Abstract
Abstract Data obtained from the island of Santa Maria in the Azores, during the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) are used to describe cloud and boundary-layer structure for a 24-h period on 15 June 1992 over the east-central Atlantic (37°N, 25°10′W). The evolution of the mesoscale cloud structure during a 24-h period in the vertical column above the surface site was characterized using a 94-GHz radar, a laser ceilometer, 3-h radiosonde ascents, and surface micrometeorological instrumentation. Mesoscale circulations and drizzle were found to be key elements of the boundary-layer clouds observed in this region. During the late-night and predawn hours of the study period, a single layer of stratocumulus that averaged ∼200 m in thickness topped a well-mixed marine boundary layer. Mesoscale cellular convection (MCC), which had ascending regions with horizontal dimensions of ∼7 km, was observed during this period. At sunrise, decoupling was imposed on this MCC, and extreme mesoscale variatio...
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