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Marine Boundary Layer Decoupling and the Stable Isotopic Composition of Water Vapor

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021jd035470· OSTI ID:1844562
 [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Decoupling of the subcloud layer in stratocumulus-topped marine boundary layers (STMBL) influences low-cloud cover by limiting the supply of water vapor from the surface. However, the relative importance of mixing between surface fluxes and other reservoirs of water vapor as a function of the degree of decoupling is poorly understood. Water vapor transport within the STMBL and its response to decoupling is explored using surface measurements of water vapor isotopic composition that were obtained from Graciosa Island, Azores, during the summer and fall of 2018. The data show an inverse relationship between the decoupling metric, Δq, and the degree of drying from an isotopically depleted water vapor source. The isotopic data require some degree of drying with an isotopically depleted source for coupled conditions, and likely require a small amount of mixing even for strongly decoupled conditions. The data are consistent with mixing between purely local reservoirs of water vapor, subjected to a small amount of condensation and fractionation, and do not require the invocation of large-scale transport of water vapor aloft or additional cloud-formation effects aloft.
Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704
OSTI ID:
1844562
Report Number(s):
BNL-222690-2022-JAAM
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 127; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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