A New Parameterization of an Asymmetry Factor of Cirrus Clouds for Climate Models

Abstract The aspect ratio (AR) of a nonspherical ice particle is identified as the key microphysical parameter to determine its asymmetry factor for solar radiation. The mean effective AR is defined for cirrus clouds containing various nonspherical ice particles. A new parameterization of the asymmetry factor of cirrus clouds in terms of AR and mean effective size, Dge, is developed for solar radiation. It is based on geometric ray-tracing calculations for hexagonal ice crystals with a simple representation of particle surface roughness. The present parameterization well reproduces the asymmetry factors of complicated ice particles such as bullet rosettes, aggregates with rough surfaces, and fractal crystals and agrees well with observations. It thus can be properly applied to cirrus clouds containing various nonspherical ice particles. The asymmetry factor from this parameterization in the visible spectrum ranges from about 0.73 to more than 0.85. Radiative transfer calculations show that for a cirrus cloud with an optical depth of 4 and a solar zenith angle of 60°, changes in AR from 1.0 to 0.5 or from 1.0 to 0.1 result in differences in reflected solar fluxes of about −30 or −70 W m−2, respectively. For the same cloudy conditions, the effect of ice particle surface roughness on the reflected solar flux is found to be about 20 W m−2.