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Title: Patterns of Diurnal Marine Stratocumulus Cloud Fraction Variability

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
 [1];  [2]
  1. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
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The spatial patterns of subtropical marine stratocumulus cloud fraction variability on diurnal time scales are examined using high-temporal-resolution cloud masks that are based on 30-min, 4 km × 4 km geosynchronous infrared data for 2003–10. This dataset permits comparison of the characteristics of variability in low cloud fraction among the three subtropical marine stratocumulus regions in the northeastern (NE) Pacific, southeastern (SE) Pacific, and SE Atlantic Oceans. In all three regions, the largest diurnal cycles and earliest time of cloud breakup occur on the edges of the cloud field where cloud fractions are generally lower. The rate at which the cloud breaks up during the day is tied to the starting cloud fraction at dawn, which determines the amount of longwave cooling that is initially available to offset shortwave radiative fluxes during the day. The maximum rate of cloud breakup occurs near 1200 LT. Cloud fraction begins to increase by 1600 LT (before the sun sets) and reaches its maximum value just before dawn. Here, the diurnal-cycle characteristics of the SE Pacific and SE Atlantic marine stratocumulus cloud decks are more similar to each other than to those in the NE Pacific. The NE Pacific cloud deck has a smaller-amplitude diurnal cycle, slower rates of cloud breakup during the day for a given cloud fraction at dawn, and a higher probability of cloud breakup overnight.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO); Climate Prediction Program for the Americas (CPPA); NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; SC0006701; GC09-252b; NNX11AE98G; NNX10AP43H
OSTI ID:
1208710
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-103856; KP1701000
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Vol. 54, Issue 4; ISSN 1558-8424
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 20 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (1)

Assessing the mechanisms governing the daytime evolution of marine stratocumulus using large‐eddy simulation
  • McMichael, Lucas A.; Mechem, David B.; Wang, Shouping
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 145, Issue 719 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3469
journal January 2019

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
spatial patterns
subtropical
marine stratocumulus
cloud fraction
variability
diurnal effects
marine boundary layer
cloud cover
clouds
cloud retrieval
satellite observations