Atmospheric Water-Cycle Regimes and Cloud Regimes
Abstract
The relationship between the atmospheric water vapor budget and cloud properties is investigated by collocated reanalysis fields from Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) and the observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite instrument. Intensities of surface water exchange (precipitation minus evaporation) are analyzed in the space of 'dynamical regimes', which are defined by combination of large-scale water vapor advection and convergence calculated from the MERRA. The atmospheric water vapor sinks associated with mid-latitude storm systems and precipitation in the west coast of United States are mainly driven by the large-scale dynamical advection, while those associated with tropical deep convection and summertime monsoons are mainly driven by water vapor convergence. Subtropical subsidence area over the eastern ocean basins is dominated by strong water vapor divergence. These dynamical regimes are then connected to the collocated MODIS cloud top pressure and cloud optical thickness. Probability density distributions of these MODIS cloud properties associated with each dynamical regime will be presented.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.A53I..06W
- Keywords:
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- 3354 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES Precipitation;
- 3314 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES Convective processes;
- 3310 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES Clouds and cloud feedbacks;
- 3319 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES General circulation