Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Relationships between radiation, clouds, and convection during DYNAMO

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025965· OSTI ID:1438683
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [3]
  1. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States). Dept. of Atmospheric Science
  2. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Joint Inst. for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
In this paper, the relationships between radiation, clouds, and convection on an intraseasonal time scale are examined with data taken during the Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) field campaign. Specifically, column-net, as well as vertical profiles of radiative heating rates, computed over Gan Island in the central Indian Ocean (IO) are used along with an objective analysis of large-scale fields to examine three MJO events that occurred during the 3 month period (October to December 2011) over this region. Longwave (LW) and shortwave radiative heating rates exhibit tilted structures, reflecting radiative effects associated with the prevalence of shallow cumulus during the dry, suppressed MJO phase followed by increasing deep convection leading into the active phase. As the convection builds going into the MJO active phase, there are increasingly top-heavy anomalous radiative heating rates while the column-net radiative cooling rate Qr progressively decreases. Temporal fluctuations in the cloud radiative forcing, being quite sensitive to changes in high cloudiness, are dominated by LW effects with an intraseasonal variation of ~0.4–0.6 K/d. While both the water vapor and cloud fields are inextricably linked, it appears that the tilted radiative structures are more related to water vapor effects. The intraseasonal variation of column-net radiative heating Qr enhances the convective signal in the mean by ~20% with a minimum in this enhancement ~10 days prior to peak MJO rainfall and maximum ~7 days after. Finally, this suggests that as MJO convective envelope weakens over the central IO, cloud-radiative feedbacks help maintain the mature MJO as it moves eastward.
Research Organization:
Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (United States); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (United States); National Science Foundation (NSF) (United States); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; SC0008582
OSTI ID:
1438683
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1377928
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--735094
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 122; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (76)

The role of tilted heating in the evolution of the MJO: Tilted Heating MJO paper journal March 2014
Radar observations of MJO and Kelvin wave interactions during DYNAMO/CINDY2011/AMIE: MJO and Kelvin Wave Interactions journal June 2014
Physical mechanisms controlling self-aggregation of convection in idealized numerical modeling simulations: SELF-AGGREGATION MECHANISMS journal February 2014
Vertical structure and physical processes of the Madden-Julian oscillation: Exploring key model physics in climate simulations: KEY PHYSICS IN MODELING THE MJO journal May 2015
Effect of dry large-scale vertical motions on initial MJO convective onset: LARGE-SCALE VERTICAL MOTIONS & MJO ONSET journal May 2015
Atmosphere‐ocean coupled processes in the Madden‐Julian oscillation journal November 2015
Cloud-radiative driving of the Madden-Julian oscillation as seen by the A-Train: CLOUD-RADIATIVE DRIVING OF THE MJO journal June 2015
The effect of atmospheric radiative heating by clouds on the Madden-Julian Oscillation: CLOUD-RADIATIVE EFFECTS ON THE MJO journal June 2015
Global-scale convective aggregation: Implications for the Madden-Julian Oscillation: GLOBAL-SCALE CONVECTIVE AGGREGATION journal October 2015
The sensitivity of convective aggregation to diabatic processes in idealized radiative‐convective equilibrium simulations journal January 2016
Physical mechanisms controlling the initiation of convective self-aggregation in a General Circulation Model: MECHANISMS OF INITIATION OF AGGREGATION journal December 2015
Time scales of shallow‐to‐deep convective transition associated with the onset of Madden‐Julian Oscillations journal March 2016
Vertically resolved weak temperature gradient analysis of the Madden-Julian Oscillation in SP-CESM: WTG ANALYSIS OF THE MJO IN SP-CESM journal October 2016
Cracking the MJO nut: ZHANG ET AL.: CRACKING THE MJO NUT journal March 2013
Impacts of Cumulus Convection on Thermodynamic Fields book January 1993
Potential vorticity aspects of the MJO journal December 2006
The mesoscale convection life cycle: Building block or prototype for large-scale tropical waves? journal December 2006
Influence of cloud-radiation interaction on simulating tropical intraseasonal oscillation with an atmospheric general circulation model journal July 2001
Developing long-term single-column model/cloud system–resolving model forcing data using numerical weather prediction products constrained by surface and top of the atmosphere observations journal January 2004
Cloud properties and associated radiative heating rates in the tropical western Pacific journal January 2007
Modulation of radiative heating by the Madden-Julian Oscillation and convectively coupled Kelvin waves as observed by CloudSat: MJO/KW RADIATIVE ANOMALY USING CLOUDSAT journal November 2011
Impact of imposed drying on deep convection in a cloud-resolving model: IMPACT OF DRYING ON DEEP CONVECTION journal January 2012
Observations of the Earth's Radiation Budget in relation to atmospheric hydrology: 4. Atmospheric column radiative cooling over the world's oceans journal January 1994
The Effect of Cloud Type on Earth's Energy Balance: Global Analysis journal November 1992
Climatological Characterization of Three-Dimensional Storm Structure from Operational Radar and Rain Gauge Data journal September 1995
Description of Global-Scale Circulation Cells in the Tropics with a 40–50 Day Period journal September 1972
Determination of Bulk Properties of Tropical Cloud Clusters from Large-Scale Heat and Moisture Budgets journal May 1973
An Air-Sea Interaction Model of Intraseasonal Oscillations in the Tropics journal August 1987
Heating Rates in Tropical Anvils journal May 1988
On the Correlated k -Distribution Method for Radiative Transfer in Nonhomogeneous Atmospheres journal November 1992
Low-Frequency Oscillations in Radiative-Convective Systems journal April 1994
Interactions of Radiation and Convection in Simulated Tropical Cloud Clusters journal May 1995
Heating, Moistening, and Rainfall over the Western Pacific Warm Pool during TOGA COARE journal November 1996
Constrained Variational Analysis of Sounding Data Based on Column-Integrated Budgets of Mass, Heat, Moisture, and Momentum: Approach and Application to ARM Measurements journal June 1997
Episodic Trade Wind Regimes over the Western Pacific Warm Pool journal August 1997
The Feedback between Equatorial Convection and Local Radiative and Evaporative Processes: The Implications for Intraseasonal Oscillations journal October 1997
Estimating the Gross Moist Stability of the Tropical Atmosphere* journal April 1998
Rainfall and Radiative Heating Rates from TOGA COARE Atmospheric Budgets journal May 2000
The Madden–Julian Oscillation Observed during the TOGA COARE IOP: Global View journal August 2000
A New Model of the Madden–Julian Oscillation journal September 2001
Stratiform Precipitation, Vertical Heating Profiles, and the Madden–Julian Oscillation journal February 2004
The Tropical Dynamical Response to Latent Heating Estimates Derived from the TRMM Precipitation Radar journal June 2004
Radiation Budget of the Tropical Intraseasonal Oscillation journal August 2004
Tropical Upper-Tropospheric Extended Clouds: Inferences from Winter MONEX journal July 1980
Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES): An Earth Observing System Experiment journal May 1996
Heat and Moisture Budget Analyses Using BOMEX Data journal January 1974
Objective Analysis of ARM IOP Data: Method and Sensitivity journal February 2001
A Model for Scale Interaction in the Madden–Julian Oscillation * journal November 2011
A Systematic Relationship between Intraseasonal Variability and Mean State Bias in AGCM Simulations journal November 2011
Vertical Diabatic Heating Structure of the MJO: Intercomparison between Recent Reanalyses and TRMM Estimates journal October 2011
Madden–Julian Oscillation: Bridging Weather and Climate journal December 2013
Tracking Pulses of the Madden–Julian Oscillation journal December 2013
An Idealized Semi-Empirical Framework for Modeling the Madden–Julian Oscillation journal May 2012
Moisture Modes and the Eastward Propagation of the MJO journal January 2013
Observations of Temperature, Wind, Cirrus, and Trace Gases in the Tropical Tropopause Transition Layer during the MJO* journal March 2014
Convective Characteristics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation over the Central Indian Ocean Observed by Shipborne Radar during DYNAMO journal August 2014
Structure and Properties of Madden–Julian Oscillations Deduced from DYNAMO Sounding Arrays journal October 2013
Moist Static Energy Budget of the MJO during DYNAMO journal November 2014
Sounding-Based Thermodynamic Budgets for DYNAMO journal February 2015
Diurnally Modulated Cumulus Moistening in the Preonset Stage of the Madden–Julian Oscillation during DYNAMO* journal April 2015
Evolution, Properties, and Spatial Variability of MJO Convection near and off the Equator during DYNAMO journal November 2015
The MJO as a Dispersive, Convectively Coupled Moisture Wave: Theory and Observations journal March 2016
Updraft Buoyancy within and Moistening by Cumulonimbi prior to MJO Convective Onset in a Regional Model journal July 2016
Zonal and Vertical Structure of the Madden–Julian Oscillation journal August 2005
MERRA: NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications journal July 2011
Moist Static Energy Budget of MJO-like Disturbances in the Atmosphere of a Zonally Symmetric Aquaplanet journal April 2012
The MJO Transition from Shallow to Deep Convection in CloudSat /CALIPSO Data and GISS GCM Simulations journal June 2012
Enhanced MJO-like Variability at High SST journal February 2013
MJO and Convectively Coupled Equatorial Waves Simulated by CMIP5 Climate Models journal September 2013
Role of Longwave Cloud–Radiation Feedback in the Simulation of the Madden–Julian Oscillation journal September 2015
The TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA): Quasi-Global, Multiyear, Combined-Sensor Precipitation Estimates at Fine Scales journal February 2007
Constructing a Merged Cloud–Precipitation Radar Dataset for Tropical Convective Clouds during the DYNAMO/AMIE Experiment at Addu Atoll journal May 2014
Quality-Controlled Upper-Air Sounding Dataset for DYNAMO/CINDY/AMIE: Development and Corrections journal April 2014
Rainfall-Type Categorization of Radar Echoes Using Polar Coordinate Reflectivity Data journal March 2016
Large-Scale Atmospheric and Oceanic Conditions during the 2011–12 DYNAMO Field Campaign journal December 2013
Equatorial Dry Air Intrusion and Related Synoptic Variability in MJO Initiation during DYNAMO journal March 2014

Cited By (5)

Shallow Circulations: Relevance and Strategies for Satellite Observation book January 2018
A Survey of Precipitation-Induced Atmospheric Cold Pools over Oceans and Their Interactions with the Larger-Scale Environment book January 2017
Shallow Circulations: Relevance and Strategies for Satellite Observation journal November 2017
A Survey of Precipitation-Induced Atmospheric Cold Pools over Oceans and Their Interactions with the Larger-Scale Environment journal November 2017
The Two Diurnal Modes of Tropical Upward Motion journal March 2019

Similar Records

Cloud Radiative Effects on MJO Development in DYNAMO
Journal Article · Thu Oct 13 20:00:00 EDT 2022 · Journal of Climate · OSTI ID:1892496
The Diurnal and Microphysical Characteristics of MJO Rain Events during DYNAMO
Journal Article · Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences · OSTI ID:1567196

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
DYNAMO
MJO
clouds
convection
radiation