A Satellite View of the Synoptic-Scale Organization of Cloud Properties in Midlatitude and Tropical Circulation Systems

Abstract

Abstract The spatial and temporal variability of various cloud types and cloud optical thickness are investigated using daily global analyses produced by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) for the 1983–90 period. The climatological patterns of the relative abundance of individual cloud types are closely related to prevalent circulation regimes. Composite charts at various time lags relative to selected cloudy episodes are used to describe the representative shape and propagation of the local cloud patterns. These satellite-based findings are consistent with published results obtained from analyses of geopotential height and wind data. The midlatitude baroclinic cyclones along the wintertime storm tracks over the North and South Atlantic, and the summertime synoptic-scale disturbances occurring over the tropical western Pacific, are selected for more in-depth investigation. The variations of different cloud types in the selected sites are examined in conjunction with the concurre...