Prior heterogeneous ice nucleation events shape homogeneous freezing during the evolution of synoptic cirrus

Abstract. In situ observations are currently used to classify synoptic cirrus as formed by homogeneous or heterogeneous ice nucleation based on ice residual analysis. We use UCLALES-SALSA to show the limitations of this method by demonstrating that prior heterogeneous freezing events can shape the thermodynamic conditions for homogeneous freezing to occur more likely in subsequent nucleation events. In a single-cloud case study of synoptic cirrus from NASA’s Midlatitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX), observations suggest homogeneous freezing as the dominant nucleation mechanism, despite the other mission days with synoptic cirrus showing generally heterogeneous freezing characteristics. Model simulations reveal that ice residual analysis cannot capture influence of earlier heterogeneous freezing events, where mineral dust acted as ice-nucleating particles (INPs). These earlier events depleted INPs at cloud-forming altitudes, enabling homogeneous freezing at the time of observations. Cirrus cloud properties were simulated using measured meteorological and aerosol conditions and compared with observed cloud structures. Results show that modeling the impact of prior nucleation events on the vertical distribution of mineral dust and humidity in the model is necessary to reproduce the observed cloud characteristics. Heterogeneous freezing played a role in the removal of active mineral dust from cloud-forming altitudes well before arriving at the measurement location, while having limited role in forming ice crystals shortly before the time of measurements. Simulations also show that small-scale wave activity significantly influenced ice nucleation efficiency and cloud properties. Although large-scale atmospheric dynamics typically dominate synoptic cirrus formation, they alone were insufficient to replicate the observed cloud characteristics.