Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-6
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-6
23 Feb 2023
 | 23 Feb 2023
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal AMT.

Deep convective cloud system size and structure across the global tropics and subtropics

Eric M. Wilcox, Tianle Yuan, and Hua Song

Abstract. A new database is constructed comprising millions of deep convective clouds that spans the global tropics and subtropics for the entire record of the MODIS instruments on the Terra and Aqua satellites. The database is a collection of individual cloud objects ranging from isolated convective cells to mesoscale convective cloud systems spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers in cloud area. By matching clouds in the database with the MERRA-2 reanalysis dataset and microwave imager brightness temperatures from the AMSR-E instrument, the database is designed to explore the relationships among the horizontal scale of cloud systems, the thermodynamic environment within which the cloud resides, the amount of aerosol in the environment, and indicators of the microphysical structure of the clouds. We find that the maximum values of convective available potential energy and vertical shear of the horizontal wind associated with a cloud impose a strong constraint on the size attained by convective cloud system, although the relationship varies geographically. The cloud database provides a means of empirical study of the factors that determine the spatial structure and coverage of convective cloud systems, which are strongly related to the overall radiative forcing by cloud systems. The observed relationships between cloud system size and structure from this database can be compared with similar relationships derived from simulated clouds in atmospheric models to evaluate the representation of clouds and convection in weather forecast and climate projection simulations, including whether models exhibit the same relationships between the atmospheric environment and cloud system size and structure. Furthermore, the dataset is designed to probe the impacts of aerosols on the size and structure of deep convective cloud systems.

Eric M. Wilcox et al.

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on amt-2023-6', Anonymous Referee #1, 22 Mar 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on amt-2023-6', Anonymous Referee #2, 05 Apr 2023

Eric M. Wilcox et al.

Data sets

MODIS Terra/Aqua convective cloud database Eric Wilcox, Tianle Yuan, and Hua Song https://dri0-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/eric_wilcox_dri_edu/Eh29ZTeVX5VEtL-MSCeHp6cBZjOC_zBKWw0Azf_xsSNB_g?e=JQtcVZ

Eric M. Wilcox et al.

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Short summary
A new database is constructed from satellites comprising millions of deep convective clouds that spans the global tropics and subtropics and greater than 20 years. The database is a collection of clouds ranging from isolated cells to giant cloud systems. The cloud database provides a means of empirical study of the factors that determine the spatial structure and coverage of convective cloud systems, which are strongly related to the overall radiative forcing by cloud systems.