Publication Abstracts
Lin and Rossow 1996
Lin, B., and , 1996: Seasonal variation of liquid and ice water path in nonprecipitating clouds over oceans. J. Climate, 9, 2890-2902, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1996)009<2890:SVOLAI>2.0.CO;2.
Seasonal variations of liquid and ice water paths (LWP and IWP) in nonprecipitating clouds over ocean are estimated for 4 months by combining the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and Special Sensor Microwave/Image (SSM/I) data. The ISCCP data are used to separate clear/cloudy skies and warm/cold clouds and to determine cloud optical thickness, cloud-top temperature, and sea surface temperature. SSM/I data are used to separate precipitating and nonprecipitating clouds and to determine LWP. About 93% of all clouds are nonprecipitating clouds, and about half of nonprecipitating clouds are warm (cloud-top temperature > 0°C). The average LWP for warm nonprecipitating clouds is about 6 mg/cm2. The values of total water path obtained from the ISCCP values of optical thickness for cold nonprecipitating clouds are larger than the LWP values from SSM/I, which the authors explain in terms of IWP. The average IWP for cold nonprecipitating clouds is about 7 mg/cm2, with LWP being about 5 mg/cm2. Tropical and cold hemisphere clouds have higher IWP values (around 10 mg/2) than those in warm hemispheres; whereas LWP values for warm nonprecipitating clouds vary little with latitude or season. Ice fractions, IWP/(LWP+IWP), in cold nonprecipitating clouds increase systematically with decreasing cloud-top temperatures, reaching 50% at about -15°C but ranging from about -5° to -10°C in the northern midlatitudes in autumn and the Tropics year-round to about -25°C in the southern midlatitudes in summer. The ratio of IWP to LWP in cold nonprecipitating clouds reaches almost 3 in the northern midlatitudes in autumn and falls as low as 0.6 in the southern midlatitudes in spring-summer. Combining warm and cold nonprecipitating clouds gives a global ratio of IWP to LWP that is about 0.7 over oceans.
- Get PDF (1.1 MB. Document is scanned, no OCR.)
- PDF documents require the free Adobe Reader or compatible viewing software to be viewed.
- Go to journal article webpage
Export citation: [ BibTeX ] [ RIS ]
BibTeX Citation
@article{li05100g,
author={Lin, B. and Rossow, W. B.},
title={Seasonal variation of liquid and ice water path in nonprecipitating clouds over oceans},
year={1996},
journal={Journal of Climate},
volume={9},
pages={2890--2902},
doi={10.1175/1520-0442(1996)009%3C2890%3ASVOLAI%3E2.0.CO;2},
}
[ Close ]
RIS Citation
TY - JOUR ID - li05100g AU - Lin, B. AU - Rossow, W. B. PY - 1996 TI - Seasonal variation of liquid and ice water path in nonprecipitating clouds over oceans JA - J. Climate JO - Journal of Climate VL - 9 SP - 2890 EP - 2902 DO - 10.1175/1520-0442(1996)009%3C2890%3ASVOLAI%3E2.0.CO;2 ER -
[ Close ]
