Publication Abstracts

Painemal et al. 2021

Painemal, D., A.F. Corral, A. Sorooshian, M.A. Brunke, S. Chellappan, V. Afzali Go rooh, S.-H. Ham, L. O'Neill, W.L. Smith Jr., G. Tselioudis, H. Wang, X. Zeng, and P. Zuidema, 2021: An overview of atmospheric features over the Western North Atlantic Ocean and North American East Coast — Part 2: Circulation, boundary layer, and clouds. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 126, no. 6, e2020JD033423, doi:10.1029/2020JD033423.

The Western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) is a complex land-ocean-atmosphere system that experiences a broad range of atmospheric phenomena, which in turn drive unique aerosol transport pathways, cloud morphologies, and boundary layer variability. This work, Part 2 of a 2-part paper series, provides an overview of the atmospheric circulation, boundary layer variability, three-dimensional cloud structure, and precipitation over the WNAO; the companion paper (Part 1) focused on chemical characterization of aerosols, gases, and wet deposition. Seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature explain a clear transition in cloud morphologies from small shallow cumulus clouds, convective clouds, and tropical storms in summer, to stratus/stratocumulus and multi-layer cloud systems associated with winter storms. Synoptic variability in cloud fields is estimated using satellite-based weather states, and the role of postfrontal conditions (cold-air outbreaks) in the development of stratiform clouds is further analyzed. Precipitation is persistent over the ocean, with a regional peak over the Gulf Stream path, where offshore sea surface temperature gradients are large and surface fluxes reach a regional peak. Satellite data show a clear annual cycle in cloud droplet number concentration with maxima (minima) along the coast in winter (summer), suggesting a marked annual cycle in aerosol-cloud interactions. Compared with satellite cloud retrievals, four climate models qualitatively reproduce the annual cycle in cloud cover and liquid water path, but with large discrepancies across models, especially in the extra-tropics. The paper concludes with a summary of outstanding issues and recommendations for future work.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{pa08600q,
  author={Painemal, D. and Corral, A. F. and Sorooshian, A. and Brunke, M. A. and Chellappan, S. and Afzali Go rooh, V. and Ham, S.-H. and O'Neill, L. and Smith Jr., W. L. and Tselioudis, G. and Wang, H. and Zeng, X. and Zuidema, P.},
  title={An overview of atmospheric features over the Western North Atlantic Ocean and North American East Coast — Part 2: Circulation, boundary layer, and clouds},
  year={2021},
  journal={Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres},
  volume={126},
  number={6},
  pages={e2020JD033423},
  doi={10.1029/2020JD033423},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - pa08600q
AU  - Painemal, D.
AU  - Corral, A. F.
AU  - Sorooshian, A.
AU  - Brunke, M. A.
AU  - Chellappan, S.
AU  - Afzali Go rooh, V.
AU  - Ham, S.-H.
AU  - O'Neill, L.
AU  - Smith Jr., W. L.
AU  - Tselioudis, G.
AU  - Wang, H.
AU  - Zeng, X.
AU  - Zuidema, P.
PY  - 2021
TI  - An overview of atmospheric features over the Western North Atlantic Ocean and North American East Coast — Part 2: Circulation, boundary layer, and clouds
JA  - J. Geophys. Res. Atmos.
JO  - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
VL  - 126
IS  - 6
SP  - e2020JD033423
DO  - 10.1029/2020JD033423
ER  -

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