Dependence of Ice Microphysical Properties on Environmental Parameters: Results from HAIC-HIWC Cayenne Field Campaign

International audienceHigh ice water content (HIWC) regions above tropical mesoscale convective systems are investigated using data from the second collaboration of the High Altitude Ice Crystals and High Ice Water Content projects (HAIC-HIWC) based in Cayenne, French Guiana, in 2015. Observations from in situ cloud probes on the French Falcon 20 determine the microphysical and thermodynamic properties of such regions. Data from a 2D stereo probe and precipitation imaging probe show how statistical distributions of ice crystal mass median diameter (MMD), ice water content (IWC), and total number concentration (Nt) for particles with maximum dimension (Dmax) > 55 μm vary with environmental conditions, temperature (T), and convective properties such as vertical velocity (w), MCS age, distance away from convective peak (L), and surface characteristics. IWC is significantly correlated with w, whereas MMD decreases and Nt increases with decreasing T consistent with aggregation, sedimentation, and vapor deposition processes at lower altitudes. MMD typically increases with IWC when IWC -3, but decreases with IWC when IWC > 0.5 g m-3 for -15° ≤ T ≤ -5°C. Trends also depend on environmental conditions, such as the presence of convective updrafts that are the ice crystal source, MMD being larger in older MCSs consistent with aggregation and less injection of small crystals into anvils, and IWCs decrease with increasing L at lower T. The relationship between IWC and MMD depends on environmental conditions, with correlations decreasing with decreasing T. The strength of correlation between IWC and Nt increases as T decreases