Quantifying Diurnal Cloud Radiative Effects by Cloud Type in the Tropical Western Pacific

Abstract

AbstractCloud radiative effects are examined using long-term datasets collected at the U.S. Department of Energy’s three Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Climate Research Facilities in the tropical western Pacific Ocean. The surface radiation budget, cloud populations, and cloud radiative effects are quantified by partitioning the data by cloud type, time of day, and large-scale modes of variability such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase and wet/dry seasons at Darwin, Australia. The novel aspect of this analysis is the breakdown of aggregate cloud radiative effects by cloud type across the diurnal cycle. The Nauru Island (Republic of Nauru) cloud populations and subsequently the surface radiation budget are strongly impacted by ENSO variability, whereas the cloud populations over Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) shift only slightly in response to changes in ENSO phase. The Darwin site exhibits large seasonal monsoon-related variations. When present, deeper convective clouds have a strong influence on the amount of radiation that reaches the surface. Their limited frequency reduces their aggregate radiative impact, however. The largest source of shortwave cloud radiative effects at all three sites comes from low clouds. The observations are used to demonstrate that potential model biases in the amplitude of the diurnal cycle and mean cloud frequency would lead to larger errors in the surface energy budget when compared with biases in the timing of the diurnal cycle of cloud frequency. These results provide solid benchmarks to evaluate model simulations of cloud radiative effects in the tropics.