Tropical Continents Rainier Than Expected From Geometrical Constraints

Abstract

The 40-year long precipitation record of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP;Adler et al., 2016) indicates that it rains in mean 3 mm day −1 over tropical land areas and 3 mm day −1 over tropical oceanic areas, giving the impression that precipitation amounts are not altered by the presence of land. This may appear surprising as the land, in contrast to the ocean, cannot tap into an unlimited reservoir of water molecules. Moreover, evidence of alterations of precipitation by the surface characteristics exists: the distinct timing of convective precipitation over land versus ocean (Gray & Jacobson, 1977;Wallace, 1975); the scarcity of lightning over ocean (Bang & Zipser, 2015); or the presence of bigger, stronger and more organized convective towers over land (Bang & Zipser, 2015;Zipser & LeMone, 1980). The land has been advanced as the reason the belt of tropical precipitation resides in the northern hemisphere (

Learning by Doing: Seasonal and Diurnal Features of Tropical Precipitation in a Global‐Coupled Storm‐Resolving Model

“…The bias is higher over land (0.5 mm d −1 ) than over ocean (0.2 mm d −1 ). ICON‐S reproduces the partitioning of precipitation between land and ocean, which is close to one in observation as documented by Hohenegger and Stevens (2022), a feature that models using parameterized convection cannot capture (Hohenegger & Stevens, 2022).…”

Advancing understanding of land–atmosphere interactions by breaking discipline and scale barriers

“…37,101 Inspired by these marine studies, we argue here that it is necessary to study whether these findings of cloud self-organization over the sea, 102 key in determining the cloud dynamics, radiation disturbance, and precipitation, are relevant over land. 16 In short, these studies (1) turbulent explicit models and (2) regional-global models. They can help to illustrate how we determine source regions of moisture or carbon dioxide on a wide range of spatial scales (local to regional) and temporal (daily to yearly) and show the advantages of using these tracking tools in land-atmosphere studies analyzing either turbulent explicit model results or regional-global model results.…”

“…Inspired by these marine studies, we argue here that it is necessary to study whether these findings of cloud self‐organization over the sea, 102 key in determining the cloud dynamics, radiation disturbance, and precipitation, are relevant over land 16 . In short, these studies of marine clouds have shown that emergent mesoscale circulations driven by small‐scale processes, that is, surface fluxes and atmospheric turbulence, might be influenced by the partitioning of surface fluxes over land and by self‐reinforcing feedbacks.…”

“…These interactions depend on the surface exchange fluxes and partitioning of water and energy as well as on boundary layer dynamics connected to radiation perturbation by clouds and on canopy roughness via its effects on wind shear and turbulence. 15 In all these ecosystems, horizontal gradients and vertical contrasts between the land, canopy, atmosphere, and clouds play a key role in controlling precipitation 16 and carbon dioxide uptake by vegetation at regional scales. 4 With this in mind, we offer a way to integrate these processes at the meteorologically relevant spatiotemporal scales using current The first challenge focuses on radiation as a primary source of energy, where clouds [17][18][19] and canopies 20,21 modify the transfer of incoming shortwave radiation, and therefore, the distribution between the direct and diffuse radiation.…”

The inner life of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone

“…(Bischoff & Schneider, 2016; Kang et al ., 2008; Mikolajewicz et al ., 2018; Philander et al ., 1996; Riehl, 1954); how and why does this position vary? (Hohenegger & Stevens, 2022; Voigt et al ., 2016); and why do climate models find it so hard to simulate these features? (Bellucci et al ., 2010; Lin, 2007; Tian & Dong, 2020).…”