Large discrepancies in dominant microphysical processes governing mixed-phase clouds across climate models
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2026
The balance between liquid and ice in clouds remains a major challenge in climate modeling, largely due to uncertainties in ice-related processes. We investigate the relative importance of four microphysical processes-primary ice nucleation (PIN), secondary ice production (SIP), sedimentation, and transport of ice crystals-for the supercooled liquid fraction (SLF) in mixed-phase clouds using three global climate models: EC-Earth3-AerChem, NorESM2-MM, and ECHAM6.3-HAM2.3. All models identify PIN as the dominant influence on SLF at cold temperatures in high northern latitudes, but diverge elsewhere and for higher temperatures. Implementing a unified SIP parameterization produced varied model responses, revealing fundamental differences in how microphysical processes interact within each model framework. These discrepancies suggest that each model prioritizes different processes in shaping the cloud phase. Such divergence may limit the reliability of conclusions regarding microphysical processes drawn from any single model.
Författare
Hannah Frostenberg
Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Geovetenskap och fjärranalys
Montserrat Costa-Suros
Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Paraskevi Georgakaki
Universität Leipzig
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Ulrike Proske
Wageningen University and Research
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)
Georgia Sotiropoulou
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Idryma Technologias kai Erevnas (FORTH)
Eleanor May
Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Geovetenskap och fjärranalys
David Neubauer
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)
GeoSphere Austria
Patrick Eriksson
Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Geovetenskap och fjärranalys
Maria Goncalves Ageitos
Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
Athanasios Nenes
Idryma Technologias kai Erevnas (FORTH)
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Carlos Perez Garcia-Pando
Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats
Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Oyvind Seland
Meteorologisk institutt
Luisa Ickes
Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Geovetenskap och fjärranalys
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
23973722 (eISSN)
Vol. 9 1 75Jämställdhet för excellens (Genie)
Stiftelsen Chalmers tekniska högskola, 2019-01-01 -- 2028-12-31.
ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system (MERGE)
Lunds universitet (9945095), 2010-01-01 -- .
Advanced applications of Ice Cloud Imager data
Rymdstyrelsen (2021-00077), 2022-01-01 -- 2025-12-31.
Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)
Naturgeografi
Meteorologi och atmosfärsvetenskap
DOI
10.1038/s41612-026-01342-7
Relaterade dataset
Model and satellite observational data to analyze microphysical processes in mixed-phase clouds [dataset]
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17266270