Shortwave Cloud Radiative Forcing Research Articles

Leveraging regional mesh refinement to simulate future climate projections for California using the Simplified Convection-Permitting E3SM Atmosphere Model Version 0

Abstract. The spatial heterogeneity related to complex topography in California demands high-resolution (< 5 km) modeling, but global convection-permitting climate models are computationally too expensive to run multi-decadal simulations. We developed a 3.25 km California climate modeling framework by leveraging regional mesh refinement (CARRM) using the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s global Simple Cloud-Resolving E3SM Atmosphere Model (SCREAM) version 0. Four 5-year time periods (2015–2020, 2029–2034, 2044–2049, and 2094–2099) were simulated by nudging CARRM outside California to 1° coupled simulation of E3SMv1 under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP)5-8.5 future scenario. The 3.25 km grid spacing adds considerable value to the prediction of the California climate changes, including more realistic high temperatures in the Central Valley and much improved spatial distributions of precipitation and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and coastal stratocumulus. Under the SSP5-8.5 scenario, CARRM simulation predicts widespread warming of 6–10 °C over most of California, a 38 % increase in statewide average 30 d winter–spring precipitation, a near-complete loss of the alpine snowpack, and a sharp reduction in shortwave cloud radiative forcing associated with marine stratocumulus by the end of the 21st century. We note a climatological wet precipitation bias for the CARRM and discuss possible reasons. We conclude that SCREAM RRM is a technically feasible and scientifically valid tool for climate simulations in regions of interest, providing an excellent bridge to global convection-permitting simulations.

Extreme dry advection dominates the record-breaking Yangtze River heatwave in midsummer of 2022

The Yangtze River Valley (YRV) experienced an unprecedented heatwave in midsummer of 2022. Still, the detailed physical processes involved in the influence of abnormal large-scale atmospheric circulation on the heatwave remain unexplored. Here, we show that the positive meridional gradient of anomalous atmospheric moisture at the middle-lower troposphere and associated extreme dry air advection over the YRV are vital prerequisites for forming the 2022 YRV heatwave. The 2022 YRV heatwave is dominated by interannual variability, contributing 72.7% to the total temperature anomalies. Diagnosis of the surface heat budget equation indicates that the surface cloud radiative forcing is the most critical process in driving the 2022 YRV heatwave, which is dominated by the positive surface short-wave cloud radiative forcing associated with the suppressed precipitation and the middle-low clouds. The suppressed precipitation is induced by the vertical dynamical processes of anomalous moisture advection caused by the abnormal descending flows over the YRV, which are driven by the negative advection of anomalous latent heat energy by climatological meridional wind (anomalous dry air advection) according to the atmospheric moist static energy equation. Simulations from the Lagrangian model FLEXPART further indicate that the moisture anomaly over the north of YRV mainly originated from the surface evaporation in the YRV, implying that there is a positive land-air feedback during the life cycle of the YRV heatwave. Our study enriches the mechanism understanding of the 2022 YRV heatwave from the perspective of surface energy budget and land-air feedback.

The link between intertropical convergence zone stagnation and bias in local shortwave cloud radiative forcing over tropical Africa in climate models

The northward migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is a significant feature of the West African (WA) monsoon. An accurate simulation of ITCZ migration is essential for the realistic representation of WA precipitation in global coupled models. In this study, we employ the energetics and dynamics framework with a subset of CMIP6 models to investigate the bias in the simulated WA precipitation. Models were found to simulate more local positive (negative) shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCRF) in the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean (over the African continent). The effect of the excess local SWCRF is linked to the stagnation of the ITCZ latitudinal migration and the associated biases in the asymmetry index of precipitation. In the models, there is more (less) moist static energy in the lower (mid and upper) troposphere than in the reanalysis. The worst models have a stronger bias, especially over land. The vertical transport of moisture is confined to the boundary layer in the worst model ensemble. In most cases, the high-resolution coupled models show substantial northward migration of the ITCZ compared to the low-resolution models. Furthermore, the best-performing models capture local circulation and energetic processes more accurately than the worst-performing models.

Resolution Sensitivity of the GRIST Nonhydrostatic Model From 120 to 5 km (3.75 km) During the DYAMOND Winter

AbstractWe investigated the resolution sensitivity of the Global‐to‐Regional Integrated forecast SysTem global nonhydrostatic model characterized by explicit dynamics–microphysics coupling using varying uniform resolutions (120, 60, 30, 15, and 5 km). The experiments followed the DYnamics of the Atmospheric general circulation Modeled On Non‐hydrostatic Domains (DYAMOND) winter protocol, which covers a 40‐day integration. These simulations did not activate parameterized convection. One 120 km test with parameterized convection was performed as a coarse‐resolution reference. Other model configurations for different simulations were kept as consistent as possible. Our results showed that the model gradually improved its representation of the fine‐scale features as the resolution increased. The 5 km simulation was overall close to a 3.75 km simulation during the first 12 days of the DYAMOND winter. With respect to the mean climate, the 5 km simulation had a more realistic rainfall distribution than the lower resolution explicit convection simulations. Cloud water and the related physical fields (e.g., shortwave cloud radiative forcing) had a large resolution sensitivity. The tropical rainfall frequency–intensity spectra became more realistic in the 5 km explicit convection simulation, but the 120 km run with parameterized convection showed a more realistic mean climate. As the resolution increases, the mean bulk effect of finely resolved model convection gradually converges to that of parameterized convection. The mean climate of this storm‐resolving model has slightly higher rainfall biases than a parameterized convection coarse‐resolution model, highlighting the importance of balancing resolved‐ and under‐resolved model convection for developing a unified multiscale global model.

A study on the anomalous TOA net radiative warming by clouds in a sub-region within the Indian summer monsoon region

Indian summer monsoon clouds generally exert a net radiative cooling at top of atmosphere. In contrast, clouds over a sub-region comprising parts of South peninsular India, Sri Lanka and adjoining Bay of Bengal (SISB) inside the Indian monsoon region exert a net radiative warming. In this work, an attempt is made to understand the reasons behind the anomalous radiative warming found over SISB. Ten-year (2000–2009) top of atmosphere radiative flux data from Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System payloads onboard Aqua and Terra satellites and cloud data from International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project during the peak Indian summer monsoon season of July–August are analyzed to understand the underlying causes. Top of Atmosphere net radiative forcing is positive and as high as ∼15 Wm−2 over SISB during the peak Indian summer monsoon season.Cloud cover amounts over SISB with net radiative warming and north Bay of Bengal with net radiative cooling are compared. Cloud cover amounts of high-level cirrostratus and deep convective cumulonimbus clouds are less by 65% and 87% respectively over SISB when compared to north Bay of Bengal. SISB is located on the leeward side of the Western Ghats mountain chain with descending motion. Adiabatic compression and associated warming of descending air leads to dehydration of air parcel. The upper tropospheric tropical easterly jet sweeps the deep convective cloud tops of the Indian monsoon and advect them to large distance as upper level thin cirrus family of clouds. When these clouds reach SISB with descending motion, they thin out by melting and evaporation or sublimation as the air mass is compressed and heated adiabatically. Over SISB, pressure vertical velocity at 500 hPa is moderately inversely correlated to cloud cover amount of cirrostratus and cumulonimbus clouds. Cloud cover amount of these two clouds is significantly correlated to shortwave cloud radiative forcing and longwave cloud radiative forcing over SISB. When cloud cover amount of cirrostratus and cumulonimbus clouds are low (<∼15% and <∼5% respectively), magnitude of longwave cloud radiative forcing is mostly higher than the magnitude of shortwave cloud radiative forcing which results in net radiative warming. Reduction in cloud cover amount of cirrostratus and cumulonimbus clouds by subsidence appears to be the cause behind the observed warming over SISB. When the magnitude of shortwave cloud radiative forcing is below (above) ∼55 Wm−2, longwave cloud radiative forcing is more (less) than the magnitude of shortwave cloud radiative forcing which results in net warming (cooling). Net radiative warming is found in 65% of grid points over SISB.

High temporal variability of surface solar irradiance due to cloud enhancement effect over the Western Ghat mountains in peninsular India

Western Ghat (WG) mountains along the west coast of peninsular India play an important role in the distribution of monsoon rainfall on its windward and leeward sides. The study unravels the increase in cloudiness and also increase in the Cloud Enhancement of Solar irradiance (CES) during the dry and wet seasons in the windward (high altitude) and the leeward (low altitude) sides of WG. From May 2018 to May 2021, the global horizontal irradiance (GHI) reveals wide temporal and spatial variability with a high frequency of CES events, even exceeding the extraterrestrial value around the noontime during the wet season (May to October). The observed excess irradiance due to partial/transparent clouds compared to clear sky maxima is more than 400 W/m2 on the windward and 350 W/m2 on the leeward. With the increase in cloudy days, diffused irradiance also increased with greater values during CES events. CES induced positive shortwave cloud radiative forcing (CRF) varied up to +400 W/m2 (warming effect), while negative CRF varied up to −1000 W/m2 (cooling effect). During monsoon, the warming due to frequent CES events could locally offset a large cooling to some extent. Clouds resulting in huge irradiance variability in a day could also induce large fluctuations in renewable solar energy. Such short-term sporadic local events are averaged out in satellite data.

An approach of renewable energy based on spatial patterns of radiation flux for solar thermal applications

The paper investigates about the aerosol index (AI) parameter obtained from the OMI during 2002–2016 concluded an East China, which have been discovered with a strong spatial heterogeneity in AI over the East China indicates variety of sources. We observed significant change in spatial AI increasing from the South to North attributed to impact for the powder unit’s ecstatic since Recompense sections. Spatial relative tendencies showed that the AI is the highest in most provinces. Further, the short-wave cloud radiative forcing (SWCRF) distribution revealed the highest (−180 Wm−2) and lowest (−110 Wm−2) values during JJA and DJF, respectively. While the long-wave CRF (LWCRF) values were seen prominent in almost the entire study area, with the high (60 W m−2) in JJA and low during MAM over the southeastern sites of study domain.

Resolution of the atmospheric model matters for the Northern Hemisphere Mid-Holocene climate

This study evaluates the dependence of simulated surface air temperatures on model resolution and orography for the mid-Holocene. Sensitivity experiments with the atmospheric general circulation model ECHAM5 are performed with low (∼3.75°, 19 vertical levels) and high (∼1.1°, 31 vertical levels) resolution. Results are compared to the respective preindustrial runs. It is found that the large-scale temperature anomalies for the mid-Holocene (compared to preindustrial) are significantly different in the low- and high-resolution versions. For boreal winter, differences are mainly related to circulation changes caused by the response to thermal forcing in conjunction with orographic resolution. For summer, shortwave cloud radiative forcing emerges as an important factor. The anomaly differences (low minus high resolution version) in the Northern Hemisphere are regionally as large as the anomalous mid-Holocene temperature signals. Furthermore, they depend on the applied surface boundary conditions. We conclude that the resolution matters for the Northern Hemisphere response in mid-Holocene simulations, which should be taken into account in model-model and data-model comparisons.

Case Study of Blowing Snow Impacts on the Antarctic Peninsula Lower Atmosphere and Surface Simulated With a Snow/Ice Enhanced WRF Model

AbstractTo better capture the air‐snow‐ice interaction, a snow/ice enhanced Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF‐ice) model has been developed. This study examines the performance of WRF‐ice and its blowing snow component during a strong cyclone event from October 23 to 27, 2017 over the Antarctic Peninsula, which is characterized by a synoptic cyclone crossing the northern part of the Peninsula and an embodied mesoscale cyclone over the Weddell Sea. Evolution of the cyclone is accurately reproduced in the 5‐km resolution WRF‐ice simulation, and the simulated near‐surface conditions agree well with station and satellite observations. Numerical simulations show that the process of blowing snow sublimation can be prominent within the lower atmosphere when the air is dry, and produces moistening and cooling effects. Over relatively warm and humid areas, cloud enhancement by blowing snow can lead to either colder or warmer surfaces because of competing effects of longwave and shortwave cloud radiative forcings. In particular, additional moisture from blowing snow sublimation can slightly intensify precipitation over the mountains. Surface energy budget analysis indicates that absorbed shortwave (Sa), incoming longwave (Ld), and outgoing longwave (Lu) are dominant components of surface energy budget. When increases in Ld, Lu, and sensible heat flux are combined with decreases in Sa and latent heat flux due to blowing snow effects, a negative surface net heat flux (∼0.5 W/m2) occurs during daytime. A positive domain‐total surface mass balance (∼0.43 Gt) is generated during the simulated cyclone event due to increases in precipitation, decreases in runoff, and decreases in sublimation.

Impacts of Greenland Block Location on Clouds and Surface Energy Fluxes Over the Greenland Ice Sheet

AbstractClouds and blocking activity have been implicated as causes of increased Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melt in the 21st century. Although Greenland blocks (i.e., long‐lasting, mostly stationary anticyclones) generally reduce cloud cover and move warm air over Greenland, the elevated GrIS perturbs air and moisture transport in complex ways, implying a need to better understand how blocks affect cloud and surface energy flux anomaly patterns. In this study, we use a combination of daily MODIS cloud data and meteorological and energy flux data from MERRA‐2 reanalysis to better understand how Greenland block location, separated into four equal‐area quadrants, affects regional cloud and surface energy flux spatial patterns in the summer months of 2002–2018. Overall, cloud fraction and cloud water path reductions are approximately four times greater during northern block days than southern block days. Net cloud radiative forcing anomalies are negative for all Greenland block locations because negative longwave cloud radiative forcing anomalies exceed positive shortwave cloud radiative forcing changes. However, greater cloud cover reductions during northern block days produce more negative net cloud radiative forcing anomalies than southern block days. Greenland‐average (i.e., latitude‐weighted average of all GrIS grids) net surface energy flux anomalies range from +7 to +12W/m2 for all block quadrants. While net shortwave energy anomalies dominate the total surface energy response during western Greenland block days, sensible heating is responsible for approximately half of positive total surface energy change during eastern Greenland block days.

Measured Constraints on Cloud Top Entrainment to Reduce Uncertainty of Nonprecipitating Stratocumulus Shortwave Radiative Forcing in the Southern Ocean

AbstractStratocumulus cloud top entrainment has a significant effect on cloud properties, but there are few observations quantifying its impact. Using explicit 0‐D parcel model simulations, initialized with below‐cloud in situ measurements, and validated with in situ measurements of cloud properties, the shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCF) was reduced by up to 100 W m−2 by cloud top entrainment in the Southern Ocean. The impact of entrainment‐corrected SWCF is between 2 and 20 times that of changes in the aerosol particle concentration or updraft at cloud base. The variability in entrainment‐corrected SWCF accounts for up to 50 W m−2 uncertainty in estimating cloud forcing. Measurements necessary for estimating the impact of entrainment on cloud properties can be constrained from existing airborne platforms and provide a first‐order approximation for cloud radiative properties of nonprecipitating stratocumulus clouds. These measurement‐derived estimates of entrainment can be used to validate and improve parameterizations of entrainment in Global Climate Models.

Evaluation of climate simulations produced with the Brazilian global atmospheric model version 1.2

This paper presents an evaluation of climate simulations produced by the Brazilian Global Atmospheric Model version 1.2 (BAM-1.2) of the Center for Weather Forecast and Climate Studies (CPTEC). The model was run over the 1975–2017 period at two spatial resolutions, corresponding to ~ 180 and ~ 100 km, both with 42 vertical levels, following most of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) protocol. In this protocol, observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are used as boundary conditions for the atmospheric model. Four ensemble members were run for each of the two resolutions. A series of diagnostics was computed for assessing the model’s ability to represent the top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiation, atmospheric temperature, circulation and precipitation climatological features. The representation of precipitation interannual variability, El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) precipitation teleconnections, the Madden and Julian Oscillation (MJO) and daily precipitation characteristics was also assessed. The model at both resolutions reproduced many observed temperature, atmospheric circulation and precipitation climatological features, despite several identified biases. The model atmosphere was found to be more transparent than the observations, leading to misrepresentation of cloud-radiation interactions. The net cloud radiative forcing, which produces a cooling effect on the global mean climate at the TOA, was well represented by the model. This was found to be due to the compensation between both weaker longwave cloud radiative forcing (LWCRF) and shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCRF) in the model compared to the observations. The model capability to represent inter-annual precipitation variability at both resolutions was found to be linked to the adequate representation of ENSO teleconnections. However, the model produced weaker than observed convective activity associated with the MJO. Light daily precipitation over the southeast of South America and other climatologically similar regions was diagnosed to be overestimated, and heavy daily precipitation underestimated by the model. Increasing spatial resolution helped to slightly reduce some of the diagnosed biases. The performed evaluation identified model aspects that need to be improved. These include the representation of polar continental surface and sea ice albedo, stratospheric ozone, low marine clouds, and daily precipitation features, which were found to be larger and last longer than the observed features.

Direct observations of the multi-year seasonal mean diurnal variations of TOA cloud radiative forcing over tropics using Megha-Tropiques-ScaRaB/3

Diurnal variation of cloud radiative forcing (CRF) is a major factor that controls the global radiation balance. This study presents multi-year seasonal mean diurnal variations of longwave cloud radiative forcing (LWCRF) and daytime shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCRF) at the top of atmosphere over tropics, derived from the broadband radiation measurements made by ScaRaB/3 onboard the low-inclination Megha-Tropiques satellite. The largest LWCRF (60–80 Wm−2) occurs over the oceanic regions of the east equatorial Indian Ocean and the western Pacific during all seasons, as well as the South Pacific Convergence Zone, the northeast Bay of Bengal, Amazon region, central and southern Africa and north Indian landmass (monsoon trough) during the local summer. Diurnal variations of 15–25 Wm−2 in LWCRF (20–35% of the mean) are observed with peak values occurring at 18–21 local time (LT) over continents and 00–06 LT over oceans. The minimum LWCRF occurs at 09–12 LT throughout the tropics. Over convective regions, SWCRF maximizes at 12–15 LT (− 220 to − 300 Wm−2) and has a higher magnitude over continents due to early convection occurrence, indicating the importance of diurnal phase. Certain specific features including the CRF associated with the double inter-tropical convergence zone, day-night changes in net CRF, and the effect of El Ni $$\stackrel{\sim }{\mathrm{n}}$$ o on CRF are also presented. The net CRF and its zonal variations are strikingly similar during the normal and El Ni $$\stackrel{\sim }{\mathrm{n}}$$ o periods because the changes in LWCRF and SWCRF are mutually compensated.

Reassessment of shortwave surface cloud radiative forcing in the Arctic: consideration of surface-albedo–cloud interactions

Abstract. The concept of cloud radiative forcing (CRF) is commonly applied to quantify the impact of clouds on the surface radiative energy budget (REB). In the Arctic, specific radiative interactions between microphysical and macrophysical properties of clouds and the surface strongly modify the warming or cooling effect of clouds, complicating the estimate of CRF obtained from observations or models. Clouds tend to increase the broadband surface albedo over snow or sea ice surfaces compared to cloud-free conditions. However, this effect is not adequately considered in the derivation of CRF in the Arctic so far. Therefore, we have quantified the effects caused by surface-albedo–cloud interactions over highly reflective snow or sea ice surfaces on the CRF using radiative transfer simulations and below-cloud airborne observations above the heterogeneous springtime marginal sea ice zone (MIZ) during the Arctic CLoud Observations Using airborne measurements during polar Day (ACLOUD) campaign. The impact of a modified surface albedo in the presence of clouds, as compared to cloud-free conditions, and its dependence on cloud optical thickness is found to be relevant for the estimation of the shortwave CRF. A method is proposed to consider this surface albedo effect on CRF estimates by continuously retrieving the cloud-free surface albedo from observations under cloudy conditions, using an available snow and ice albedo parameterization. Using ACLOUD data reveals that the estimated average shortwave cooling by clouds almost doubles over snow- and ice-covered surfaces (−62 W m−2 instead of −32 W m−2), if surface-albedo–cloud interactions are considered. As a result, the observed total (shortwave plus longwave) CRF shifted from a warming effect to an almost neutral one. Concerning the seasonal cycle of the surface albedo, it is demonstrated that this effect enhances shortwave cooling in periods when snow dominates the surface and potentially weakens the cooling by optically thin clouds during the summertime melting season. These findings suggest that the surface-albedo–cloud interaction should be considered in global climate models and in long-term studies to obtain a realistic estimate of the shortwave CRF to quantify the role of clouds in Arctic amplification.

Contrasting changes in cloud optical properties and the influence of aerosols, meteorology and radiation feedback in the Himalaya Karakoram region

The spatio-temporal variations in cloud optical properties and the influence of aerosols, radiation feedback and meteorological parameters were investigated at high altitudes of Diamir, Gilgit and Skardu in the Himalaya Karakoram (HK) region of northern Pakistan from 2004 to 2016. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) depicted significant variation with high values during spring months as compared to other months. The results revealed high values of cloud fraction (CF), cloud water path (CWP) and cloud optical depth (COD) in winter months, while contrasting response was observed in summer months. Due to Twomey effect, clouds become thicker and brighter with maximum COD and liberation of latent heat, which modifies temperature gradient of vertical profile. Similarly, an uneven distribution of cloud effective radius (CER) was observed throughout the study period. An increasing trend of cloud top temperature (CTT) from February to September was observed, while an opposite response was found from September to January during the study period. Likewise, minimum and maximum cloud top pressure (CTP) was found in February and November, respectively. AOD is positively correlated with CF and COD due to high humidity and the existence of hydrophilic aerosols. The results of AOD and CER correlation were in good agreement with Twomey effect. However, AOD showed contrasting relationship with CWP over Diamir and Gilgit. The negative relationships of AOD with CTP and CTT indicated the suppression of precipitation process and variability of meteorological parameters. In addition, a positive correlation was observed between COD and CTP against top of the atmosphere shortwave cloud radiative forcing (TOASWCRF), which indicates the cooling effect due to increasing COD and CTP. With TOASWCRF, a variation in CWP and CER may also lead to cooling effect due to reflection of solar radiations. While the meteorology depicted an uneven relationship with cloud optical properties at observation sites.

Responses of Cloud-Radiative Forcing to Strong El Niño Events over the Western Pacific Warm Pool as Simulated by CAMS-CSM

Cloud-radiative forcing (CRF) at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) over the western Pacific warm pool (WP) shows unique characteristics in response to El Nino events. In this region, the responses of CRF to El Nino events have been a useful metric for evaluating climate models. Satellite data are used to analyze the CRF anomalies to El Nino events simulated by the new and old versions of the Climate System Model of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (CAMS-CSM), which has participated in the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP). Here, simulations for super El Nino years, El Nino years, and normal years are compared with observations. The results show that the mean values of both longwave CRF (LWCRF) and shortwave CRF (SWCRF) in CAMS-CSM are weaker than the observations for each category of El Nino events. Compared with the old version of CAMS-CSM, the decrease in LWCRF during El Nino events is well simulated by the new version of CAMS-CSM. However, both new and old models cannot reproduce the anomalous SWCRF in El Nino events. The biases in the CRF response to El Nino events are attributed to the biases in the cloud vertical structure because of a weaker crash of the Walker circulation in CAMS-CSM. Due to the modification of the conversion rate from cloud droplets to raindrops in the cumulus convection scheme, the new version of CAMS-CSM has better CRF skills in normal years, but biases in El Nino events still exist in the new version. Improving the response of the Walker circulation to El Nino events is key to higher skills in simulating the cloud radiative responses.

Impact of Subgrid Variation of Water Vapor on Longwave Radiation in a General Circulation Model

AbstractMost general circulation models compute radiation fluxes by assuming that water vapor is uniform within individual grid layers, which leads to an underestimation of satellite‐observed longwave (LW) cloud radiative forcing (LWCF). To fix this problem, we calculated water vapor content separately for clear and cloudy portions and used them to compute LW radiation. The impacts of this modification were examined by comparing two global simulations with and without the modification (NEW and OLD, respectively). Global‐annual mean LWCF from NEW was 1.8 W m−2 higher than that of OLD, thus remedying a long‐standing negative bias of LWCF. This improvement is a combined result of more clear‐sky and less all‐sky upward LW flux at the top of the atmosphere than OLD. Large increases in LWCF and clear‐sky LW flux occurred in the tropical deep convection and midlatitude storm track regions where upper‐ and middle‐level clouds are abundant. Although only the LW radiation scheme was modified, global‐annual mean shortwave cloud radiative forcing also increased, particularly in the vicinity of the eastern subtropical marine stratocumulus decks through radiative feedback processes. With this improved treatment, it may be possible to tune general circulation models in a more flexible and physical way without introducing compensating errors.

Effect of Clouds on the Diurnal Evolution of the Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Height Over a Tropical Coastal Station

The growth of the daytime convective atmospheric boundary layer, which plays a pivotal role in the vertical mixing and dispersal of water vapour and pollutants, is modulated by cloud radiative effects. Assessment of this cloud effect is sparse in any geographical region and non-existent over tropical coastal regions. We investigate the effect of clouds on the diurnal evolution of boundary-layer height over tropical coastal location Thumba (8.5°N, 77°E) during onshore and offshore flow using multi-year (2010–2016) microwave radiometer profiler observations. The boundary-layer height during both cloudy and clear-sky periods increases rapidly from 0800 LT (local time = UTC + 5.1 h) to attain a daytime peak around noon (400–1500 m). The seasonal mean noontime boundary layer height during cloudy periods is lower than that during clear-sky periods by > 900 m (> 400 m) when offshore (onshore) flow prevails during winter and pre-monsoon seasons. The forenoon growth rate of the boundary-layer height during clear-sky offshore flow is rapid (> 380 m h−1) compared to that during cloudy offshore (160 m h−1), clear-sky onshore (160–250 m h−1), and cloudy onshore (> 100 m h−1) flow. Effects of shortwave cloud radiative forcing and soil temperature on the noontime boundary-layer height and their interdependencies are presented. These observations reveal the contrasting and significant effect of clouds on the growth of the daytime boundary layer during onshore and offshore flow, and the coupled effects of cloud radiative forcing and soil temperature on boundary-layer height over tropical coastal regions, which provide essential constraints for evaluating model simulations.

Cloud Radiative Feedbacks during the ENSO Cycle Simulated by CAMS-CSM

This study evaluated the simulated cloud radiative feedbacks (CRF) during the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle in the latest version of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences climate system model (CAMS-CSM). We conducted two experimental model simulations: the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP), forced by the observed sea surface temperature (SST); and the preindustrial control (PIcontrol), a coupled run without flux correction. We found that both the experiments generally reproduced the observed features of the shortwave and longwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCRF and LWCRF) feedbacks. The AMIP run exhibited better simulation performance in the magnitude and spatial distribution than the PIcontrol run. Furthermore, the simulation biases in SWCRF and LWCRF feedbacks were linked to the biases in the representation of the corresponding total cloud cover and precipitation feedbacks. It is interesting to further find that the simulation bias originating in the atmospheric component was amplified in the PIcontrol run, indicating that the coupling aggravated the simulation bias. Since the PIcontrol run exhibited an apparent mean SST cold bias over the cold tongue, the precipitation response to the SST anomaly (SSTA) changes during the ENSO cycle occurred towards the relatively warmer western equatorial Pacific. Thus, the corresponding cloud cover and CRF shifted westward and showed a weaker magnitude in the PIcontrol run versus observational data. In contrast, the AMIP run was forced by the observational SST, hence representing a more realistic CRF. Our results demonstrate the challenges of simulating CRF in coupled models. This study also underscores the necessity of realistically representing the climatological mean state when simulating CRF during the ENSO cycle.

LASG Global AGCM with a Two-moment Cloud Microphysics Scheme: Energy Balance and Cloud Radiative Forcing Characteristics

Cloud dominates influence factors of atmospheric radiation, while aerosol-cloud interactions are of vital importance in its spatiotemporal distribution. In this study, a two-moment (mass and number) cloud microphysics scheme, which significantly improved the treatment of the coupled processes of aerosols and clouds, was incorporated into version 1.1 of the IAP/LASG global Finite-volume Atmospheric Model (FAMIL1.1). For illustrative purposes, the characteristics of the energy balance and cloud radiative forcing (CRF) in an AMIP-type simulation with prescribed aerosols were compared with those in observational/reanalysis data. Even within the constraints of the prescribed aerosol mass, the model simulated global mean energy balance at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and at the Earth’s surface, as well as their seasonal variation, are in good agreement with the observational data. The maximum deviation terms lie in the surface downwelling longwave radiation and surface latent heat flux, which are 3.5 W m-2 (1%) and 3 W m-2 (3.5%), individually. The spatial correlations of the annual TOA net radiation flux and the net CRF between simulation and observation were around 0.97 and 0.90, respectively. A major weakness is that FAMIL1.1 predicts more liquid water content and less ice water content over most oceans. Detailed comparisons are presented for a number of regions, with a focus on the Asian monsoon region (AMR). The results indicate that FAMIL1.1 well reproduces the summer-winter contrast for both the geographical distribution of the longwave CRF and shortwave CRF over the AMR. Finally, the model bias and possible solutions, as well as further works to develop FAMIL1.1 are discussed.