Mean and Variability of Vertical Structure of Cloud Liquid and Ice Water: Observations from CloudSat and Comparisons with GCMs

The pathway of water through the atmosphere involves evaporation from the surface, horizontal transport mainly as vapor, condensation into, and evaporation from, clouds, and precipitation out of the column that can involve additional phase changes to the hydrometeors. Characterization of the cloud component of this pathway has been difficult due to the sparseness of in-situ observations, the poorly penetrating capabilities of visible and infrared satellite observations, and the coarse vertical resolving power of contemporary passive microwave satellite observations. With the launch of Cloudsat, and thus the availability of spaceborne radar observations of clouds, there are altogether new opportunities to examine the vertical structure of clouds, including their phase and precipitating characteristics. In this presentation, we present characterizations of the vertical structure of clouds, including the distinction between liquid and water clouds, as well as an indication of how these characterizations change under precipitating vs non-precipitating conditions. The presentations will be made in the context of climatology as well as an example of variability that is associated with the Asian summer monsoon. The presentation will also briefly highlight GCM performance of some of these characteristics and mention the cautions to be considered in drawing conclusions from the data, the models, and the model-data comparisons.