Publication Abstracts

Williams et al. 2015

Williams, A.P., R.E. Schwartz, S. Iacobellis, R. Seager, B.I. Cook, C.J. Still, G. Husak, and J. Michaelsen, 2015: Urbanization causes increased cloud-base height and decreased fog in coastal southern California. Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, no. 5, 1527-1536, doi:10.1002/2015GL063266.

Subtropical marine stratus clouds regulate coastal and global climate, but future trends in these clouds are uncertain. In coastal Southern California (CSCA), interannual variations in summer stratus cloud occurrence are spatially coherent across 24 airfields and dictated by positive relationships with stability above the marine boundary layer (MBL) and MBL height. Trends, however, have been spatially variable since records began in the mid-1900s due to differences in nighttime warming. Among CSCA airfields, differences in nighttime warming, but not daytime warming, are strongly and positively related to fraction of nearby urban cover, consistent with an urban heat island effect. Nighttime warming raises the near-surface dew point depression, which lifts the altitude of condensation and cloud base height, thereby reducing fog frequency. Continued urban warming, rising cloud base heights, and associated effects on energy and water balance would profoundly impact ecological and human systems in highly populated and ecologically diverse CSCA.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{wi08300m,
  author={Williams, A. P. and Schwartz, R. E. and Iacobellis, S. and Seager, R. and Cook, B. I. and Still, C. J. and Husak, G. and Michaelsen, J.},
  title={Urbanization causes increased cloud-base height and decreased fog in coastal southern California},
  year={2015},
  journal={Geophysical Research Letters},
  volume={42},
  number={5},
  pages={1527--1536},
  doi={10.1002/2015GL063266},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - wi08300m
AU  - Williams, A. P.
AU  - Schwartz, R. E.
AU  - Iacobellis, S.
AU  - Seager, R.
AU  - Cook, B. I.
AU  - Still, C. J.
AU  - Husak, G.
AU  - Michaelsen, J.
PY  - 2015
TI  - Urbanization causes increased cloud-base height and decreased fog in coastal southern California
JA  - Geophys. Res. Lett.
JO  - Geophysical Research Letters
VL  - 42
IS  - 5
SP  - 1527
EP  - 1536
DO  - 10.1002/2015GL063266
ER  -

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