Transport of blowing snow particles through turbulent motions

In mid-latitudes, and over polar regions, a vast majority of precipitations are linked to the production of ice crystals in clouds. Cloud microphysical processes of complex mountain regions, where mixed-phase clouds (MPC) are consistently present, are therefore better represented if the number of ice crystals are correctly estimated. However, observations have shown that measured ice crystal number concentration (ICNC) can exceed the concentration of ice nucleating particles by orders of magnitude. Moreover, model simulations that rely mainly on primary ice production mechanisms usually underestimate ICNC when compared with observations. Blowing snow particles (BSP) are believed to be one of the causes affecting this discrepancy, but their influence on ICNC in MPS remains poorly understood. Our research uses the numerical model CRYOWRF, which includes blowing snow prognostic equations coupled with the advanced land surface snow model SNOWPACK, to analyze how BSP influence the highly nonlinear cloud microphysics and ICNCs. Numerical results are then validated with observation data from the Cloud and Aerosol Characterization Experiment (CLAVE) 2014 campaign at Jungfraujoch. Results show that, when high wind velocities trigger blowing snow transport, due to the strong updraft typical of mountain regions, BSP reach high levels in the atmosphere thus affecting precipitation and snow redistribution.