Statistics of Cloud properties over four oceanic stratocumulus regions as a function of cloud fraction, cloud type and sea surface temperature: Large-scale signatures of turbulent cloud mixing

Probability distribution functions (PDFs) and statistical moments of cloud properties are relevant for cloud-climate radiative interactions. We present PDFs and statistical moments of MODIS observed liquid water path, cloud optical thickness, and cloud effective radius as a function of cloud fraction, and AMSR-E observed sea surface temperature over 4 areas with frequent stratocumulus decks and transitions towards higher cloud regimes. We also compare the liquid water paths from MODIS to AMSR-E over the time period between Sep 2002 and Aug 2008. The comparison focuses on the possible large-scale signatures of turbulent regimes. Such comparisons are of interest for understanding uncertainties in the statistics obtained with different remote sensing techniques, and for the parameterizations of global circulation models. Funding for this work has been provided by NASA through the NASA Energy and Water cycle Studies (NEWS), Measures, and the ACCESS program. This paper was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Copyright 2009 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.