,et al.  A new, high‐resolution surface mass balance map of Antarctica (1979–2010) based on regional atmospheric climate modeling , 2012 .

[3]  John Turner,et al.  The international Antarctic weather forecasting handbook , 2001 .

[4]  Lidar observations of the horizontal orientation of ice crystals in cirrus clouds: LIDAR OBSERVATIONS OF THE HORIZONTAL ORIENTATION OF ICE CRYSTALS IN CIRRUS CLOUDS , 1990 .

[5]  Judith A. Curry,et al.  Annual Cycle of Radiation Fluxes over the Arctic Ocean: Sensitivity to Cloud Optical Properties , 1992 .

[6]  E. Brun,et al.  Impact Of Snow Drift On The Antarctic Ice Sheet Surface Mass Balance: Possible Sensitivity To Snow-Surface Properties , 2001 .

[7]  Zhian Sun,et al.  Studies of the radiative properties of ice and mixed-phase clouds , 1994 .

[8]  S. Warren,et al.  Atmospheric Ice Crystals over the Antarctic Plateau in Winter , 2003 .

[9]  G. Krinner,et al.  An updated and quality controlled surface mass balance dataset for Antarctica , 2012 .

[10]  Von P. Walden,et al.  Cloud Cover over the South Pole from Visual Observations, Satellite Retrievals, and Surface-Based Infrared Radiation Measurements , 2007 .

[11]  M. Shupe,et al.  On the Relationship between Thermodynamic Structure and Cloud Top, and Its Climate Significance in the Arctic , 2012 .

[12]  R. Hogan,et al.  Characteristics of mixed‐phase clouds. I: Lidar, radar and aircraft observations from CLARE'98 , 2003 .

[13]  Anthony J. Illingworth,et al.  The formation of ice in a long‐lived supercooled layer cloud , 2013 .

[14]  Eric Rignot,et al.  Acceleration of the contribution of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to sea level rise , 2011 .

[15]  M. Shupe,et al.  Clouds at Arctic Atmospheric Observatories. Part I: Occurrence and Macrophysical Properties , 2011 .

[16]  M. R. van den Broeke,et al.  Impact of model resolution on simulated wind, drifting snow and surface mass balance in Terre Adélie, East Antarctica , 2012, Journal of Glaciology.

[17]  James O. Pinto,et al.  Mesoscale modeling of springtime Arctic mixed-phase stratiform clouds using a new two-moment bulk microphysics scheme , 2005 .

[18]  J. Thepaut,et al.  The ERA‐Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system , 2011 .

[19]  F. Pattyn,et al.  Glacio-meteorological conditions in the vicinity of the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Station, Antarctica , 2009, Antarctic Science.

[20]  C. Genthon,et al.  A 40-year accumulation dataset for Adelie Land, Antarctica and its application for model validation , 2011, Climate Dynamics.

[21]  S. Warren,et al.  Ground-Based Infrared Remote Sensing of Cloud Properties over the Antarctic Plateau. Part II: Cloud Optical Depths and Particle Sizes , 2001 .

[22]  M. Wendisch,et al.  Microphysical and optical properties of Arctic mixed-phase clouds. The 9 April 2007 case study. , 2009 .

[23]  Kevin W. Manning,et al.  Characteristics of high‐precipitation events in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica , 2010 .

[24]  Roderik S. W. van de Wal,et al.  Surface radiation balance in Antarctica as measured with automatic weather stations , 2004 .

[25]  M. Shupe,et al.  Cloud Radiative Forcing of the Arctic Surface: The Influence of Cloud Properties, Surface Albedo, and Solar Zenith Angle , 2004 .

[26]  Michael Studinger,et al.  Influence of Persistent Wind Scour on the Surface Mass Balance of Antarctica , 2013 .

[27]  Shepard A. Clough,et al.  Thin Liquid Water Clouds: Their Importance and Our Challenge , 2007 .

[28]  Matthew A. Lazzara,et al.  Antarctic Satellite Meteorology: Applications for Weather Forecasting , 2003 .

[29]  Ari Karppinen,et al.  Retrieval of mixing height and dust concentration with lidar ceilometer , 2007 .

[30]  M. R. van den Broeke,et al.  Assessing the retrieval of cloud properties from radiation measurements over snow and ice , 2011 .

[31]  U. Schättler,et al.  Precipitation simulation for Dronning Maud Land using the COSMO Model , 2009, Antarctic Science.

[32]  H. Gallée,et al.  Simulation of the net snow accumulation along the Wilkes Land transect, Antarctica, with a regional climate model , 2005, Annals of Glaciology.

[33]  J. Gregory,et al.  Ice-sheet contributions to future sea-level change , 2006, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[34]  E. O'connor,et al.  A Technique for Autocalibration of Cloud Lidar , 2004 .

[35]  Satellite monitoring of ice and snow conditions in the Sør Rondane Mountains, Antarctica , 1993 .

[36]  M. Maahn,et al.  How does the spaceborne radar blind zone affect derived surface snowfall statistics in polar regions? , 2014 .

[37]  R. Marchand,et al.  Hydrometeor Detection Using Cloudsat—An Earth-Orbiting 94-GHz Cloud Radar , 2008 .

[38]  Patrick Minnis,et al.  The Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment. , 2007 .

[39]  M. Frezzotti,et al.  A synthesis of the Antarctic surface mass balance during the last 800 yr , 2013 .

[40]  Stephen P. Palm,et al.  Satellite remote sensing of blowing snow properties over Antarctica , 2011 .

[41]  Richard Bintanja,et al.  THE INFLUENCE OF CLOUDS ON THE RADIATION BUDGET OF ICE AND SNOW SURFACES IN ANTARTICA AND GREENLAND IN SUMMER , 1996 .

[42]  J. Kay,et al.  How much snow falls on the Antarctic ice sheet , 2014 .

[43]  David M. Winker,et al.  The Experimental Cloud Lidar Pilot Study (ECLIPS) for cloud-radiation research , 1994 .

[44]  M. Broeke,et al.  Surface and snowdrift sublimation at Princess Elisabeth station, East Antarctica , 2012 .

[45]  Antarctic clouds , 2010 .

[46]  Petteri Uotila,et al.  Changes in Antarctic net precipitation in the 21st century based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) model scenarios , 2007 .

[47]  Cloud Climatology for Land Stations Worldwide, 1971-2009 (NDP-026D) , 2012 .

[48]  Ian Simmonds,et al.  Simulated Antarctic precipitation and surface mass balance at the end of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries , 2006 .

[49]  M. Shupe,et al.  Arctic Mixed-Phase Cloud Properties Derived from Surface-Based Sensors at SHEBA , 2006 .

[50]  M. R. van den Broeke,et al.  Future surface mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet and its influence on sea level change, simulated by a regional atmospheric climate model , 2013, Climate Dynamics.

[51]  ’. O,et al.  Microphysical and Optical Properties of Atmospheric Ice Crystals at South Pole Station , 2006 .

[52]  T. Vihma,et al.  Spatial and temporal variability in summer snow pack in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica , 2010 .

[53]  Sergey Y. Matrosov,et al.  Modeling Backscatter Properties of Snowfall at Millimeter Wavelengths , 2007 .

[54]  K. Steffen,et al.  July 2012 Greenland melt extent enhanced by low-level liquid clouds , 2013, Nature.

[55]  Nicole Van Lipzig,et al.  Tropospheric clouds in Antarctica , 2012 .

[56]  Von P. Walden,et al.  Ground-Based Infrared Remote Sensing of Cloud Properties over the Antarctic Plateau. Part I: Cloud-Base Heights , 2001 .

[57]  S. Déry,et al.  Simulation Of Blowing Snow In The Canadian Arctic Using A Double-Moment Model , 2001 .

[58]  D. P. Wareing,et al.  Lidar observations of the horizontal orientation of ice crystals in cirrus clouds , 1990 .

[59]  M. Frezzotti,et al.  Spatial and temporal variability of surface mass balance near Talos Dome, East Antarctica , 2007 .

[60]  C. Gautier,et al.  Cloud scattering optical depth and local surface albedo in the Antarctic: Simultaneous retrieval using ground‐based radiometry , 1995 .

[61]  E. O'connor,et al.  Characteristics of mixed‐phase clouds. II: A climatology from ground‐based lidar , 2003 .

[62]  M. Tjernström,et al.  The vertical distribution of thin features over the Arctic analysed from CALIPSO observations , 2011 .

[63]  T. Endoh,et al.  Seasonal variations of cloud and precipitation at Syowa station, Antarctica , 1998, Annals of Glaciology.

[64]  B. Colle,et al.  Surface Microphysical Observations within East Coast Winter Storms on Long Island, New York , 2014 .

[65]  M. Yau.  SIMULATION OF BLOWING SNOW IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC USING A DOUBLE-MOMENT MODEL , 2001 .

[66]  David N. Whiteman,et al.  Studying Altocumulus with Ice Virga Using Ground-Based Active and Passive Remote Sensors , 2004 .

[67]  M. Maahn,et al.  Observation of snowfall with a low-power FM-CW K-band radar (Micro Rain Radar) , 2011 .

[68]  G. Cesana,et al.  Ubiquitous low‐level liquid‐containing Arctic clouds: New observations and climate model constraints from CALIPSO‐GOCCP , 2012 .

[69]  Graeme L. Stephens,et al.  Snowfall‐driven mass change on the East Antarctic ice sheet , 2012 .

[70]  E. O'connor,et al.  The CloudSat mission and the A-train: a new dimension of space-based observations of clouds and precipitation , 2002 .

[71]  D. P. Stone.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , 2015 .

[72]  R. Bintanja.  The contribution of snowdrift sublimation to the surface mass balance of Antarctica , 1998, Annals of Glaciology.

[73]  Matthew D. Shupe,et al.  Clouds at Arctic Atmospheric Observatories. Part II: Thermodynamic Phase Characteristics , 2011 .

[74]  H. Treut,et al.  THE CALIPSO MISSION: A Global 3D View of Aerosols and Clouds , 2010 .

[75]  Roald Amundsen,et al.  The South Pole. An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram" 1910 - 1912 , 1913 .

[76]  T. Duck,et al.  Lidar studies of the polar troposphere , 2011 .

[77]  J. Blanchet,et al.  Study of polar thin ice clouds and aerosols seen by CloudSat and CALIPSO during midwinter 2007 , 2009 .

[78]  John Turner,et al.  Observations of cloud and precipitation particles on the Avery Plateau, Antarctic Peninsula , 2001, Antarctic Science.

[79]  Giovanni Macelloni,et al.  Event-driven deposition of snow on the Antarctic Plateau: analyzing field measurements with SNOWPACK , 2013 .

[80]  Nicole Van Lipzig,et al.  The role of atmospheric rivers in anomalous snow accumulation in East Antarctica , 2014 .

[81]  Transect method for Antarctic cloud property retrieval using AVHRR data , 2011 .

[82]  M. Shupe,et al.  Radiative and microphysical properties of Arctic stratus clouds from multiangle downwelling infrared radiances , 2002 .

[83]  Tristan S. L'Ecuyer,et al.  A Multisensor Perspective on the Radiative Impacts of Clouds and Aerosols , 2013 .

[84]  Richard Cotton,et al.  Parametrization of ice‐particle size distributions for mid‐latitude stratiform cloud , 2005 .

[85]  Leopoldo Stefanutti,et al.  One year of cloud lidar data from Dumont d'Urville (Antarctica): 1. General overview of geometrical and optical properties , 1993 .

[86]  D. Bromwich,et al.  A Review of Antarctic Surface Snow Isotopic Composition : Observations, Atmospheric Circulation, and Isotopic Modeling , 2008 .

[87]  Martin Horwath,et al.  Recent snowfall anomalies in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, in a historical and future climate perspective , 2013 .

[88]  Susanne Crewell,et al.  A multisensor approach toward a better understanding of snowfall microphysics the tosca project , 2011 .

[89]  G. Liston,et al.  Meltwater production in Antarctic blue-ice areas: sensitivity to changes in atmospheric forcing , 1999 .

[90]  J. Spinhirne,et al.  Observations of blowing snow at the South Pole , 2003 .

[91]  M. R. van den Broeke,et al.  Ice Sheets and Sea Level: Thinking Outside the Box , 2011 .

[92]  Ralf Bennartz,et al.  Utilizing Spaceborne Radars to Retrieve Dry Snowfall , 2009 .

[93]  J. Blanchet,et al.  Simulation of Arctic Diamond Dust, Ice Fog, and Thin Stratus Using an Explicit Aerosol–Cloud–Radiation Model , 2001 .

[94]  M. Wendisch,et al.  Microphysical and radiative characterization of a subvisible midlevel Arctic ice cloud by airborne observations - a case study , 2009 .

[95]  Pavlos Kollias,et al.  Improved Micro Rain Radar snow measurements using Doppler spectra post-processing , 2012 .

[96]  M. Yabuki,et al.  A polar cloud analysis based on Micro-pulse Lidar measurements at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard and Syowa, Antarctica , 2003 .

[97]  David D. Turner,et al.  High and Dry: New Observations of Tropospheric and Cloud Properties above the Greenland Ice Sheet , 2013 .

[98]  I. Gorodetskaya,et al.  Validation of a limited area model over Dome C, Antarctic Plateau, during winter , 2008 .

[99]  Kenneth Sassen,et al.  Cloud Type and Macrophysical Property Retrieval Using Multiple Remote Sensors , 2001 .

[100]  N. P. Rusin.  Meteorological and radiational regime of Antarctica (Meteorologicheskii i radiatsionnyi rezhim Antarktidy) , 1964 .

[101]  Airborne lidar observations of clouds in the Antarctic troposphere , 1989 .

[102]  M. Frezzotti,et al.  Snow grain-size measurements in Antarctica , 2002, Journal of Glaciology.

[103]  M. R. van den Broeke,et al.  Daily cycle of the surface energy balance in Antarctica and the influence of clouds , 2006 .

[104]  J. Spinhirne,et al.  Multi‐year measurements of cloud base heights at South Pole by lidar , 2005 .

[105]  Allan I. Carswell,et al.  Automated method for lidar determination of cloud-base height and vertical extent. , 1992, Applied optics.

[106]  M. R. van den Broeke,et al.  A study of the surface mass balance in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, using automatic weather stationS , 2004, Journal of Glaciology.

[107]  S. Lhermitte,et al.  An improved algorithm for polar cloud-base detection by ceilometer over the ice sheets , 2013 .

[108]  Corinne Le Quéré,et al.  Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis , 2013 .

[109]  D. Macayeal,et al.  Drifting snow threshold measurements near McMurdo station, Antarctica: a sensor comparison study , 2012 .

[110]  M. R. van den Broeke,et al.  Meteorological regimes and accumulation patterns at Utsteinen, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica: Analysis of two contrasting years , 2013 .