Intensive radiosonde measurements of summertime convection over the Inner Mongolia grassland in 2014: Difference between shallow cumulus and other conditions

Shi, Huli; Chen, Hongbin; Xia, Xiangao; Fan, Xiaohui; Li, Jun; Ling, Chao

doi:10.1007/s00376-017-6284-2

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…5). Shallow cumulus clouds are characterized by small size, relatively weak convection, and no precipitation, which are dramatically different from those of deep convective clouds (case in Section III-C) [49]. These shallow cumulus clouds were formatted in the afternoon and kept developing during the observed period in Fig.…”

Section: B Phase Classification Of Shallow Cumulus Cloudsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Classification of Cloud Phase Using Combined Ground-Based Polarization Lidar and Millimeter Cloud Radar Observations Over the Tibetan Plateau

Bian,

Liu,

Zheng

et al. 2023

IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing

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The distributions of cloud phases play an important role in influencing the weather and climate system. The characteristics of clouds above the Tibetan Plateau (TP) can profoundly affect regional and global atmospheric circulation. To research the distributions of cloud phases in the TP region, a retrieval algorithm was developed based on the combination of polarization lidar and millimeter cloud radar measurements and applied to the data from a comprehensive field campaign on the central TP in the summer of 2014. The structure and phase of four different types of clouds were retrieved accordingly, which validates the reliability of the algorithm. The result shows that the occurrence frequency of low clouds remains around 50%, which is very high throughout the whole day in Nagqu, Tibetan in summer. The liquid and mixed cloud frequencies are higher in the morning and afternoon, while ice cloud mainly occurs from the afternoon to midnight. Liquid and ice phase distributions show an inverse relationship in the atmospheric layer from 2 to 8 km in height. Meanwhile, the proportion of the liquid phase to the cloud top is significantly higher than that to the cloud body, which indicates that the supercooled water is more likely to appear at the cloud top than in the cloud. The fractional probabilities of the ice phase and liquid phase in the total cloud top phase intersect at about −26.7 • C.

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Section: B Phase Classification Of Shallow Cumulus Cloudsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Classification of Cloud Phase Using Combined Ground-Based Polarization Lidar and Millimeter Cloud Radar Observations Over the Tibetan Plateau

Bian,

Liu,

Zheng

et al. 2023

IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing

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show abstract

“…The nonconvective conditions are related to a clear sky or cloudy sky without precipitation and with a small CAPE (<150 J/kg) and reflectivity (<20 dBZ). The convective conditions are associated with a cloudy sky and precipitation (or thunderbolt) occurring [43,44]. Figure 8a shows the histogram distribution of the VV retrievals.…”

Section: Composite Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Method for Estimating the Vertical Velocity of Air with a Descending Radiosonde System

et al. 2019

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Knowledge of vertical air motion in the atmosphere is important for both meteorological and climate studies due to its impact on clouds, precipitation and the vertical transport of air masses, heat, momentum, and composition. The vertical velocity (VV) of air is among the most difficult and uncertain quantities to measure due to its generally small magnitude and high temporal and spatial variability. In this study, a descending radiosonde system is developed to derive VV at the low and middle troposphere in north China during the summer months. The VV is estimated from the difference between the observed radiosonde descent speed and the calculated radiosonde descent speed in still air based on the fluid dynamic principle. The results showed that the estimated VV generally ranged from −1 m/s to 1 m/s, accounting for 80.2% of data points. In convective conditions, a wider distribution of the VV was observed, which was skewed to large values relative to those in nonconvective conditions. The average VV throughout the entire profile was close to 0 m/s under nonconvective conditions. In contrast, distinctive vertical air motions below 5 km above the ground were recorded under convective activities. Vigorous air motions with an absolute VV >2 m/s were occasionally observed and were often associated with the occurrence of cloud layers. Moreover, the detailed structure of the instant air motion near the cloud boundaries (i.e., top and base), with an absolute VV >10 m/s in convective weather systems, was clearly revealed by this technique. The uncertainty estimation indicated that this method has the potential to capture and describe events with vertical air motions >0.69 m/s, which is useful for a convective weather study. Further studies are required to carefully assess the accuracy and precision of this novel VV estimation technique.

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Why does a decrease in cloud amount increase terrestrial evapotranspiration in a monsoon transition zone?

Liu,

Yue,

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Terrestrial evapotranspiration plays a critical role in drought monitoring and water resource management. Changes in evapotranspiration are significantly influenced by cloud-related precipitation and radiation effects. However, the impact of cloud amount on evapotranspiration through its influence on precipitation remains uncertain, especially in the transition zone affected by the East Asian summer monsoon, which limits the understanding of the water cycle. Therefore, this study deeply explores the impact of cloud amount on evapotranspiration and its potential physical mechanisms in Northwest China. The results show that the correlation between 31-year average evapotranspiration and cloud amount is negative only in the semi-arid region and is positive in other climatic regions of Northwest China. This unique negative correlation is related to the change of precipitation pattern in the semi-arid region caused by the weak East Asian summer monsoon. Smaller cloud amount in weak monsoons results in more short-wave radiation reaching the surface, larger sensible heat, and weaker convective inhibition. Consequently, the proportion of convective clouds increases and precipitation from these convective clouds enhances evapotranspiration. Less cloud amount increases evapotranspiration and potentially exacerbates aridity in the semi-arid region of Northwest China. These results emphasize the role of cloud type in evapotranspiration. It is well known that global warming can change cloud type with more convective clouds. Therefore, this study sheds new light on evapotranspiration change under global warming. 

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Intensive radiosonde measurements of summertime convection over the Inner Mongolia grassland in 2014: Difference between shallow cumulus and other conditions

Cited by 3 publications

References 22 publications

Classification of Cloud Phase Using Combined Ground-Based Polarization Lidar and Millimeter Cloud Radar Observations Over the Tibetan Plateau

Classification of Cloud Phase Using Combined Ground-Based Polarization Lidar and Millimeter Cloud Radar Observations Over the Tibetan Plateau

A Novel Method for Estimating the Vertical Velocity of Air with a Descending Radiosonde System

Why does a decrease in cloud amount increase terrestrial evapotranspiration in a monsoon transition zone?

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