A decadal climatology of cloud vertical structure over the Indo-Gangetic Plain using radiosonde and radar observations

Sharma, Saloni; Dass, Avinash; Mishra, Amit Kumar; Singh, Sachchidanand; Kumar, Krishan

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2021.105949

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…The occurrence frequencies of CBHs are nearly zero above the tropopause. The frequency of cloud bases between 1 and 3 km in East Asia is roughly larger than that over North America and Europe, which is consistent with previous studies (e.g., Zhang et al, 2013;Zhou et al, 2021;Sharma et al, 2022). The possible reason is that the air pollution issue in China is more severe.…”

Section: Near-global Vertical Distribution Of Cvssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…While unimodal distribution is at East Asia, peaking at about 3 km, namely fewer clouds occur in the boundary layer compared to the result of global mean. This is attributed to more serious air pollution issue in East Asia compared to North America and Europe, resulting in higher occurrence frequencies of convective clouds at high altitudes (Liu et al, 2020;Sharma et al, 2022). This result is consistent with Xu et al (2021a).…”

Section: Near-global Vertical Distribution Of Cvsmentioning

confidence: 54%

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Characterizing the near-global cloud vertical structures over land using high-resolution radiosonde measurements

Guo

Bing

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Abstract. Cloud remains one of the largest uncertainties in weather and climate research due to the lack of fine-resolution observations of cloud vertical structure (CVS) on large scale. In this research, near-global CVS is characterized by high-vertical-resolution twice daily radiosonde observations from 374 stations over land. It is found that the cloud base heights (CBHs) from the radiosondes have a higher correlation coefficient (R = 0.91) with the millimeter wavelength cloud radar than that with the ERA5 reanalysis (R = 0.49). Overall, cloudy skies occur 65.3 % (69.5 %) of the time, of which 55.4 % (53.8 %) are one-layer clouds at 0000 (1200) UTC. Most multi-layer clouds are two-layer clouds, accounting for 62.2 % (61.1 %) among multi-layer clouds for 0000 (1200) UTC. Geographically, one-layer clouds tend to occur over arid regions, whereas two-layer clouds do not show any clear spatial preference. The cloud bases and tops over arid regions are higher compared with humid regions albeit with smaller cloud thickness (CT). Clouds tend to have lower bases and thinner layer thicknesses as the number of cloud layer increases. The global mean CT, CBH, and cloud top height (CTH) are 4.89 ± 1.36 (5.37 ± 1.58), 3.15 ± 1.15 (3.07 ± 1.06), and 8.04 ± 1.60 (8.44 ± 1.52) km above ground level (AGL) at 0000 (1200) UTC, respectively. The occurrence frequency of clouds is bimodal with lower peaks between 0.5 and 3 km AGL and upper peaks between 6 and 10 km AGL. The CBH, CTH and CT undergo almost the same seasonality that their magnitudes are greater in the boreal summer than in the winter. As expected, the occurrence frequencies of clouds exhibit pronounced diurnal cycles in different seasons. In boreal summer, clouds tend to form as sun rises and the occurrence frequencies increase from morning to later afternoon, with the peak in the early afternoon at altitudes 6–12 km; while in boreal winter, clouds have peak occurrence frequencies in the morning. The relations between surface meteorological variables and moisture with CBH are investigated as well, showing that CBH are generally more significantly correlated with 2 m RH (RH2m) and 2 m T (T2m) than with surface pressure and 10 m wind speed. Larger T2m and smaller RH2m always correspond to higher CBH. In most cases CBHs are negatively correlated to soil water content. The near-global CVS obtained from high-vertical-resolution radiosonde in this study can provide key data support for improving the accuracy of cloud radiative forcing simulation in climate models.

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Section: Near-global Vertical Distribution Of Cvssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Near-global Vertical Distribution Of Cvsmentioning

confidence: 54%

Characterizing the near-global cloud vertical structures over land using high-resolution radiosonde measurements

Guo

Bing

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…In eastern IGP, during the warm season, the maximum CTH exceeds 10 km. Sharma et al (2022) suggested that during the monsoon season, there is su cient moisture to support cloud formation, and the increase in aerosols further enhances the development of convective clouds and raises cloud top heights. In SCB, the CTH is approximately 7 km during the warm season and around 5 km during the cold season, with the warm season CTH slightly higher than that in the cold season.…”

Section: Meteorologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerosol influence on cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties over the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions

Wei,

Zhao,

Wang

et al. 2024

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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This study uses aerosol optical depth (AOD) and cloud properties data to investigate the in uence of aerosol on the cloud properties over the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions. The study regions are divided as the western part of the Tibetan Plateau (WTP), the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), and the Sichuan Basin (SCB). All three regions show signi cant cloud effects under low aerosol loading conditions. In WTP, under low aerosol loading conditions, the effective radius of liquid cloud particles (LREF) decreases with the increase of aerosol loading, while the effective radius of ice cloud particles (IREF) and cloud top height (CTH) increase during the cold season. Increased aerosol loading might inhibit the development of warm rain processes, transporting more cloud droplets above the freezing level and promoting ice cloud development. During the warm season, under low aerosol loading conditions, both the cloud microphysical (LREF and IREF) and macrophysical (cloud top height and cloud fraction) properties increase with the increase of aerosol loading, likely due to higher dust aerosol concentration in this region. In IGP, both LREF and IREF increase with the increase in aerosol loading during the cold season. In SCB, LREF increases with the increase in aerosol loading, while IREF decreases, possibly due to the higher hygroscopic aerosol concentration in the SCB during the cold season. Meteorological conditions also modulate the aerosol-cloud interaction. Under different convective available potential energy (CAPE) and relative humidity (RH) conditions, the in uence of aerosol on clouds varies in the three regions. Under low CAPE and RH conditions, the relationship between LREF and aerosol in both the cold and warm seasons is opposite in the WTP: LREF decreases with the increase of aerosol in the cold season, while it increases in the warm season. This discrepancy may be attributed to a difference in the moisture condition between the cold and warm seasons in this region.

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“…Analysis of CVS over the Indian Gangetic Plain based on radiosonde and satellite data indicates a significant increase in the frequency of multi-layer clouds during the monsoon season. Additionally, although aerosol-induced heating suppresses the formation of convective clouds over urban clusters, aerosols can trigger convective cloud formation when there is sufficient moisture to form cloud layers [11]. However, radio sounding typically occurs only twice a day, with lower temporal resolution compared to satellites and radars.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cloud Characteristics in South China Using Ka-Band Millimeter Cloud Radar Datasets

Li,

Mao,

et al. 2024

Atmosphere

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In this study, we investigate the seasonal and diurnal variations in cloud occurrence frequency, as well as cloud vertical structure (CVS) characteristics under different seasons and precipitation intensities over the Guangzhou region in South China, based on the analysis of millimeter-wave cloud radar (MMCR) and ground automatic weather station rainfall observations from May 2019 to August 2021. The results showed that the occurrence frequency of clouds exhibits a bimodal distribution throughout the year, with peaks in March to June and October, reaching its highest occurrence in May at approximately 80% and its lowest from December to February at around 40%. Additionally, there are distinct diurnal variations in occurrence frequency, with the lowest rates occurring around 0005 LST, rapidly increasing after 0006 LST, and peaking during the afternoon to evening hours. Cloud top height (CTH) shows bimodal distributions during the pre-flood and post-flood seasons. The most frequently occurring range of CTH during the pre-flood season is below 3 km, accounting for approximately 43%, while during the post-flood season, it ranges from 11 to 14 km, constituting about 37%. For precipitation clouds, CTH can extend beyond 12 km, with the radar reflectivity decreasing gradually with increasing height. The highest frequencies of radar echoes are observed below 2 km and between 4 and 7 km, exhibiting clear diurnal variations, with echoes mainly below 2 km and between 4 to 6 km during the early morning, intensifying and shifting to higher altitudes during the day and reaching their maximum below 4 km during the afternoon to nighttime hours, while both the frequency and intensity increase in the height range of 4 to 12 km. Vertical profiles of radar reflectivity and cloud ice/liquid water content (IWC/LWC) exhibit similar trends under different precipitation intensities. The main differences are observed below 4 km, where both radar reflectivity and IWC/LWC generally increase with increasing precipitation intensity. These findings contribute to a better understanding of cloud characteristics in the South China region, enhance the accuracy of model simulations, and provide a scientific basis for accurate forecasting and warning of meteorological disasters.

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A decadal climatology of cloud vertical structure over the Indo-Gangetic Plain using radiosonde and radar observations

Cited by 8 publications

References 73 publications

Characterizing the near-global cloud vertical structures over land using high-resolution radiosonde measurements

Characterizing the near-global cloud vertical structures over land using high-resolution radiosonde measurements

Aerosol influence on cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties over the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions

Cloud Characteristics in South China Using Ka-Band Millimeter Cloud Radar Datasets

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