HR: 08:45h
AN: A31B-04    [PDF]
TI: Heat Balance in the Tropical Tropopause Layer
AU: * Kuang, Z
EM: kzm@atmos.washington.edu
AF: Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, BOX 351640, seattle, WA 98195-1640 United States
AU: Bretherton, C S
EM: breth@atmos.washington.edu
AF: Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, BOX 351640, seattle, WA 98195-1640 United States
AB: Using a cloud resolving model, we show that the heat balance in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) is between convective cooling and the combined heating effect of radiation and large scale heating/cooling. As expected, large scale dynamical cooling in the TTL such as due to the Brewer-Dobson circulation lifts and cools the TTL. The opposite effect is observed when dynamical heating is applied. In all cases, however, significant convective cooling exists in the TTL. Our results are in contrast to a recent suggestion by Thuburn and Craig (2002) based on a 1D radiative-convective model that the TTL (their substratosphere) is a stratospheric feature decoupled from convection.
DE: 0300 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE
DE: 3314 Convective processes
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting