Aerosol-cloud-turbulence interactions in well-coupled Arctic boundary layers over open water

Abstract. Late springtime Arctic mixed-phase convective clouds over open water in the Fram Strait as observed during the recent ACLOUD field campaign are simulated at turbulence-resolving resolutions. The main research objective is to gain more insight into the coupling of these cloud layers to the surface, and into the role played by interactions between aerosol, hydrometeors and turbulence in this process. A composite case is constructed based on data collected by two research aircraft on 18 June 2017. The boundary conditions and large-scale forcings are based on weather model analyses, yielding a simulation that freely equilibrates towards the observed thermodynamic state. The results are evaluated against a variety of independent aircraft measurements. The observed cloud macro- and microphysical structure is well reproduced, consisting of a stratiform cloud layer in mixed-phase fed by surface-driven convective transport in predominantly liquid phase. Comparison to noseboom turbulence measurements suggests that the simulated cloud-surface coupling is realistic. A joint-pdf analysis of relevant state variables is conducted, suggesting that locations where the mixed-phase cloud layer is strongly coupled to the surface by convective updrafts act as hot-spots for invigorated interactions between turbulence, clouds and aerosol. A mixing-line analysis reveals that the turbulent mixing is similar to warm convective cloud regimes, but is accompanied by hydrometeor transitions that are unique for mixed-phase cloud systems. Distinct fingerprints in the joint-pdf diagrams also explain i) the typical ring-like shape of ice mass in the outflow cloud deck, ii) its slightly elevated buoyancy, and iii) an associated local minimum in CCN.