Crossref journal-article
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (13)
Abstract

A 6‐year climatology of subvisual and opaque cloud occurrence frequencies is established using observations from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II between 1985 and 1990. The subvisual clouds are observed mostly at high altitudes near the tropopause. The opaque clouds terminate the profiling, reducing the measurement frequency of the SAGE II instrument in the troposphere. With its 1‐km vertical resolution, the climatology shows many interesting features, including (1) the seasonal expansion and migration behavior of the subvisual and opaque cloud systems; (2) the association of the zonal mean cloud frequency distributions with the tropospheric mean circulation (Hadley and Ferrel cells); (3) the tropical cloud occurrence that follows the equatorial circulation, including the Walker circulation over the Pacific Ocean; and (4) the overall higher cloud occurrence in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere. The radiative impact of subvisual clouds is estimated to be a 1‐W m−2reduction in outgoing longwave radiation. The maximum overall effect is a net positive cloud forcing of 0.5–1 W m−2in the tropics. During the 1987 El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), cloud frequency was generally enhanced in the tropics and midlatitudes and reduced in the subtropics and high latitudes. The present study shows a distinct negative correlation between the high‐altitude cloud occurrence and the lower stratospheric water vapor mixing ratio in the tropics, providing intrinsic evidence on the delicate connection between the stratospheric‐tropospheric exchange and dehydration processes and the high‐altitude cloud activities.

Bibliography

Wang, P., Minnis, P., McCormick, M. P., Kent, G. S., & Skeens, K. M. (1996). A 6‐year climatology of cloud occurrence frequency from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II observations (1985–1990). Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 101(D23), 29407–29429. Portico.

Authors 5
  1. Pi‐Huan Wang (first)
  2. Patrick Minnis (additional)
  3. M. Patrick McCormick (additional)
  4. Geoffrey S. Kent (additional)
  5. Kristi M. Skeens (additional)
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Dates
Type When
Created 21 years, 7 months ago (Feb. 3, 2004, 8:54 p.m.)
Deposited 1 year, 7 months ago (Jan. 12, 2024, 12:21 a.m.)
Indexed 2 weeks ago (Aug. 23, 2025, 1 a.m.)
Issued 28 years, 9 months ago (Dec. 1, 1996)
Published 28 years, 9 months ago (Dec. 1, 1996)
Published Online 28 years, 9 months ago (Dec. 1, 1996)
Published Print 28 years, 8 months ago (Dec. 27, 1996)
Funders 0

None

@article{Wang_1996, title={A 6‐year climatology of cloud occurrence frequency from Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II observations (1985–1990)}, volume={101}, ISSN={0148-0227}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/96jd01780}, DOI={10.1029/96jd01780}, number={D23}, journal={Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres}, publisher={American Geophysical Union (AGU)}, author={Wang, Pi‐Huan and Minnis, Patrick and McCormick, M. Patrick and Kent, Geoffrey S. and Skeens, Kristi M.}, year={1996}, month=dec, pages={29407–29429} }