Abstract
Abstract The formation of fair-weather cumuli (FWC) has been analyzed in this study based on both a simple mixed layer model and a subset of the data collected from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program at the southern Great Plains (SGP) site. By analyzing conditions for the formation of FWC, the authors illustrate how different processes—such as the surface heat fluxes, the surface thermodynamic conditions, the entrainment processes at the boundary layer top, the vertical thermodynamic structure above the boundary layer, and large-scale subsidence—control the formation of clouds. The results of the analysis show that it is the highly nonlinear interaction among these factors that gives rise to the formation of FWC. For this reason, the occurrence of FWC may not simply follow changes in the surface conditions. The analysis indicates that the entrainment of moisture and surface processes play important roles in the formation of FWC, and the net effects of these processes can be evaluated by a...
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