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.
References
64
Referenced
317
10.1175/1520-0469(1988)045<1606:HRITA>2.0.CO;2
{'key': 'e_1_2_1_3_1', 'volume-title': 'Optical Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, conference edition', 'author': 'Ansmann A.', 'year': '1991'}
/ Optical Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, conference edition by Ansmann A. (1991)10.1038/359373a0
- Chiou E. W. M. P.McCormick W. P.Chu G. Y.Yue Global distributions of cirrus determined from SAGE II occultation measurements between November 1984 and October 1988 Conference on Cloud Physics 513–516Am. Meteorol. Soc. Boston Mass. 1990.
10.1029/JD094iD06p08339
10.1029/92JD01628
10.1175/1520-0469(1969)026<1347:OEOAIC>2.0.CO;2
10.1175/1520-0477(1987)068<0114:FFIRE>2.0.CO;2
10.1029/GL009i006p00605
10.1029/GL009i006p00601
10.1029/92JD02954
10.1175/1520-0469(1993)050<2008:POTRPO>2.0.CO;2
- Gayet J. F. How accurately can we measure cirrus cloud microphysical properties? Proceedings of the World Meteorological Organization Workshop on Cloud Microphysics and Applications to Global ChangeWMO/TD 537 169–173 Geneva 1992.
10.1016/S0074-6142(08)60213-2
10.1016/S0074-6142(08)60211-9
10.1175/1520-0469(1990)047<0392:OTGEOM>2.0.CO;2
10.1029/95RG02097
10.1029/93JD00340
10.1175/1520-0442(1995)008<2577:STRVIT>2.0.CO;2
10.1029/95JD00017
10.1029/GL009i006p00617
10.1029/92JD02525
{'key': 'e_1_2_1_24_1', 'first-page': '227', 'volume-title': 'Teleconnections Linking Worldwide Climate Anomalies', 'author': 'Lau K.‐M.', 'year': '1991'}
/ Teleconnections Linking Worldwide Climate Anomalies by Lau K.‐M. (1991)10.1029/94JD02430
10.1029/94JD02429
10.1093/oso/9780195049107.001.0001
/ Radiation and Cloud Processes in the Atmosphere by Liou K. N. (1992)10.1175/1520-0493(1965)093<0769:SCOAGC>2.3.CO;2
{'key': 'e_1_2_1_29_1', 'first-page': '307', 'article-title': 'Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II instrument: A functional description', 'volume': '24', 'author': 'Mauldin L. E.', 'year': '1985', 'journal-title': 'Opt. Eng.'}
/ Opt. Eng. / Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II instrument: A functional description by Mauldin L. E. (1985)10.1016/0273-1177(87)90151-7
10.1029/91GL00075
10.1016/S0074-6142(08)60217-X
10.1038/373399a0
10.1029/94JD02848
10.1175/1520-0450(1984)023<1012:DVORCA>2.0.CO;2
10.1126/science.259.5100.1411
10.1029/95JD03422
{'key': 'e_1_2_1_38_1', 'volume-title': 'Climate Diagnostics Bulletin: June 1995', 'author': 'National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration', 'year': '1995'}
/ Climate Diagnostics Bulletin: June 1995 by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1995)10.1175/1520-0469(1981)038<2789:ASF>2.0.CO;2
- Oort A. H. Global atmospheric circulation statistics 1958–1973 NOAA Prof. Pap. 14 180 1983.
10.1175/1520-0493(1983)111<1244:GCVCWS>2.0.CO;2
10.1063/1.2809772
10.1175/1520-0477(1994)075<1635:TECLPS>2.0.CO;2
10.1126/science.243.4887.57
10.1007/978-3-642-78306-7_11
10.1175/1520-0477(1991)072<0002:ICDP>2.0.CO;2
10.1029/92JD02521
10.1175/1520-0450(1992)031<1275:STCLDF>2.0.CO;2
- Sassen K. A. J.Heymsfield D.Starr Is there a cirrus small particle anomaly? Conference on Cloud Physics J91–J95Am. Meteorol. Soc. Boston Mass. 1990.
10.1175/1520-0477(1985)066<1498:IGRDSA>2.0.CO;2
10.1175/1520-0442(1989)002<0671:NGCCPI>2.0.CO;2
{'key': 'e_1_2_1_52_1', 'first-page': '11819', 'article-title': 'Monthly mean upper tropospheric humidities in cloud‐free area from Meteosat observations', 'volume': '11', 'author': 'Von de Berg L.', 'year': '1991', 'journal-title': 'Int. J. Climatol.'}
/ Int. J. Climatol. / Monthly mean upper tropospheric humidities in cloud‐free area from Meteosat observations by Von de Berg L. (1991)- Wang P.‐H. SAGE II tropospheric measurement frequency and its meteorological implication Seventh Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography J15–J18Am. Meteorol. Soc. Boston Mass. 1994.
10.1016/0169-8095(94)90081-7
{'key': 'e_1_2_1_55_1', 'first-page': '2', 'volume-title': 'Atmospheric Sensing and Modeling', 'author': 'Wang P.‐H.', 'year': '1994'}
/ Atmospheric Sensing and Modeling by Wang P.‐H. (1994)10.1029/94JD02325
10.1029/94GL02992
- Warren S. G. C. J.Hahn J.London R. M.Chervin andR. L.Jenne Global distribution of total cloud cover and cloud type amounts over land NCAR TN‐273+STR Natl. Cent. for Atmos. Res. Boulder Colo. 1986. (Available asDE87‐006903 fromNatl. Tech. Inf. Serv. Springfield VA..
-
Warren S. G. C. J.Hahn J.London R. M.Chervin R. L.Jenne Global distribution of total cloud cover and cloud type amounts over oceanNCAR TN‐317+STRNatl. Cent. For Atmos. Res. Boulder Colo. 1988.
(
10.2172/5415329
) 10.1029/GL010i012p01180
10.1029/JD091iD02p02775
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)International Cloud Atlas I Manual on the Observation of Clouds and Other Meteors Geneva 1975.
- WMO An experimental cloud lidar pilot study (ECLIPS) report of the WCRP/CSIRO workshop on cloud base measurementWMO/TD 251 Geneva 1988.
10.1175/1520-0442(1994)007<1972:FYOGCC>2.0.CO;2
10.1175/1520-0442(1993)006<1987:OTACIH>2.0.CO;2
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) |
@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} }