DCMEX: The Deep Convective Microphysics EXperiment

Lead Research Organisation: University of Manchester
Department Name: Earth Atmospheric and Env Sciences

Abstract

The goal of the DCMEX project is to ultimately reduce the uncertainty in equilibrium climate sensitivity by improving the representation of microphysical processes in global models. It is the anvils produced by tropical systems in particular that contribute significantly to cloud feedbacks. The anvil radiative properties, lifetimes and areal extent are the key parameters. DCMEX will determine the extent to which these are influenced, or even controlled by the cloud microphysics including the habits, concentrations and sizes of the ice particles that make up the anvils, which in turn depend on the microphysical processes in the mixed-phase region of the cloud as well as those occurring in the anvil itself.

There has been a rapid advancement in the sophistication of global climate models in recent years. Yet some of the equations used to represent microphysics processes are based on a poorer physical understanding than desired. Gettelman and Sherwood (2016), for example pointed out that there is significant spread in determining cloud feedbacks across different global models due to uncertainties in microphysical processes, such as the treatment of ice processes. Ceppi et al. (2017) also concluded that accurately representing clouds and their radiative effects in global models remains challenging partly due to the difficulty in representing the cloud microphysics, as well as the interactions between microphysics and dynamics. The microphysical and radiative processes and dynamics that control the opacity and areal coverage of tropical anvil clouds are not well represented in global climate models.

DCMEX will make novel measurements of cloud microphysics in a real-world laboratory convective cloud system - both the mixed-phase region and anvil - as well as improve and test models and then apply them globally to tropical deep convective systems. We propose to deploy the FAAM aircraft along with two dual-polarisation, Doppler radars and airborne and ground-based aerosol measurements to study the deep convective clouds that form over an isolated mountain range in New Mexico. The focus will be on the formation of ice from ice nucleating particles (INPs) (primary ice production) and by processes involving existing ice particles (secondary ice particle production), such as collisions. These observations will be used to test and further refine the representation of ice processes in climate models. Our approach recognises that in order to represent cloud feedbacks accurately a model needs to represent the individual processes within the system accurately. Demonstrating that the model is able reproduce the observed evolution of these clouds is therefore a necessary condition for the accurate prediction of cloud feedbacks.

The research in DCMEX will have a robust pathway from a novel field campaign to more accurate estimates of climate sensitivity. This pathway is built with four integrated parts: new observations; the use of these observations and process modelling to derive new parametrisations; the use of existing in-situ data and satellite observations of anvils in tropical deep convection to validate the model; and use of the knowledge gained to improve and test the representation of microphysics in climate models. In particular, DCMEX will build on the experience of our groups in improving microphysical representation. A seamless suite of Met Office models will be used for convection- resolving simulations and global simulations with parametrised convection. Finally, simplified climate change (imposed warmer environment) experiments will be carried out to understand the role of the different microphysical processes on cloud feedbacks.

Planned Impact

DCMEX will seek to work with scientists in Leeds that are involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for example those working on CONSTRAIN. The IPCC which provides rigorous and balanced scientific information to decision makers in governments throughout the world. It will help to reduce the uncertainty in climate sensitivity, and estimates of aerosol-radiative forcing by advancing our understanding of cloud processes and cloud feedbacks. The IPCC has acknowledged that cloud-climate feedbacks are now the greatest uncertainty in the modelling of future climate, and our research will lead to reduction in those uncertainties. Specifically, DCMEX will pave the way to reducing the uncertainty in climate sensitivity by advancing our understanding of cloud microphysical processes which are currently poorly constrained, and making improvements to parametrisations in global climate models. Improved planning for climate change will deliver enormous economic benefits to society as a whole. The absence of such plans could lead to losses of billions of pounds. Improved planning for climate change will deliver enormous economic and societal benefits and will greatly help with mitigation strategies.

Governments and businesses worldwide, and the general public will benefit greatly from this research because of the greater accuracy (reduced uncertainty) in climate model predictions that will result from this research.

Advancing understanding and modelling of cloud processes, particularly the ice process, is also very important for improving Numerical Weather Prediction models. This will have the effect of improving forecasts of heavy precipitation and other severe weather. We specifically target deep convection, which is associated with heavy rainfall and hailstorms. The field campaign will take place in New Mexico, but ice processes are important for extreme rainfall throughout the tropics and mid-latitudes. Social and economic benefits are likely to be significant as a result. For example, improved Met Office forecasting of flash flooding will benefit the insurance industry (who can take measures to avoid losses), flood forecasting agencies (e.g. Environment Agency, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency who can issue warnings) and ultimately, the wider public affected by flooding episodes. This could even save lives in extreme circumstances.

This proposal provides a unique opportunity to add urgently-needed measurements of aerosol and cloud processes. The Global Energy and Water Cycle Exchanges Project (GEWEX) Aerosols, Clouds, Precipitation and Climate (ACPC) programme will benefit from the data and modelling in DCMEX since the aerosols and convective cloud systems will be measured with state-of-the-art new instruments and an excellent combination of radars and aircraft.

There is a growing public awareness and sense of urgency about climate change. The youth climate strikes and the change of language used by The Guardian newspaper to "climate emergency, crisis or breakdown'' are some evidence of this urgency. DCMEX scientists will work with existing networks and platforms at NCAS and the Universities of Leeds and Manchester (e.g. The Climate Press podcast) to communicate the results of the research to schools and the general public.

Publications

10 25 50
 
Description The project has provided an extensive, detailed summary of secondary ice production mechanisms in convective clouds, one of the most uncertain issues associated with model predictions of ice processes in clouds. Quantitative assessment of secondary ice production using the latest high resolution cloud microphysics instruments deployed on the UYK FAAM research aircraft in New Mexico in collaboration with New Mexico Tech-Langmuir Laboratory research teams is being reported at several working groups at the upcoming International Conference on Clouds and Precipitation (ICCP) 14 to 19 July 2024, Jeju, South Korea, and the General Assembly 2024 of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in Vienna, Austria from 14-19 April 2024. AN overview of the project has been accepted for publication:
Finney, D. L., Blyth, A. M., Gallagher, M., Wu, H., Nott, G., Biggerstaff, M., Sonnenfeld, R. G., Daily, M., Walker, D., Dufton, D., Bower, K., Boeing, S., Choularton, T., Crosier, J., Groves, J., Field, P. R., Coe, H., Murray, B. J., Lloyd, G., Marsden, N. A., Flynn, M., Hu, K., Thamban, N. M., Williams, P. I., McQuaid, J. B., Robinson, J., Carrie, G., Moore, R., Aulich, G., Burton, R. R., and Connolly, P. J.: DCMEX coordinated aircraft and ground observations: Microphysics, aerosol and dynamics during cumulonimbus development, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-303, in review, 2023.
Exploitation Route The data generated by DC-MEX supported the newly funded CloudSense-2 programme. DC-MEX data is currently being prepared for assimilation by new high resolution modelling to inform climate models, such as the U Met Office Unified Model to better predict ice precipitation and cloud lifetime. The information collected by DC-MEX will provide extensive support to the follow-on project (CLOUDSENSE-2) aimed at identifying new uncertainties and reducing current uncertainties in climate models. The DC-MEX project data is summarised in the publication:
Finney, D. L., Blyth, A. M., Gallagher, M., Wu, H., Nott, G., Biggerstaff, M., Sonnenfeld, R. G., Daily, M., Walker, D., Dufton, D., Bower, K., Boeing, S., Choularton, T., Crosier, J., Groves, J., Field, P. R., Coe, H., Murray, B. J., Lloyd, G., Marsden, N. A., Flynn, M., Hu, K., Thamban, N. M., Williams, P. I., McQuaid, J. B., Robinson, J., Carrie, G., Moore, R., Aulich, G., Burton, R. R., and Connolly, P. J.: DCMEX coordinated aircraft and ground observations: Microphysics, aerosol and dynamics during cumulonimbus development, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-303, in review, 2023.
Sectors Aerospace

Defence and Marine

Environment

URL https://cloudsense.ac.uk/dcmex/
 
Description NCAS Projects (2022) FAAM MLU . New Aerosol, cloud and trace gas instrumentation for the Uk FAAM Research Aircraft.
Amount £1,172,000 (GBP)
Funding ID Funder ref: NCAS R8/H12/83/005 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2023 
End 12/2025
 
Title ClearfLo (Clean Air for London) Data 
Description Data from the ClearfLo (Clean Air for London) Project. ClearfLo is a collaborative scientific project involving several academic institutions in the UK, to set up air pollution monitoring sites alongside meteorological measurements to investigate boundary layer pollution across London. The ambition of ClearfLo is to provide long-term integrated measurements of the meteorology, composition and particulate loading of London's urban atmosphere, made at street level and at elevated sites, complemented by modelling to improve predictive capability for air quality. ClearfLo is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for three years from Jan 2010, and is coordinated by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS). 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2015 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Two PhD students were awarded PhD's based on use of the databases. Databases are archived at: Keywords: NE/S002049/1 http://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/search/?search_term=ClearFlo&return_obj=ob&search_obj=ob Full BIOARC database now available at CEDA wards a UK Airborne Bioaerosol Climatology (BIOARC) project. Data was collected at the following ground sites: Cardington Meteorological Research Unit: MBS-M, 11/04/2019 - 09/06/2019 Chilbolton Observatory: WIBS-4D, 14/05/2019 - 14/06/2019 Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory: WIBS-4M, 03/06/2019 - 01/08/2019 Chilbolton Observatory: WIBS-4M, 10/09/2020 - 21/06/2021 Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory: MBS-M, 15/09/2020 - 03/11/2019 Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory: MBS-M, 15/04/2021 - 16/07/2021 NERC reference NE/S002049/1 Citable as: Crawford, I. (2022): BIOARC: ground site real-time bioaerosol spectrometer datasets (2019-2021). NERC EDS Centre for Environmental Data Analysis, date of citation. https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/14dfd0ba5212422c9c72b5184cbf5330 
URL http://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/search/?search_term=ClearFlo&return_obj=ob&search_obj=ob
 
Description Collaboration with SPEC USA Cloud Instrument Developer 
Organisation Stratton Park Engineering Company
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We have provided in-depth feedback on use of SPEC cloud instrument performance and data published ins scientific journals. This activity has proved beneficial to the overall science community and will enhance the UK FAAM research activity with new FAAM MLU project upgrade funding making use of improved and new versions of SPEC cloud instruments. In addition FAAM "core"/basic measurement deliverables will be improved also by transitioning to SPEC instruments to support the wider UK atmospheric science community including UK Met Office and aircraft based projects in general to investigate aerosol-cloud interactions to improve climate models. Manchester haeve developed new analysis tools to enhance data products from SPEC instruments which ahas underpinned much of our cloud microphysics research and informed instrument developers of community science needs.
Collaborator Contribution SPEC have provided timely feedback and critical repairs to current SPEC instruments used by Manchester on the FAAM aircraft at short notice to optimise our aircraft based observation studies in projects such as CloudSense, DCMEX, MPHASE and SOC (the latter using SPEC instrument on the BAS Twin otter aircraft).
Impact Recent NCAS_FAAM MLU Research Project Announcement: March 2 2023. Task Name MLU-P-066 Ice microphysics to install several new SPEC instruments on the FAAM aircraft. 1) SPEC Hawkeye combination cloud probe (http://www.specinc.com/hawkeye-combination-cloud-particle_probe); 2) SPEC HVPS-4 (new stereo version not yet advertised on web site - old version currently operated by NCAS-Manchester on FAAM aircraft is described here: http://www.specinc.com/high-volume-precipitation-spectrometer); 3) Fast CDP and Ultra-Fast CDP: (http://www.specinc.com/node/123) - UFCDP is included in the Manchester- Hawkeye; FAAM will also be obtaining 2 SPEC FCDPs for basic cloud measurements. Joint publications have previously been produced with SPEC: e.g. Lawson, R. P., Woods, S., Jensen, E., Erfani, E., Gurganus, C., Gallagher, M., et al. (2019). A review of ice particle shapes in cirrus formed in situ and in anvils. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124, 10049- 10090. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD030122
Start Year 2012
 
Description Global Hawk Integration Study 
Organisation National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Department NASA Dryden Flight Research Centre
Country United States 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution An integration workshop was held at NASA Dryden Flight Research Colorado between NASA Payload Specialist staff (Dr. D. Fratello, lead manager), Grumman technical design staff, University of hertfordshire Design engineers and Manchester University aerosol & cloud research staff. Input from ATTREX Global Hawk users and third party instrument design specialists (SPEC Inc. Dr. P. Lawson) was also provided. The successful outcome of this meeting was an agreed design specification for a unique UK in situ particle spectrometer to be installed on the Global Hawk for future UK UTLS research activity.
Start Year 2012
 
Description NASA 
Organisation National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Department NASA Dryden Flight Research Centre
Country United States 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution The research team has contributed to 1) Global greenhouse gas and organic acid measurements in the remote pacific environment. b) Developed a new instrument for in situ measurements for deployment on the NASA Global Hawk.
Collaborator Contribution NASA partners have provided in-kind expertise to install new instruments on the NASA Global Hawk
Impact Ongoing
Start Year 2013
 
Description NASA 
Organisation National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Department NASA Dryden Flight Research Centre
Country United States 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution The research team has contributed to 1) Global greenhouse gas and organic acid measurements in the remote pacific environment. b) Developed a new instrument for in situ measurements for deployment on the NASA Global Hawk.
Collaborator Contribution NASA partners have provided in-kind expertise to install new instruments on the NASA Global Hawk
Impact Ongoing
Start Year 2013
 
Description University collaboration 
Organisation Cranfield University
Department Cranfield Soil and Agrifood Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Exchange of instrumentation and expertise in software development
Collaborator Contribution Contribution delayed due to COVID. Upon restart instrumentation will be provided to support the project.
Impact Delayed due to COVID.
Start Year 2020
 
Company Name Droplet Measurement Technologies LLC 
Description Droplet Measurement Technologies is a major manufacturer, developer of instruments for monitoring black carbon, bioaerosols, cloud droplets, or other aerosols. 
Year Established 2004 
Impact As a result of work with University Hertfordshire DMT funded a Tier 3 Aerosol CDT PhD studentship at Manchester
Website http://www.dropletmeasurement.com/
 
Description CloudSense Annual Meeting 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact UKRI Cloud Sense Project Meeting at the University of Leeds, April 2023. Presentation of observations and model studies on global cloud-aerosol feedback science from several CloudSense Projects including DCMEX< MPHASE and SOC.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://cloudsense.ac.uk/dcmex/
 
Description Development of Integrated Optoelectronic Spectrometers for Real-World Biogenic Aerosol Emission Studies: Examples of Field Applications 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact An invited talk at the University of Aarhus, February 2023. Approximately 30 attendees from Danish universities including research scientists and postgraduate students. Extended debate and Q&A activities. Observational results presented from several projects including DCMEX with a focus on cloud microphysics and biogenic aerosol detection/applications. Activity lead to r quests for further information, copies of presentation and potential collaborative activities that I passed on to colleagues.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description University of Kindai, Jaan Invited Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Invited speaker at a seminar at the University of Kindai, Japan, on cloud-aerosol interactions. Talk included results from DCMEX including FAAM aircraft cloud measurements in New Mexico and biogenic aerosol measurement at Langmuir Laboratory which were part of the DCMEX project. There were >50 attendees including undergraduate and postgraduate students with extended discussion and Q & A activities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023