A Tale of Two Poles: Exploring Mixed-Phase Clouds from above and below in Greenland and Antarctica

Mixed-phase clouds over the polar regions have been shown to greatly increase surface heating and have contributed to large melting events on the Greenland ice sheet. The clouds can be characterised by numerous remote sensing methods, prevalently the use of LIDAR and RADAR.

The ICESAT2 satellite has a space-borne LIDAR instrument, and the data product ATL09 has recently been published containing atmospheric profile data. This hasn't currently been used to study mixed-phase polar clouds. By comparing the satellite measurements with ground based observations at Summit (Greenland) and Antarctic observatories, we can validate the ATL09 data set, and if successful, can increase our observations of polar mixed-phase clouds from the localised areas around these stations to the whole polar region.

From there, we can try to further characterise the macro- and microphysical properties of the clouds, to aid in their understanding and implementation in climate models.