Cloud Classes and Radiative Heating profiles at the Manus and Nauru Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Sites
The Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) is a convective regime; however, the frequency and depth of convection is dependant on dynamical forcing which exhibits variability on a range of temporal scales and also on location within the region. Manus Island, Papua New Guinea lies in the heart of the western Pacific warm pool region and exhibits frequent deep convection much of the time while Nauru, which lies approximately 20 degrees to the East of Manus, lies in a transition zone where the frequency of convection is dependent on the phase of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation. Because of this difference in dynamical regime, the distribution of clouds and the associated radiative heating is quite different at the two sites. Individual cloud types: boundary layer cumulus, thin cirrus, stratiform convective outflow, do occur at both sites – but with different frequencies. In this study we compare cloud profiles and heating profiles for specific cloud types at these two sites using data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF). Results of this comparison indicate that, while the frequency of specific cloud types differ between the two sites as one would expect, the characteristics of individual cloud classes are remarkably similar. This information could prove to be very useful for applying tropical ARM data to the broader region.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 965997
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-63440; KP1704010; TRN: US200921%%473
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. D. (Atmospheres), 114:Art. No. D19204, Vol. 114
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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