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Title: Subdiurnal Stratocumulus Cloud Fraction Variability and Sensitivity to Precipitation

Journal Article · · Journal of Climate
 [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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This paper presents an analysis of subtropical marine stratocumulus cloud fraction variability using a 30-min and 3° × 3° cloud fraction dataset from 2003 to 2010. Each of the three subtropical marine stratocumulus regions has distinct diurnal characteristics, but the southeast (SE) Pacific and SE Atlantic are more similar to each other than to the northeast (NE) Pacific. Here, the amplitude and season-to-season diurnal cycle variations are larger in the Southern Hemisphere regions than in the NE Pacific. Net overnight changes in cloud fraction on 3° × 3° scales are either positive or neutral >77% of the time in the NE Pacific and >88% of the time in the SE Pacific and SE Atlantic. Cloud fraction often increases to 100% by dawn when cloud fraction at dusk is >30%. In the SE Pacific and SE Atlantic, a typical decrease in cloud area (median ≤ –5.7 × 105km2) during the day is equivalent to 25% or more of the annual-mean cloud deck area. Time series for 3° × 3° areas where cloud fraction was ≥90% sometime overnight and <60% at dawn, such as would result from nocturnal formation of pockets of open cells (POCs), only occur 1.5%, 1.6%, and 3.3% of the time in the SE Pacific, SE Atlantic, and NE Pacific, respectively. Comparison of cloud fraction changes to ship-based radar and satellite-derived precipitation intensity and area measurements shows a lack of sensitivity of cloud fraction to drizzle on time scales of 1–3 h and spatial scales of 100–300 km.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Climate Program Office (CPO)/Climate Prediction Program for the Americas (CPPA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; GC09-252b; SC0006701; NNX11AE98G
OSTI ID:
1208711
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-105121; KP1701000
Journal Information:
Journal of Climate, Vol. 28, Issue 8; ISSN 0894-8755
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 11 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

On the reversibility of transitions between closed and open cellular convection journal January 2015
Abrupt cloud clearing of marine stratocumulus in the subtropical southeast Atlantic journal July 2018
The Interaction Between Boundary Layer and Convection Schemes in a WRF Simulation of Post Cold Frontal Clouds Over the ARM East North Atlantic Site journal April 2019
The diurnal cycle of the smoky marine boundary layer observed during August in the remote southeast Atlantic journal January 2019

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
subdiurnal
stratocumulus cloud fraction variability
precipitation
cloud cover
clouds
diurnal effects
drizzle
marine boundary layer
stratiform clouds