Assessment of an updated polar stratospheric cloud parameterisation for the UK Earth System Model (UKESM1.1) within the UK Met Office Unified Model (v13.9) using CALIOP and MLS observations
- 1University of Cambridge (Cambridge, United Kingdom)
- 2British Antarctic Survey (Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Abstract
Accurately representing polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) in global Chemistry-Climate Models and Earth System Models is important as they play a key role in springtime ozone depletion in polar regions by activating both chlorine and bromine species through heterogeneous reactions and denitrifying the stratosphere. Here, we present and evaluate an updated PSC parameterisation scheme implemented in the UK Earth System Model (UKESM1.1). The scheme includes the kinetic formation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles, the formation of supercooled ternary solution (STS) droplets assuming thermodynamic equilibrium, and accounts for ice and sulphate aerosols. To evaluate the new scheme, we compare modelled PSC production with satellite observations from the Cloud-Aerosol and Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument and model concentrations of gas-phase nitric acid, water vapour, and ozone concentrations with observations from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument for the extended 2008 Antarctic and 2009/2010 Arctic winters. In comparison with the current, simpler scheme, the updated parameterisation increases both the range of PSC types that form and the seasonal variability, resulting in better agreement with CALIOP observations. However, there is still a gap in the model's ability to simulate ice PSCs with the full range of optical properties observed by CALIOP. The new scheme also slows the growth of NAT particles and enables nitric acid partitioning between gas, liquid, and solid phases, leading to improved agreement with gas-phase nitric acid MLS observations, although a substantial low-bias is still present in all model simulations. However, there is comparatively little impact on stratospheric ozone, with the exception near the edge of the polar vortex where the new scheme improves comparisons with MLS observations.
Versions
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BibTeX
@article{sangha2026assessment,
title = {{Assessment of an updated polar stratospheric cloud parameterisation for the UK Earth System Model (UKESM1.1) within the UK Met Office Unified Model (v13.9) using CALIOP and MLS observations}},
author = {Isabelle Sangha and Nathan L. Abraham and Andrew Orr and Hua Lu and Michael C. Pitts and Lamont R. Poole and Michael Weimer},
journal = {Geoscientific Model Development},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5194/gmd-19-9857-2026},
url = {https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/19/9857/2026/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Assessment of an updated polar stratospheric cloud parameterisation for the UK Earth System Model (UKESM1.1) within the UK Met Office Unified Model (v13.9) using CALIOP and MLS observations
AU - Isabelle Sangha
AU - Nathan L. Abraham
AU - Andrew Orr
AU - Hua Lu
AU - Michael C. Pitts
AU - Lamont R. Poole
AU - Michael Weimer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Geoscientific Model Development
DO - 10.5194/gmd-19-9857-2026
UR - https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/19/9857/2026/
AB - Accurately representing polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) in global Chemistry-Climate Models and Earth System Models is important as they play a key role in springtime ozone depletion in polar regions by activating both chlorine and bromine species through heterogeneous reactions and denitrifying the stratosphere. Here, we present and evaluate an updated PSC parameterisation scheme implemented in the UK Earth System Model (UKESM1.1). The scheme includes the kinetic formation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles, the formation of supercooled ternary solution (STS) droplets assuming thermodynamic equilibrium, and accounts for ice and sulphate aerosols. To evaluate the new scheme, we compare modelled PSC production with satellite observations from the Cloud-Aerosol and Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument and model concentrations of gas-phase nitric acid, water vapour, and ozone concentrations with observations from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument for the extended 2008 Antarctic and 2009/2010 Arctic winters. In comparison with the current, simpler scheme, the updated parameterisation increases both the range of PSC types that form and the seasonal variability, resulting in better agreement with CALIOP observations. However, there is still a gap in the model's ability to simulate ice PSCs with the full range of optical properties observed by CALIOP. The new scheme also slows the growth of NAT particles and enables nitric acid partitioning between gas, liquid, and solid phases, leading to improved agreement with gas-phase nitric acid MLS observations, although a substantial low-bias is still present in all model simulations. However, there is comparatively little impact on stratospheric ozone, with the exception near the edge of the polar vortex where the new scheme improves comparisons with MLS observations.
SN - 1991-9603
ER -