Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4819
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4819
09 Oct 2025
 | 09 Oct 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).

Global identification of dominant ice-particle growth in cirrus clouds using EarthCARE satellite observations

Tatsuya Seiki, Horoaki Horie, Yuichiro Hagihara, Shunsuke Aoki, and Akira T. Noda

Abstract. This study applies an ice-particle growth identification method to global observations obtained from the EarthCARE satellite. The method uses a joint probability density function of the equivalent radar reflectivity factor (Ze) and Doppler velocity (υd) on a common logarithmic scale (Ze–log10υd diagram), where the ratio of changes in Ze to changes in log10υd – referred to as the slope – serves as a quantitative indicator of dominant cloud microphysical processes. The analysis investigates the impact of random noise in Doppler velocity, which is a critical issue in EarthCARE products. In particular, three major error sources are addressed: observation window mode, along-track integration length, and bias correction related to antenna thermal distortion. These factors are found to significantly affect the derivation of slope values. To minimize the influence of noise, a representative slope is defined by calculating the median Doppler velocity in each Ze bin before applying the log₁₀ transformation. Using this revised method, EarthCARE's global observations reveal a systematic increase in the representative slope with atmospheric temperature across all latitude bands. While regional variations in slope are generally small, they nonetheless reflect distinctive microphysical characteristics specific to each region. These findings demonstrate that the EarthCARE satellite can be used to globally monitor cirrus cloud growth processes and offer a quantitative metric for evaluating the performance of climate models in representing cloud microphysics.

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Tatsuya Seiki, Horoaki Horie, Yuichiro Hagihara, Shunsuke Aoki, and Akira T. Noda

Status: open (until 14 Nov 2025)

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Tatsuya Seiki, Horoaki Horie, Yuichiro Hagihara, Shunsuke Aoki, and Akira T. Noda
Tatsuya Seiki, Horoaki Horie, Yuichiro Hagihara, Shunsuke Aoki, and Akira T. Noda
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Latest update: 09 Oct 2025
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Short summary
How ice particles grow in extremely cold conditions remains poorly understood due to limited observations. This study develops a new method to identify dominant ice-particle growth from radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity. It reveals, for the first time, that key growth processes vary not only with temperature but also by region. These findings highlight EarthCARE's value for monitoring clouds and improving climate model representation.
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