Observational Boundary Layer Moisture and Energy Budgets of the Marine Stratocumulus-to-Cumulus Transition

We estimate boundary layer budgets of moisture and thermodynamic energy along a Northeast Pacific transect, which includes the transition from marine stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds. We use observational data from CloudSat, CALIPSO, and AMSR-E. These are unique observations providing the first global-scale observations of light precipitation and new vertically-resolved radiation budget products derived from the active sensors. In addition to the observations we utilize ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis fields to estimate budgets in the monthly mean. We discuss uncertainties in the budget components, and examine the correspondence of seasonal and diurnal changes in the monthly budgets to the observed low cloud fraction.