Measurement errors in cirrus cloud microphysical properties

Abstract

The limited accuracy of current cloud microphysics sensors used in cirrus cloud studies imposes limitations on the use of the data to examine the cloud's broadband radiative behaviour, an important element of the global energy balance. We review the limitations of the instruments, PMS probes, most widely used for measuring the microphysical structure of cirrus clouds and show the effect of these limitations on descriptions of the cloud radiative properties. The analysis is applied to measurements made as part of the European Cloud and Radiation Experiment (EUCREX) to determine mid-latitude cirrus microphysical and radiative properties.Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (cloud physics and chemistry) · Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics · Radiative processes · Instruments and techniques