Radiative Energy Balance in the Tropical Tropopause Layer: An Investigation with ARM Data
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); University of Washington
The overall objective of this project is to use the ARM observational data to improve our understanding of cloud-radiation effects in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), which is crucial for improving the simulation and prediction of climate and climate change. In last four and half years, we have been concentrating on (i) performing the comparison of the ice cloud properties from the ground-based lidar observations with those from the satellite CALIPSO lidar observations at the ARM TWP sites; (ii) analyzing TTL cirrus and its relation to the tropical planetary waves; (iii) calculating the radiative heating rates using retrieved cloud microphysical properties by combining the ground-based lidar and radar observations at the ARM TWP sites and comparing the results with those using cloud properties retrieved from CloudSat and CALIPSO observations; (iv) comparing macrophysical properties of tropical cirrus clouds from the CALIPSO satellite and from ground-based micropulse and Raman lidar observations; (v) improving the parameterization of optical properties of cirrus clouds with small effective ice particle sizes; and (vi) evaluating the enhanced maximum warming in the tropical upper troposphere simulated by the GCMs. The main results of our research efforts are reported in the 12 referred journal publications that acknowledge the DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-09ER64769.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0002392
- OSTI ID:
- 1167701
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-UW--0002392; DE-FG02-09ER64769
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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