Subcloud and Cloud-Base Latent Heat Fluxes during Shallow Cumulus Convection

Lareau, Neil P.

doi:10.1175/JAS-D-19-0122.1

Title: Subcloud and Cloud-Base Latent Heat Fluxes during Shallow Cumulus Convection

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Abstract

Doppler and Raman lidar observations of vertical velocity and water vapor mixing ratio are used to probe the physics and statistics of subcloud and cloud-base latent heat fluxes during cumulus convection at the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma, United States. The statistical results show that latent heat fluxes increase with height from the surface up to ~0.8 Z _i (where Z _i is the convective boundary layer depth) and then decrease to ~0 at Z _i . Peak fluxes aloft exceeding 500 W m ⁻² are associated with periods of increased cumulus cloud cover and stronger jumps in the mean humidity profile. These entrainment fluxes are much larger than the surface fluxes, indicating substantial drying over the 0–0.8 Z _i layer accompanied by moistening aloft as the CBL deepens over the diurnal cycle. We also show that the boundary layer humidity budget is approximately closed by computing the flux divergence across the 0–0.8 Z _i layer. Composite subcloud velocity and water vapor anomalies show that clouds are linked to coherent updraft and moisture plumes. The moisture anomaly is Gaussian, most pronounced above 0.8 Z _i and systematically wider than the velocity anomaly, which has a narrow centralmore »« less

Authors:

Lareau, Neil P. ^[1]

Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada

Publication Date:: 2020-03-01

Research Org.:: Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

OSTI Identifier:: 1602899

Alternate Identifier(s):: OSTI ID: 1803576

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0019124

Resource Type:: Published Article

Journal Name:: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Name: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences Journal Volume: 77 Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0022-4928

Publisher:: American Meteorological Society

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences; Atmosphere; Boundary layer; Cumulus clouds; Fluxes; Moisture/moisture budget; Lidars/Lidar observations

Citation Formats


                    Lareau, Neil P. Subcloud and Cloud-Base Latent Heat Fluxes during Shallow Cumulus Convection.  United States: N. p., 2020. 
Web.  doi:10.1175/JAS-D-19-0122.1.

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                    Lareau, Neil P. Subcloud and Cloud-Base Latent Heat Fluxes during Shallow Cumulus Convection.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-19-0122.1

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                    Lareau, Neil P. Sun .  
"Subcloud and Cloud-Base Latent Heat Fluxes during Shallow Cumulus Convection".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-19-0122.1.

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@article{osti_1602899,

  title        = {Subcloud and Cloud-Base Latent Heat Fluxes during Shallow Cumulus Convection},

  author       = {Lareau, Neil P.},

  abstractNote = {Doppler and Raman lidar observations of vertical velocity and water vapor mixing ratio are used to probe the physics and statistics of subcloud and cloud-base latent heat fluxes during cumulus convection at the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma, United States. The statistical results show that latent heat fluxes increase with height from the surface up to ~0.8 Z i (where Z i is the convective boundary layer depth) and then decrease to ~0 at Z i . Peak fluxes aloft exceeding 500 W m −2 are associated with periods of increased cumulus cloud cover and stronger jumps in the mean humidity profile. These entrainment fluxes are much larger than the surface fluxes, indicating substantial drying over the 0–0.8 Z i layer accompanied by moistening aloft as the CBL deepens over the diurnal cycle. We also show that the boundary layer humidity budget is approximately closed by computing the flux divergence across the 0–0.8 Z i layer. Composite subcloud velocity and water vapor anomalies show that clouds are linked to coherent updraft and moisture plumes. The moisture anomaly is Gaussian, most pronounced above 0.8 Z i and systematically wider than the velocity anomaly, which has a narrow central updraft flanked by downdrafts. This size and shape disparity results in downdrafts characterized by a high water vapor mixing ratio and thus a broad joint probability density function (JPDF) of velocity and mixing ratio in the upper CBL. We also show that cloud-base latent heat fluxes can be both positive and negative and that the instantaneous positive fluxes can be very large (~10 000 W m −2 ). However, since cloud fraction tends to be small, the net impact of these fluxes remains modest.},

  doi          = {10.1175/JAS-D-19-0122.1},

  journal      = {Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences},

  number       = 3,

  volume       = 77,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2020},

  month        = {3}

}

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