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Title: Impact of cloud radiative heating on East Asian summer monsoon circulation

Journal Article · · Environmental Research Letters
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). LASG, Institute of Atmospheric Physics; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Climate Change Research Center; Nanjing Univ. (China). Institute for Climate and Global Change Research & School of Atmospheric Sciences
  2. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). LASG, Institute of Atmospheric Physics; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Climate Change Research Center
  3. Nanjing Univ. (China). Institute for Climate and Global Change Research & School of Atmospheric Sciences; Collaborative Innovation Center of Climate Change, Jiangsu Province (China); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  4. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
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The impacts of cloud radiative heating on East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) over the southeastern China (105°-125°E, 20°-35°N) are explained by using the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5). Sensitivity experiments demonstrate that the radiative heating of clouds leads to a positive effect on the local EASM circulation over southeastern China. Without the radiative heating of cloud, the EASM circulation and precipitation would be much weaker than that in the normal condition. The longwave heating of clouds dominates the changes of EASM circulation. The positive effect of clouds on EASM circulation is explained by the thermodynamic energy equation, i.e. the different heating rate between cloud base and cloud top enhances the convective instability over southeastern China, which enhances updraft consequently. The strong updraft would further result in a southward meridional wind above the center of the updraft through Sverdrup vorticity balance.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1221466
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-110320; KP1703020
Journal Information:
Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 10, Issue 7; ISSN 1748-9326
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 18 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Modulations of rising motion and moisture on summer precipitation over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river journal May 2018

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
EASM
cloud radiative heating
numerical experiments