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Title: Thermodynamic and Radiative Structure of Stratocumulus-Topped Boundary Layers*

Journal Article · · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  2. Rutgers, The State Univ. of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ (United States)
  3. Univ. of Miami, Miami, FL (United States)
  4. NOAA/Earth System Research Lab., Boulder, CO (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Stratocumulus Topped Boundary Layers (STBL) observed in three different regions with distinctive environments are described in the context of their thermodynamic and radiative properties. Here, the primary data set consisted of 131 soundings from the South East Pacific (SEP), 90 soundings from the island of Graciosa (GRW) in the North Atlantic and 83 soundings from the US Southern Great Plains (SGP). A new technique that preserves the depths of the sub-layers within a STBL is proposed for averaging the profiles of thermodynamic and radiative variables. The STBL was deepest over SEP and had the strongest radiative cooling rates near cloud top among the three locations. Although the radiative cooling rates were comparable over GRW and SGP, the STBL was deeper over GRW compared to that over SGP. On average the STBL inversion was strongest over SEP (11.7 k and -5.43 g kg-1) and weakest over the SGP (6.89 k and -0.41 g kg-1). Significantly larger liquid water path, integrated water vapor, and variability in these two properties was found over GRW and evidence presented suggests that conditions at cloud top may play a lesser role in determining the resident cloud structure over GRW than over SEP. A modal analysis revealed ~26% of the STBL to be well-mixed, ~20% of STBL to be stable and ~30% STBL having a stable layer in-between a surface mixed layer and the cloud layer. Over all the three locations, the STBL was shallowest in well-mixed mode and deepest in the stable mode.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; FG02-08ER64531; SC0008584
OSTI ID:
1396177
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1329813
Journal Information:
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 72, Issue 1; ISSN 0022-4928
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 20 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Drizzle and Turbulence Below Closed Cellular Marine Stratocumulus Clouds journal June 2019
Estimates of entrainment in closed cellular marine stratocumulus clouds from the MAGIC field campaign
  • Ghate, Virendra P.; Mechem, David B.; Cadeddu, Maria P.
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 145, Issue 721 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3514
journal March 2019
A long-term study of aerosol–cloud interactions and their radiative effect at the Southern Great Plains using ground-based measurements journal January 2016

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
clouds
radiation
thermodynamics
stratocumulus
climate
cumulus clouds
radiative fluxes