Publication Abstracts
Wong et al. 2016
Wong, S., , T. Wang, B.H. Kahn, E.J. Fetzer, and T.S. L'Écuyer, 2016: Responses of tropical ocean clouds to the large-scale dynamical circulation: Atmospheric water budget-related phase space and dynamical regimes. J. Climate, 29, no. 19, 7127-7143, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0712.1.
An atmospheric water budget-related phase space is constructed with the tendency terms related to dynamical convergence (QCON ≡ -Q∇·V) and moisture advection (QADV ≡ -V·∇Q) in the water budget equation. Over the tropical oceans, QCON accounts for large-scale dynamical conditions related to conditional instability, and QADV accounts for conditions related to lower tropospheric moisture gradient. Two reanalysis products (MERRA and ERAi) are used to calculate QCON and QADV. Using the phase space as a reference frame, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud top pressure (CTP) and cloud optical depth (COD) are used to evaluate simulated clouds in the GISS E2 General Circulation Model. In regimes of divergence over the tropical oceans, moist advection yields frequent high- to mid-level medium-thickness to thick clouds associated with moderate stratiform precipitation, while dry advection yields low-level thin clouds associated with shallow convection with lowered cloud tops. In regimes with convergence, moist and dry advection induce modulation of relative abundance of high-level thick clouds and low-level thin to medium thickness clouds. GISS E2 qualitatively reproduces the cloud property dependence on moisture budget tendencies in regimes of convergence, but with larger COD compared to MODIS. Low-level thick clouds in GISS E2 are the most frequent in regimes of near-zero convergence and moist advection instead of those of large-scale divergence. Compared to the Global Precipitation Climatology Project product, MERRA, ERAi and GISS E2 have more rain in regimes with deep convection, and less rain in regimes with shallow convection.
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BibTeX Citation
@article{wo09000j,
author={Wong, S. and Del Genio, A. D. and Wang, T. and Kahn, B. H. and Fetzer, E. J. and L'Écuyer, T. S.},
title={Responses of tropical ocean clouds to the large-scale dynamical circulation: Atmospheric water budget-related phase space and dynamical regimes},
year={2016},
journal={J. Climate},
volume={29},
number={19},
pages={7127--7143},
doi={10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0712.1},
}
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RIS Citation
TY - JOUR ID - wo09000j AU - Wong, S. AU - Del Genio, A. D. AU - Wang, T. AU - Kahn, B. H. AU - Fetzer, E. J. AU - L'Écuyer, T. S. PY - 2016 TI - Responses of tropical ocean clouds to the large-scale dynamical circulation: Atmospheric water budget-related phase space and dynamical regimes JA - J. Climate VL - 29 IS - 19 SP - 7127 EP - 7143 DO - 10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0712.1 ER -
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