edu.ucar.opensky::articles:25980 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-24T20:05:13.818866 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7hq43tj The radiative effect on cloud microphysics from the Arctic to the Tropics 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7hq43tj https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-21-0039.1 Zeng, X. author Heymsfield, Andrew J. author Ulanowski, Z. author Neely III, R. R. author Li, X. author Gong, J. author Wu, D. L. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher Cloud representation is one of the largest uncertainties in the current weather and climate models. In this article, the observations and modeling of the radiative effect on (cloud) microphysics (REM) from the Arctic to the tropics are overviewed, providing a new direction to meet the challenge of cloud representation. REM deals with the radiation-induced temperature difference between cloud particles and air. It leads to two common phenomena observed at the surface-dew and frost-and impacts clouds aloft significantly, which is noticed via the wide occurrence of horizontally oriented ice crystals (HOICs). However, REM has been overlooked by all of the operational weather and climate models. Based on the bin model of REM and the global distribution of radiative cooling/warming, the observations of REM from several platforms (e.g., aircrafts, field campaigns, and satellites) are coordinated in this article, yielding a global picture on REM. As a result, the picture is compatible with the global distribution of HOICs and other ice crystal characteristics obtained from various clouds on the globe, such as diamond dust (or clear-sky precipitation) in the Arctic, subvisual cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer, and other cirrus clouds from the low to high latitudes. In addition, ice crystals possess relatively strong REM compared to liquid drops because their aspect ratio is usually not one. The global picture on REM can be used by the weather and climate modelers to diagnose their cloud representation biases. It can also be used to improve the atmospheric ice retrieval algorithm from satellite observations. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2022 American Meteorological Society (AMS). None eng geoscientificInformation