Modeling of microphysical and radiative properties of cirrus clouds

A 1D analytical/numerical model based on growth processes of diffusion and aggregation is developed to predict the evolution of ice-size spectra in cirrus clouds. When compared with a vertical distribution of measured ice-size spectra from cirrus, the predicted and measured spectra compared favorably in the upper and mid-regions of the cirrus deck, but differed significantly in the lower cloud regions. The reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. 28 refs