EarthCARE mission for global height-resolved cloud particle categories and vertical motion

Improved representation of ice-phase processes in numerical models necessitates an enhanced understanding of ice-particle microphysics/radiative properties and their respective formation conditions. The EarthCARE JAXA L2 standard/research algorithms for clouds, precipitation and vertical motions aims at providing more detailed information of cloud particle categories and associated cloud microphysics/radiative properties from ATLID-CPR-MSI synergy. In particular, measurements from CPR Doppler and ATLID are expected to enable more comprehensive exploration of the relation between different cloud particle categories and the dynamical conditions. Based on complimentary information from long-term A-train data, the cloud particle category classification methodology planned for EarthCARE is tested and a new dataset has been developed. With this dataset, the geographical dependence of the occurrence of different ice cloud particle habit category and their properties that will be further investigated in detail from EarthCARE observations are discussed. Activities related to JAXA L2 validations from EU-Japan collaboration are developing new ways of combining ground-based active sensors and detailed surface observation of snow and rain to improve the quantification of precipitation and particle type retrievals. These studies would be valuable for further assessing the physical processes associated with cloud-precipitation formation from the EarthCARE mission.