Physical,radiative, and dynamical processes within a nighttime marine stratus cloud |
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| Authors: | Ismail Gultepe |
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| Institution: | (1) Cloud Physics Research Division, Atmospheric Environment Service, M3H 5T4 Downsview, ONT, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Observations taken by aircraft and conventional platforms are used to investigate dynamical, physical, and radiative processes within a marine stratus cloud during the Canadian Atlantic Storms Program (CASP) II field project which took place over the east coast of Canada. Stratus which formed over the ocean on February 6, 1992 during the nighttime, is studied to analyze cloud top and base processes. The cloud was supercooled during the study period. Fluctuations and fluxes are calculated along constant flight altitude legs approximately 100 km long in space. The scales of structures larger than 5 km are removed from the analysis using a running average technique. Droplet spectra obtained by a forward scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) were used in a 1-D radiative transfer model to calculate infrared (IR) fluxes and radiative heating rates. A heat conservation equation was used to estimate vertical air velocity (w
a
) within the cloud. The results showed that, because of a warmer ocean surface, significant moisture and heat were transferred from the ocean surface to the boundary layer. The cloud base was at about 400 m height and the top was at about 1.4 km.w
a
at the cloud base was estimated about 5 cm s–1. Strong IR cooling rate at the cloud top was calculated to be 75°C day–1 for a 100 m thick layer. Negative skewness inw
a
, suggesting narrow downdrafts, was likely due to radiative cooling at the cloud top. The entrainment velocity was found to be about 1.5 cm s–1 at cloud top. Mean moisture and heat fluxes within the cloud were estimated to be comparable to those from the ocean surface. Vertical air velocity at the cloud top due to radiative cooling was found to be about –40 cm s–1. |
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| Keywords: | Marine stratus aircraft observations IR cooling dynamical and physical processes moisture and heat fluxes |
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