Seasonal and Interannual Variation Characteristics of Low-Cloud Fraction in Different North Pacific Regions

Wang, Qian; Xu, Haiming; Zhang, Leying; Deng, Jiechun

doi:10.3390/atmos10030126

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…However, the distribution of Sc clouds is opposite to the distribution of EIS in the spring Kuroshio SST front, indicating that EIS is not what determines the amount of clouds in the Kuroshio SST front. The amount of clouds is affected by the enhanced heat release from the ocean (Miyamoto et al, 2018; Wang et al, ). In fact, there is a local maximum (minimum) of SHF in the warm (cold) side of the SST front, which is generally consistent with the local maximum (minimum) of the cloud amount (Figure c).…”

Section: Characteristics and Formation Mechanisms Of Sc Clouds Over Cold And Warm Sea Surfacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratocumulus in the Cold and Warm Sides of the Spring Kuroshio Sea Surface Temperature Front in the East China Sea

Zhang

Song

2020

JGR Atmospheres

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The characteristics and formation mechanisms of stratocumulus (Sc) clouds were investigated in this study based on satellite and sounding data from March and April 2007-2010. The effects of the intensity of the Kuroshio sea surface temperature (SST) front on the amount and height of Sc clouds were also assessed by composite analysis. Sc clouds mainly occurred lower than 3 km as single-layer clouds, and there was a larger amount of clouds in the warm side than in the cold side of the Kuroshio area. This difference occurred because the Kuroshio SST front produced different dynamics and thermal structures in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) of the warm and cold sides. Both the strong local sensible heat flux forced by strong northwesterly winds and the large relative humidity in the PBL favored the formation of Sc clouds in the warm side. In the cold side, both the strong temperature inversion caused by downdrafts and the PBL top height hindered cloud development, similar to the cloud formation conditions in the subtropical oceans near California. Furthermore, the amount and height of clouds were influenced by the Kuroshio SST front intensity. In the warm side, more abundant clouds and a higher cloud height were associated with a strong SST front background than with a weak SST front background.

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Section: Characteristics and Formation Mechanisms Of Sc Clouds Over Cold And Warm Sea Surfacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratocumulus in the Cold and Warm Sides of the Spring Kuroshio Sea Surface Temperature Front in the East China Sea

Zhang

Song

2020

JGR Atmospheres

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“…Ship and satellite observations found abundant Sc clouds over subtropical ocean regions near California, with cold SSTs (Iacobellis & Cayan, 2013; Klein & Hartmann, 1993; Norris, 1998), while little is known about Sc clouds over the ECS, with warm SSTs. Low clouds and PBL structures have been studied under different wind directions over other SSTF regions, such as the Agulhas SSTF region and Kuroshio extension (Miyamoto et al, 2018; Tokinaga et al, 2009; Wang et al, 2019), but they remain unclear over the ECS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spring Planetary Boundary Layer Structure and Corresponding Cloud Characteristics Under Different Prevailing Wind Directions Over the Kuroshio Sea Surface Temperature Front in the East China Sea

Zhang

2020

JGR Atmospheres

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The planetary boundary layer (PBL) structure and corresponding stratocumulus (Sc) clouds under different prevailing wind directions over the East China Sea were studied using CloudSat and sounding observations from March-April 2007-2017. The dominant factors affecting the PBL structure and atmospheric response mechanism associated with the Kuroshio sea surface temperature front (SSTF) differed under the three prevailing wind directions. When northeasterly (NE) wind prevails, the opposite spatially high-pass-filtered meteorological parameters between the warm tongue and cold pool indicate that the PBL structure is predominantly determined by the SSTF via the sea level pressure adjustment mechanism. However, when northwesterly (NW) and southeasterly (SE) winds prevail, a downward kinetic energy tongue extends from the free atmosphere to the sea surface, indicating that the dynamic PBL structure is predominantly controlled by atmospheric circulation. The (minor) difference in relative humidity between the cold and warm sides indicates that the thermodynamic PBL structure is dominated by the SSTF through the vertical mixing mechanism (by atmospheric circulation) under NW (SE) prevailing wind. Completely different PBL structures lead to different temperature inversion (TI) and Sc cloud characteristics under the three prevailing wind directions. TI mainly occurs as low tropospheric inversion over the warm tongue, while the frequency of near-surface inversion is large over the cold pool under NE and SE prevailing wind directions. The Sc cloud fraction over the warm tongue is two times larger than that over the cold pool under NE prevailing wind and is the largest (smallest) when NW (SE) wind prevails.

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“…Atmospheric optics is represented by the analysis carried out by Zhang et al [8], where aerosol optical depth evolution was investigated together with the determination of the volume size distribution. In this issue, the paper by Wang et al [9] presents the seasonal and interannual variation of low-cloud fraction and some of its meteorological controlling factors such as the estimated inversion strength and sea surface temperature by means of a long-term database.…”

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confidence: 99%

Lower Atmosphere Meteorology

García¹,

Pérez²

2019

Atmosphere

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Seasonal and Interannual Variation Characteristics of Low-Cloud Fraction in Different North Pacific Regions

Cited by 3 publications

References 54 publications

Stratocumulus in the Cold and Warm Sides of the Spring Kuroshio Sea Surface Temperature Front in the East China Sea

Stratocumulus in the Cold and Warm Sides of the Spring Kuroshio Sea Surface Temperature Front in the East China Sea

Spring Planetary Boundary Layer Structure and Corresponding Cloud Characteristics Under Different Prevailing Wind Directions Over the Kuroshio Sea Surface Temperature Front in the East China Sea

Lower Atmosphere Meteorology

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