Cloud liquid water path detectability and retrieval accuracy from airborne passive microwave observations over Arctic sea ice

Abstract. Clouds are critical in the Arctic’s water balance and energy budget. Especially, the cloud liquid water path (CLWP) modifies the cloud radiative properties and affects the surface energy balance. Spaceborne microwave radiometers provide a high sensitivity to CLWP at pan-Arctic scales, but extracting this information over sea ice requires separation of surface and cloud emission. Here, we assess CLWP detectability and retrieval accuracy over sea ice from a physical optimal estimation retrieval applied to airborne passive microwave observations during the HALO–(𝒜𝒞)³ campaign. Reference data on surface temperature, young ice fraction, hydrometeor occurrence, and cloud liquid layers are available from collocated airborne instruments. The retrieval estimates CLWP and five surface parameters by inverting a forward operator consisting of the Snow Microwave Radiative Transfer (SMRT) and Passive and Active Microwave radiative TRAnsfer (PAMTRA) models. We find a consistent representation of sea ice and snow emission from 22–183 GHz under clear-sky conditions in both observation and state space. The CLWP detectability, defined as the 95th percentile of retrieved CLWP under clear-sky conditions, is about 50 g m⁻² in the Central Arctic and increases towards the marginal ice zone up to 350 g m⁻². The CLWP retrieval accuracy increases with increasing CLWP, with a relative root mean squared error below 50 % for CLWP above 100 g m⁻². Retrieval uncertainties occur due to ambiguities between cloud liquid water emission and scattering in the snowpack and emission by newly formed sea ice. We further analyze the impact of surface melt and a rain-on-snow event associated with the warm air intrusion on the surface parameters. Finally, we show CLWP distributions along the flight track for all HAMP observations in comparison to ERA5 for different cloud regimes. The retrieval algorithm enhances the understanding of Arctic clouds and allows for an improved use of passive microwave satellite data in polar regions.