Data · dataset · 2026
Phase characterization of cold sector southern ocean cloud tops: Results from SOCRATES
Listed in National Center for Atmospheric Research
For a given cloud, whether the cloud top is predominately made up of ice crystals or supercooled liquid droplets plays a large role in the clouds overall radiative effects.
Description
This study uses collocated airborne radar, lidar, and thermodynamic data from 12 high-altitude flight legs during the Southern Ocean Clouds, Radiation, Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (SOCRATES) to characterize Southern Ocean (SO) cold sector cloud top phase (i.e., within 96 m of top) as a function of cloud top temperature (CTT).
A training data set was developed to create probabilistic phase classifications based on High Spectral Resolution Lidar data and Cloud Radar data. These classifications were then used to identify dominant cloud top phase. Case studies are presented illustrating examples of supercooled liquid water at cloud top at different CTT ranges over the SO (-3 degrees C < CTTs < -28 degrees C).
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During SOCRATES, 67.4% of sampled cloud top had CTTs less than 0 degrees C. Of the subfreezing cloud tops sampled, 91.7% had supercooled liquid water present in the top 96 m and 74.9% were classified entirely as liquid-bearing. Liquid-bearing cloud tops were found at CTTs as cold as -30 degrees C. Horizontal cloud extent was also determined as a function of median cloud top height.
Links
Get the data
- Publisher page n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7bv7m0z ↗
documentation · download · from data ucar edu
Where it is published
- data.ucar.edu /dataset/phase-characterization-of-cold-sector-southern-ocean-c… ↗
National Center for Atmospheric Research dataset page
landing page · from data ucar edu
Catalogue records · 1
- CKAN API data.ucar.edu/api/3/action/package_show?id=3b7f566c-252d-4d2c-948c-f6285a90d… ↗
metadata API · from data ucar edu
Topics
- From keywords
- Earth & Environmental Science · Ocean & Atmospheric Science
- Inferred from text
- Cloud physics 76%
Provenance · 1 source records, 8 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Center for Atmospheric Research | 3b7f566c-252d-4d2c-948c-f6285a90d481 | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:370107 | enrichment · data ucar edu | taxonomy-embedding@1.1.0 | title+keywords+description (76%) |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:ocean-atmospheric | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| created_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /notes |
| publication_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /title |
| updated_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 |