Evaluating Simulated Clouds in the Tropical Tropopause Layer using Lidar Observations from Space

The tropical tropopause layer (TTL) is the transition layer between the tropical troposphere and the stratosphere. The TTL is a critical region for understanding stratosphere-troposphere exchange and TTL clouds are of great importance for climate. It is thus important to simulate the clouds in the TTL correctly. In this study, we will evaluate simulations of clouds in the TTL in the latest version of the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model. We compare the simulated spatial distributions and optical properties in the TTL with CALIPSO satellite lidar observations. Comparisons are performed utilizing a satellite simulator to output lidar properties from the simulations. Differences and challenges with this approach relative to traditional comparisons are discussed.