Long-term change in low-cloud cover in Southeast China during cold seasons

Abstract

Southeast China has comparable stratus cloud to that over the oceans, especially in the cold seasons (winter and spring), and this cloud has a substantial impact on energy and hydrological cycles. However, uncertainties remain across datasets and simulation results about the long-term trend in low-cloud cover in Southeast China, making it difficult to understand climate change and related physical processes. In this study, multiple datasets and numerical simulations were applied to show that low-cloud cover in Southeast China has gone through two stages since 1980—specifically, a decline and then a rise, with the turning point around 2008. The regional moisture transport plays a crucial role in low-cloud cover changes in the cold seasons and is mainly affected by the Hadley Cell in winter and the Walker Circulation in spring, respectively. The moisture transport was not well simulated in CMIP6 climate models, leading to poor simulation of the low-cloud cover trend in these models. This study provides insights into further understanding the regional climate changes in Southeast China.摘要中国东南地区在冬春冷季节盛行低云, 对局地能量平衡和水文循环有重要的作用. 本研究使用多套数据和数值模拟结果, 分析这一地区冷季节内低云云量在1980年至2017年的长期变化. 结果表明, 低云云量经历了先下降后上升的趋势变化, 转折点出现在2008年左右. 局地水汽通量输送在影响低云云量的变化中起着至关重要的作用, 其在冬季和春季分别受到哈德莱环流和沃克环流的影响. CMIP6中的气候模式对水汽通量输送的模拟能力欠佳, 影响了对低云云量的模拟结果.