Abstract
Abstract. The geographical distributions of summertime cirrus with different cloud top heights above the Tibetan Plateau are investigated by using the 2012–2016 Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) data. The cirrus clouds with different cloud top heights exhibit an obvious difference in their horizontal distribution over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The maximum occurrence for cirrus with a cloud top height less than 9 km starts over the western plateau and moves up to the northern regions when cirrus is between 9 and 12 km. Above 12 km, the maximum occurrence of cirrus retreats to the southern fringe of the plateau. Three kinds of formation mechanisms – large-scale orographic uplift, ice particle generation caused by temperature fluctuation, and remnants of overflow from deep-convective anvils – dominate the formation of cirrus at less than 9 km, between 9 and 12 km, and above 12 km, respectively.
Highlights
Cirrus is the high-altitude ice cloud identified as one of the most uncertain components in the current understanding of the climate variability (Rossow and Schiffer, 1999; Sassen and Mace, 2002; Solomon et al, 2007)
There has been particular interest in cirrus in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), a transition region generally recognized to control the entry of troposphere air into the stratosphere (Gettelman et al, 2004; Fueglistaler et al, 2009; Randel and Jensen, 2013)
Apart from the aerosols and water vapor, satellite observations suggest that cirrus clouds are connected with the outflow from deep convection, which frequently occurs over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) (Li et al, 2005; Jin, 2006)
Summary
Cirrus is the high-altitude ice cloud identified as one of the most uncertain components in the current understanding of the climate variability (Rossow and Schiffer, 1999; Sassen and Mace, 2002; Solomon et al, 2007). Apart from the aerosols and water vapor, satellite observations suggest that cirrus clouds are connected with the outflow from deep convection, which frequently occurs over the TP (Li et al, 2005; Jin, 2006). The abundant aerosols and their precursors in the UTLS, the topographic lifting, and the deep convection activities could act together to promote frequent cirrus occurrence over the TP during the ASM period. Our particular interest is to identify the dominant contributors to the formation of cirrus at different heights over the TP and to provide the first insight into the possible mechanisms on a regional scale.
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