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Cloud structure, microphysics, and precipitation in tropical clouds inferred from satellite data

Cloud Structure, Microphysics, and Precipitation in Tropical Clouds Inferred From Satellite Data Terence L. Kubar Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Dennis L. Hartmann Department of Atmospheric Sciences Satellite cloud and precipitation data are used to show that optically thick high cloud fraction is a good proxy for rain rate. In the ITCZ, the ensemble of high clouds in the East Pacific (EP) induces considerably more net TOA radiative cooling compared to the West Pacific (WP), primarily because of more high, thin cloud in the WP. We investigate whether anvil cloud temperature is more convectively or radiatively driven. The level of neutral buoyancy seems to influence the temperatures of the coldest, thickest clouds, but has no simple relation to anvil cloud. Instead, median anvil cloud temperature closely follows the temperature of the clear-sky convergence peak. The radiatively-driven clearsky convergence profiles are consistent with warmer anvil clouds in the EP than the WP. Cloud radar data are used to investigate the relation of cloud structure and precipitation. Heavily precipitating clouds have high tops that are nearly two km deeper than moderately or non-raining high clouds. As cloud tops rise from 12 km to the tropical tropopause, a nearly tenfold rain rate increase is observed. Clouds with tops below 9.5 km contribute 38% to total rainfall in the WP and 47% in the EP. The importance of macrophysical variables (cloud thickness, liquid water path LWP) and microphysical variables (effective radius re, effective droplet concentration Neff) on warm drizzle intensity and frequency is studied using satellite optical and cloud radar data. Cloud top height and LWP substantially increase as drizzle increases. Droplet radius estimated from MODIS also increases with cloud radar reflectivity (dBZ), but levels off as dBZ>0, except where the influence of continental pollution is present, in which case a monotonic increase of re with drizzle intensity occurs. Drizzle frequency increases nearly uniformly when cloud tops grow from one to two km. Drizzle frequencies exceed 90% in all regions when LWPs exceed 250 g m and Neff values are below 50 cm , even in regions where drizzle occurs infrequently on the whole.