Satellite Observations of Dust Effects on the Ice Cloud Fraction and the Ice Effective Radius in Dust‐Infused Baroclinic Storm (DIBS) Over East Asia

Abstract

Dust‐cloud interactions remain a major source of uncertainty in weather and climate predictions, particularly within large‐scale synoptic systems. This study provides a multi‐year perspective on these interactions by examining a decade (2016–2025) of Mongolian cyclones, which are the primary drivers of East Asian dust‐infused baroclinic storms (DIBS). Using automated tracking, satellite observations, and reanalysis data, we quantify the impacts of dust on clouds by comparing cloud properties under the lowest and highest thirds of dust loading during DIBS events. We find that at temperatures between and °C, high dust loading significantly reduces the supercooled liquid cloud fraction () while dramatically increasing the ice cloud fraction () and decreasing ice effective radius (), consistent with dust promoting immersion freezing and liquid‐to‐ice conversion. At temperatures below °C, high dust loading increases the ice cloud fraction () and decreases the ice effective radius (), indicating that heterogeneous nucleation, rather than homogeneous freezing, dominates ice formation in ice clouds within DIBS. A focused case comparison further corroborates that dust enhances ice‐phase clouds and reduces ice particle size. These results offer a robust observational evidence that dust actively modulates the cloud phase and microphysics within extratropical cyclones, highlighting its critical and previously underappreciated role in the evolution of large‐scale storm systems.