HR: 1340h
AN: A53D-1437    [Abstracts]
TI: Characteristics of boundary-layer structure and cloud properties revealed by satellite data
AU: * Mansbach, D K
EM: dmansbach@ucsd.edu
AF: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 9500 Gilman Drive MC 0224, San Diego, CA 92037, United States
AU: Norris, J R
EM: jnorris@ucsd.edu
AF: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 9500 Gilman Drive MC 0224, San Diego, CA 92037, United States
AB: This study uses MODIS cloud-top temperature, MISR stereoscopic cloud-top height, (AMSR-E) sea surface temperature, and AIRS tropospheric temperature to estimate the jump in temperature at the marine boundary layer-free troposphere interface as well as the magnitude of decoupling between the cloud layer and subcloud layer in marine stratocumulus regions. The contributions of inversion strength, decoupling, sea surface temperature, and horizontal advection to variations in low-level cloud amount and optical depth are investigated in order to determine the relative importance of changes in internal boundary-layer structure and external boundary layer forcing on cloud properties. A mixed-layer model is used to explore the observed relationships as well assess the significance of decoupling in the stratocumulus region.
DE: 3300 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES
DE: 3310 Clouds and cloud feedbacks
DE: 3311 Clouds and aerosols
DE: 3360 Remote sensing
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting