Images of ice particles
Images of ice particles obtained by (a) the Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering (PHIPS-HALO) stereo imaging instrument and (b) the fast Two-Dimensional Cloud Probe. Images are represented as a function of temperature and relative humidity. Both during the third flight of Southern Ocean Cloud Radiation and Aerosol Transport Experimental Study (RF03) in the vicinity of the Research Vessel Investigator (between 2018 and 01–23 00:20 to 01:29 UTC). Credit: Montoya Duque et al. [2022], Figure 10
Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

The current generation of climate models and reanalyses products have difficulties in properly representing the radiative balance over the Southern Ocean. This can be traced to the poor understanding of clouds and precipitation processes in this region and lack of sufficient measurements. Recent coordinated field campaigns have collected an unprecedented amount of data, offering new opportunities to explore this understudied region.

Montoya Duque et al. [2022] use data collected from two field campaigns in 2016 and 2018 to classify regimes of clouds and precipitation associated with different weather patterns across a wide range of latitudes. This work provides insights into the leading microphysical processes of clouds and precipitation in these regimes.

Citation: Montoya Duque, E., Huang, Y., Siems, S. T., May, P. T., Protat, A., & McFarquhar, G. M. (2022). A characterization of clouds and precipitation over the Southern Ocean from synoptic to micro scales during the CAPRICORN field campaigns. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127, e2022JD036796. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD036796

—Minghua Zhang, Editor in Chief, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

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