Dissecting Anvil Cloud Response to Sea Surface Warming

Beydoun, Hassan; Caldwell, Peter M.; Hannah, Walter M.; Donahue, Aaron S.

doi:10.1029/2021GL094049

Title: Dissecting Anvil Cloud Response to Sea Surface Warming

Journal Article · 05 August 2021 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094049 · OSTI ID:1812236

^[1];

^[1]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Livermore CA USA

Abstract We derive an anvil cloud diagnostic from the continuity equation of cloud ice and apply it to the output of convection‐permitting Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) simulations run in radiative‐convective equilibrium mode. This diagnostic shows that anvil cloud fraction can be reliably diagnosed as a product of cloud detrainment and lifetime. Detrainment is found to be approximated well by a product of clear sky convergence and cloud ice mixing ratio, while cloud lifetime is dominated by sedimentation. Taken together, this diagnostic expresses anvil cloud fraction as a function of five physically measurable quantities. Of these, clear‐sky convergence changes drive the anvil cloud reduction with warming while an increase in cloud ice mixing ratio buffers the decrease. Accordingly, this study provides a theoretical foundation upon which the Stability‐Iris hypothesis can be tested.

View Journal Article

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1812236

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL--821315; e2021GL094049

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 48; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (30)

Cloud feedbacks on greenhouse warming in the superparameterized climate model SP‐CCSM 4 Bretherton, Christopher S.; Blossey, Peter N.; Stan, Cristiana Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 6, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014MS000355	journal	December 2014
Observational evidence against strongly stabilizing tropical cloud feedbacks Williams, Ian N.; Pierrehumbert, Raymond T. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072202	journal	February 2017
A perspective on climate model hierarchies: MODEL HIERARCHIES Jeevanjee, Nadir; Hassanzadeh, Pedram; Hill, Spencer Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 9, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/2017MS001038	journal	August 2017
A simplified PDF parameterization of subgrid-scale clouds and turbulence for cloud-resolving models: TURBULENCE SCHEME FOR CLOUD-RESOLVING MODELS Bogenschutz, Peter A.; Krueger, Steven K. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 5, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/jame.20018	journal	April 2013
Increases in moist-convective updraught velocities with warming in radiative-convective equilibrium: Increases in Updraught Velocities with Warming Singh, Martin S.; O'Gorman, Paul A. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 141, Issue 692 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2567	journal	June 2015
Convective Self-Aggregation in Numerical Simulations: A Review Wing, Allison A.; Emanuel, Kerry; Holloway, Christopher E. Surveys in Geophysics, Vol. 38, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-017-9408-4	journal	February 2017
An important constraint on tropical cloud - climate feedback: TROPICAL CLOUD-CLIMATE FEEDBACK Hartmann, Dennis L.; Larson, Kristin Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 29, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL015835	journal	October 2002
Why is longwave cloud feedback positive? Zelinka, Mark D.; Hartmann, Dennis L. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, Issue D16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD013817	journal	January 2010
Formation of Tropical Anvil Clouds by Slow Evaporation Seeley, Jacob T.; Jeevanjee, Nadir; Langhans, Wolfgang Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080747	journal	January 2019
Roles of Cloud Microphysics on Cloud Responses to Sea Surface Temperatures in Radiative-Convective Equilibrium Experiments Using a High-Resolution Global Nonhydrostatic Model Ohno, Tomoki; Satoh, Masaki Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 10, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018MS001386	journal	August 2018
The DOE E3SM Coupled Model Version 1: Overview and Evaluation at Standard Resolution Golaz, Jean‐Christophe; Caldwell, Peter M.; Van Roekel, Luke P. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 11, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1029/2018MS001603	journal	July 2019
Balancing Accuracy, Efficiency, and Flexibility in Radiation Calculations for Dynamical Models Pincus, Robert; Mlawer, Eli J.; Delamere, Jennifer S. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 11, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001621	journal	October 2019
Fine Vertical Resolution Radiative‐Convective Equilibrium Experiments: Roles of Turbulent Mixing on the High‐Cloud Response to Sea Surface Temperatures Ohno, Tomoki; Satoh, Masaki; Noda, Akira Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 11, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001704	journal	June 2019
An Energy Consistent Discretization of the Nonhydrostatic Equations in Primitive Variables Taylor, Mark A.; Guba, Oksana; Steyer, Andrew Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 12, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001783	journal	January 2020
An Assessment of Earth's Climate Sensitivity Using Multiple Lines of Evidence Sherwood, S. C.; Webb, M. J.; Annan, J. D. Reviews of Geophysics, Vol. 58, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000678	journal	September 2020
Observational Evidence for a Stability Iris Effect in the Tropics Saint‐Lu, Marion; Bony, Sandrine; Dufresne, Jean‐Louis Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 47, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089059	journal	July 2020
Clouds and Convective Self‐Aggregation in a Multimodel Ensemble of Radiative‐Convective Equilibrium Simulations Wing, Allison A.; Stauffer, Catherine L.; Becker, Tobias Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol. 12, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020MS002138	journal	September 2020
Missing iris effect as a possible cause of muted hydrological change and high climate sensitivity in models Mauritsen, Thorsten; Stevens, Bjorn Nature Geoscience, Vol. 8, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2414	journal	April 2015
Clouds, circulation and climate sensitivity Bony, Sandrine; Stevens, Bjorn; Frierson, Dargan M. W. Nature Geoscience, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2398	journal	March 2015
Thermodynamic control of anvil cloud amount Bony, Sandrine; Stevens, Bjorn; Coppin, David Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 113, Issue 32 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601472113	journal	July 2016
Insights into low-latitude cloud feedbacks from high-resolution models Bretherton, Christopher S. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 373, Issue 2054 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0415	journal	November 2015
A Performance-Portable Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Dycore for the Energy Exascale Earth System Model Running at Cloud-Resolving Resolutions. Bertagna, Luca; Guba, Oksana; Taylor, Mark A. SC20: International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis https://doi.org/10.1109/SC41405.2020.00096	conference	November 2020
Sensitivity of Tropical Convection to Sea Surface Temperature in the Absence of Large-Scale Flow Tompkins, Adrian M.; Craig, George C. Journal of Climate, Vol. 12, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012<0462:SOTCTS>2.0.CO;2	journal	February 1999
Does the Earth Have an Adaptive Infrared Iris? Lindzen, Richard S.; Chou, Ming-Dah; Hou, Arthur Y. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 82, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(2001)082<0417:DTEHAA>2.3.CO;2	journal	March 2001
The Gap between Simulation and Understanding in Climate Modeling Held, Isaac M. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 86, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-86-11-1609	journal	November 2005
Parameterization of Cloud Microphysics Based on the Prediction of Bulk Ice Particle Properties. Part I: Scheme Description and Idealized Tests Morrison, Hugh; Milbrandt, Jason A. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 72, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-14-0065.1	journal	January 2015
Response of Upper Clouds in Global Warming Experiments Obtained Using a Global Nonhydrostatic Model with Explicit Cloud Processes Satoh, Masaki; Iga, Shin-ichi; Tomita, Hirofumi Journal of Climate, Vol. 25, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00152.1	journal	March 2012
High Cloud Responses to Global Warming Simulated by Two Different Cloud Microphysics Schemes Implemented in the Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) Chen, Ying-Wen; Seiki, Tatsuya; Kodama, Chihiro Journal of Climate, Vol. 29, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0668.1	journal	August 2016
Testing the Fixed Anvil Temperature Hypothesis in a Cloud-Resolving Model Kuang, Zhiming; Hartmann, Dennis L. Journal of Climate, Vol. 20, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI4124.1	journal	May 2007
Radiative–convective equilibrium model intercomparison project Wing, Allison A.; Reed, Kevin A.; Satoh, Masaki Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 11, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-793-2018	journal	January 2018

Similar Records

A Lagrangian perspective on tropical anvil cloud lifecycle in present and future climate

Journal Article · 2021 · Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres) · OSTI ID:1782440

Gasparini, Blaz; Rasch, Philip J.; Hartmann, Dennis L.; +2 more

Aerosol effects on the anvil characteristics of mesoscale convective systems

Journal Article · 2016 · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres · OSTI ID:1402278

Saleeby, S. M.; van den Heever, S. C.; Marinescu, P. J.; +2 more

What Drives the Life Cycle of Tropical Anvil Clouds?

Journal Article · 2019 · Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems · OSTI ID:1567937

Gasparini, Blaž; Blossey, Peter N.; Hartmann, Dennis L.; +2 more

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES

Title: Dissecting Anvil Cloud Response to Sea Surface Warming

Citation Formats

References (30)

Similar Records

Related Subjects