[A-AS01] Evolution of Global Environmental Research based on Atmospheric Vertical Motions

[AAS01-05] The Land-Ocean Contrasts in Deep Convective Cloud Intensity Using Global Satellite Observations and DYAMOND simulations

★Invited Papers

*Hanii Takahashi¹, ZHENGZHAO Johnny Luo², Graeme Stephens ¹, Longtao Wu¹, Mark Smalley¹ (1.NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2.CUNY City College of New York )

Keywords:CloudSat, DYAMOND, Convective processes , Convective Dynamics

Vertical mass transport by convective updrafts is critically important since it effectively controls the energy budgets and hydrological cycles. For vertical transport, the primary center of action is the convective core, and one of the key processes that affects the convective core is entrainment because entrainment dilutes the strength of convective updraft cores and weakens the intensity of vertical transport. Since the 1960s, an inverse correlation between entrainment rate (λ) and convective core size (R) has been adopted as a cornerstone of cumulus cloud modeling. However, it has never been systematically explored with global satellite observations. To this end, this study revisits the λ-R relation using multiple years of A-Train observations. Our results show that the inverse relationship is robust. Further, our analysis shows that continental convective clouds tend to have smaller λ and larger R compared to oceanic convective clouds, suggesting that vertical mass transport by continental convection is more efficient. So, what are the causes of these land-ocean contrasts in convective cloud characters? To investigate this, we first use multiple years of global satellite observations of clouds to examine relations among various convective cloud characters and their environments. Second, in light of numerous previous work that often focused on one aspect of the problem at a time, this current study seeks to combine all the aforementioned factors, including both environmental parameters (such as LCL and CAPE) and convective cloud properties (such as convective intensity, core width and entrainment rate), in a single analysis framework. Finally, we compare DYAMOND simulations to explore how climate models represent the land-ocean contrasts in deep convection. Our goal is to elucidate the interconnections among these different factors to come up with a more complete explanation of the land-ocean contrasts in convection.