Publication Abstracts

Haynes et al. 2011

Haynes, J.M., C. Jakob, W.B. Rossow, G. Tselioudis, and J. Brown, 2011: Major characteristics of Southern Ocean cloud regimes and their effects on the energy budget. J. Climate, 24, 5061-5080, doi:10.1175/2011JCLI4052.1.

Clouds over the Southern Ocean are often poorly represented by climate models, but they make a significant contribution to the top of the atmosphere radiation balance, particularly in the shortwave portion of the energy spectrum. This study seeks to better quantify the organization and structure of Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude clouds by combining measurements from active and passive satellite-based data sets. Geostationary and polar orbiter satellite data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) are used to quantify large-scale, recurring modes of cloudiness, while active observations from CloudSat and CALIPSO are used to examine vertical structure, radiative heating rates, and precipitation associated with these clouds. It is found that cloud systems are organized into eight distinct regimes, and that ISCCP overestimates the mid-level cloudiness of these regimes. All regimes contain a relatively high occurrence of low cloud, with 79% of all cloud layers observed having tops below 3 km, but multiple layered clouds systems are present in approximately 34% of observed cloud profiles. The spatial distribution of regimes varies according to season, with cloud systems being geometrically thicker, on average, during the austral winter. Those regimes found to be most closely associated with mid-latitude cyclones produce precipitation the most frequently, although drizzle is extremely common in low-cloud regimes. The regimes associated with cyclones have the highest in-regime shortwave cloud radiative effect at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), but the low-cloud regimes, by virtue of their high frequency of occurrence over the oceans, dominate both TOA and surface shortwave effects in this region as a whole.

Export citation: [ BibTeX ] [ RIS ]

BibTeX Citation

@article{ha04510h,
  author={Haynes, J. M. and Jakob, C. and Rossow, W. B. and Tselioudis, G. and Brown, J.},
  title={Major characteristics of Southern Ocean cloud regimes and their effects on the energy budget},
  year={2011},
  journal={Journal of Climate},
  volume={24},
  pages={5061--5080},
  doi={10.1175/2011JCLI4052.1},
}

[ Close ]

RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - ha04510h
AU  - Haynes, J. M.
AU  - Jakob, C.
AU  - Rossow, W. B.
AU  - Tselioudis, G.
AU  - Brown, J.
PY  - 2011
TI  - Major characteristics of Southern Ocean cloud regimes and their effects on the energy budget
JA  - J. Climate
JO  - Journal of Climate
VL  - 24
SP  - 5061
EP  - 5080
DO  - 10.1175/2011JCLI4052.1
ER  -

[ Close ]

• Return to 2011 Publications

• Return to Publications Homepage