Tropospheric Ice in a Warming World

Tropospheric Ice in a Warming World | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Tropospheric Ice in a Warming World Tingfeng Dou, Gaojie Xu, Yifan Yang, Rui Zhou, Guohang Yu, Ivy Tan, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6088515/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ice in the atmosphere plays an important role in the climate system by regulating cloud radiative effects, large-scale circulations, and precipitation processes. The change in the ice phase in the atmosphere with global warming, however, is still unclear. Here we show that, while the total mass of global atmospheric ice has remained relatively stable based on satellite measurements since the 2000s, the spatial distribution may have been changing. This view is supported by an ensemble of high-resolution atmospheric model simulations in the tropics that clearly reveal a decrease in ice content in the optically thick anvil cloud areas and an increase in ice content in the convective regions and their peripheral regions. Further analysis based on a state-of-the-art global reanalysis indicates that while the lower tropospheric ice content has decreased with rising melting layer height, ice content has increased in the middle and upper subfreezing troposphere under global warming. This trend is dominated by the increase of falling ice associated with more frequent extreme deep convective events. In contrast, the total mass of global cloud ice has tended to stabilize in recent decades. This study sheds light on the changing pattern of global atmospheric ice obscured by the stable total ice mass, offering a pathway toward constraining cloud feedback mechanisms and climate projections. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Climate change Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Cryospheric science Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6088515","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":433340958,"identity":"b7bece3a-ed7c-48f5-a8f2-dc6ca024b952","order_by":0,"name":"Tingfeng 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