Transition of Low Clouds in the East China Sea and Kuroshio Region in Winter: A Regional Atmospheric Model Study

Abstract

Bias in simulating the stratocumulus‐to‐cumulus transition remains a main source of uncertainties in climate projection and can significantly affect the energy budget in climate models. To gain insights into the transition, this study investigates the cloud transition forced by the sea surface temperature (SST) front and synoptic disturbances in the East China Sea and Kuroshio region in winter based on both observations and regional atmospheric model simulations. The Kuroshio SST front greatly accelerates cloud transition by enhancing surface latent heat flux, marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) dynamical adjustment, and cloud top entrainment. With the sharp SST increase from the cold flank to the Kuroshio SST warm tongue (KWT), surface wind convergence (SWC) over the KWT induced by the SST front and synoptic disturbances enhances the coupling between the cloud layer and subcloud layer. An underlying positive feedback between the SWC and latent heating in the cloud layer can enhance abrupt change in cloud properties and maintain cloud band over the KWT against the decoupling through the so‐called “Deepening‐Warming” mechanism induced by latent heating. From the KWT downwind southward, the surface layer turbulent mixing weakens, while latent heating in the cloud layer and cloud top longwave radiative cooling enhance buoyancy and vertical mixing in the cloud layer. This difference in vertical mixing between the cloud layer and subcloud layer facilitates the MABL decoupling and impedes upward moisture transport. Meanwhile, decreasing lower tropospheric stability is conducive to the entrainment of drier and warmer air from above into the cloud layer, strengthening cloud evaporation.