A Sub-Visible Cirrus (SVC) Climatology with Comparisons to Ice Cloud Representations in CAM4

We have constructed a subvisible cirrus (SVC) climatology using the level 2 cloud layer data generated from the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument aboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite. The data is limited to ice phase clouds utilizing both a temperature threshold of colder than -40°C and shape parameter information provided from the polarized portion of the 532nm lidar channel. This climatology is consistent with both previous and current datasets on SVC, both satellite- and terrestrially-based. The climatology shows the potential to identify which mechanisms caused the formation of a specific SVC using the dual mode in the extinction profile. Also, correlations will be made between meteorologically important variables to determine relationships to SVC formation mechanisms. Finally, we use these CALIPSO cloud properties in an evaluation of the ice microphysics present in the newest release of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Atmospheric Model (CAM4).