Orographic cirrus and its radiative forcing in NCAR CAM6

Orographic gravity wave (OGW)-induced sub-grid scale vertical velocity (i.e., cooling rate) is not resolved by large-scale models and its impact on ice formation in cirrus clouds is not well quantified. In this study, one sub-grid scale OGW scheme (e.g., McFarlane) is used in the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 (CAM6) to generate vertical velocity variance (sigma(w)) for cirrus formation.

Results from the default model and simulations with the OGW-induced sigma(w) are evaluated against the DOE ARM Small Particles in Cirrus (SPARTICUS) campaign observations. The OGW based on the McFarlane scheme increases the sub-grid scale sigma(w) over mountains compared to the default model and improves the model agreement with the SPARTICUS observations. Larger sigma(w) due to OGWs can trigger more frequent homogeneous nucleation in orographic cirrus and generates a higher number concentration of ice crystals observed during the SPARTICUS campaign.