scholarly journals Local Balance and Variability of Atmospheric Heat Budget over Oceans: Observation and Reanalysis-Based Estimates

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 893-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Wong ◽  
Tristan S. L’Ecuyer ◽  
William S. Olson ◽  
Xianan Jiang ◽  
Eric J. Fetzer
Keyword(s):  
Heat Budget ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Cooling Rates ◽  
Atmospheric Heating ◽  
Atmospheric Heat

Abstract The authors quantify systematic differences between modern observation- and reanalysis-based estimates of atmospheric heating rates and identify dominant variability modes over tropical oceans. Convergence of heat fluxes between the top of the atmosphere and the surface are calculated over the oceans using satellite-based radiative and sensible heat fluxes and latent heating from precipitation estimates. The convergence is then compared with column-integrated atmospheric heating based on Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data as well as the heating calculated using temperatures from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder and wind fields from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). Corresponding calculations using MERRA and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Re-Analysis heating rates and heat fluxes are also performed. The geographical patterns of atmospheric heating rates show heating regimes over the intertropical convergence zone and summertime monsoons and cooling regimes over subsidence areas in the subtropical oceans. Compared to observation-based datasets, the reanalyses have larger atmospheric heating rates in heating regimes and smaller cooling rates in cooling regimes. For the averaged heating rates over the oceans in 40°S–40°N, the observation-based datasets have net atmospheric cooling rates (from −15 to −22 W m−2) compared to the reanalyses net warming rates (5.0–5.2 W m−2). This discrepancy implies different pictures of atmospheric heat transport. Wavelet spectra of atmospheric heating rates show distinct maxima of variability in annual, semiannual, and/or intraseasonal time scales. In regimes where deep convection frequently occurs, variability is mainly driven by latent heating. In the subtropical subsidence areas, variability in radiative heating is comparable to that in latent heating.

scholarly journals Shallow and Deep Latent Heating Modes over Tropical Oceans Observed with TRMM PR Spectral Latent Heating Data

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 2030-2046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukari N. Takayabu ◽  
Shoichi Shige ◽  
Wei-Kuo Tao ◽  
Nagio Hirota
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Tropical Oceans ◽  
Trmm Precipitation ◽  
Subtropical Oceans ◽  
Cumulus Congestus

Abstract Three-dimensional distributions of the apparent heat source (Q1) − radiative heating (QR) estimated from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) utilizing the spectral latent heating (SLH) algorithm are analyzed. Mass-weighted and vertically integrated Q1 − QR averaged over the tropical oceans is estimated as ∼72.6 J s−1 (∼2.51 mm day−1) and that over tropical land is ∼73.7 J s−1 (∼2.55 mm day−1) for 30°N–30°S. It is shown that nondrizzle precipitation over tropical and subtropical oceans consists of two dominant modes of rainfall systems: deep systems and congestus. A rough estimate of the shallow-heating contribution against the total heating is about 46.7% for the average tropical oceans, which is substantially larger than the 23.7% over tropical land. Although cumulus congestus heating linearly correlates with SST, deep-mode heating is dynamically bounded by large-scale subsidence. It is notable that a substantial amount of rain, as large as 2.38 mm day−1 on average, is brought from congestus clouds under the large-scale subsiding circulation. It is also notable that, even in the region with SSTs warmer than 28°C, large-scale subsidence effectively suppresses the deep convection, with the remaining heating by congestus clouds. The results support that the entrainment of mid–lower-tropospheric dry air, which accompanies the large-scale subsidence, is the major factor suppressing the deep convection. Therefore, a representation of the realistic entrainment is very important for proper reproduction of precipitation distribution and the resultant large-scale circulation.

The effect of sampling rate on interpretation of the temporal characteristics of radiative and convective heating in wildland flames

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Frankman ◽  
Brent W. Webb ◽  
Bret W. Butler ◽  
Daniel Jimenez ◽  
Michael Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Rate ◽  
Sampling Frequency ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Convective Heating ◽  
Moving Window ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
The Difference

Time-resolved radiative and convective heating measurements were collected on a prescribed burn in coniferous fuels at a sampling frequency of 500 Hz. Evaluation of the data in the time and frequency domain indicate that this sampling rate was sufficient to capture the temporal fluctuations of radiative and convective heating. The convective heating signal contained significantly larger fluctuations in magnitude and frequency than did the radiative heating signal. The data were artificially down-sampled to 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1 Hz to explore the effect of sampling rate on peak heat fluxes, time-averaged heating and integrated heating. Results show that for sampling rates less than 5 Hz the difference between measured and actual peak radiative heating rates can be as great as 24%, and is on the order of 80% for 1-Hz sampling rates. Convective heating showed degradation in the signal for sampling rates less than 100 Hz. Heating rates averaged over a 2-s moving window, as well as integrated radiative and convective heating were insensitive to sampling rate across all ranges explored. The data suggest that peak radiative and convective heating magnitudes cannot be fully temporally resolved for sampling frequencies lower than 20 and 200 Hz.

scholarly journals Latent Heating and Cooling Rates in Developing and Nondeveloping Tropical Disturbances during TCS-08: Radar-Equivalent Retrievals from Mesoscale Numerical Models and ELDORA*

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myung-Sook Park ◽  
Andrew B. Penny ◽  
Russell L. Elsberry ◽  
Brian J. Billings ◽  
James D. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Cooling Rates ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Cooling Effects ◽  
Convective Cells

Abstract Latent heating and cooling rates have a critical role in predicting tropical cyclone formation and intensification. In a prior study, Park and Elsberry estimated the latent heating and cooling rates from aircraft Doppler radar [Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA)] observations for two developing and two nondeveloping tropical disturbances during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field experiment. In this study, equivalent retrievals of heating rates from two mesoscale models with 1-km resolution are calculated with the same radar thermodynamic retrieval. Contoured frequency altitude diagrams and vertical profiles of the net latent heating rates from the model are compared with the ELDORA-retrieved rates in similar cloud-cluster regions relative to the center of circulation. In both the developing and nondeveloping cases, the radar-equivalent retrievals from the two models tend to overestimate heating for less frequently occurring, intense convective cells that contribute to positive vorticity generation and spinup in the lower troposphere. The model maximum cooling rates are consistently smaller in magnitude than the heating maxima for the nondeveloping cases as well as the developing cases. Whereas in the model the cooling rates are predominantly associated with melting processes, the effects of evaporative cooling are underestimated in convective downdraft regions and at upper levels. Because of the net warming of the columns, the models tend to overintensify the lower-tropospheric circulations if these intense convective cells are close to the circulation center. Improvements in the model physical process representations are required to realistically represent the evaporative cooling effects.

scholarly journals Large differences in reanalyses of diabatic heating in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 9565-9576 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Wright ◽  
S. Fueglistaler
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Mixing ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Japan Meteorological Agency ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Tropical Upper Troposphere

Abstract. We present the time mean heat budgets of the tropical upper troposphere (UT) and lower stratosphere (LS) as simulated by five reanalysis models: the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA), European Reanalysis (ERA-Interim), Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), Japanese 25-yr Reanalysis and Japan Meteorological Agency Climate Data Assimilation System (JRA-25/JCDAS), and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) Reanalysis 1. The simulated diabatic heat budget in the tropical UTLS differs significantly from model to model, with substantial implications for representations of transport and mixing. Large differences are apparent both in the net heat budget and in all comparable individual components, including latent heating, heating due to radiative transfer, and heating due to parameterised vertical mixing. We describe and discuss the most pronounced differences. Discrepancies in latent heating reflect continuing difficulties in representing moist convection in models. Although these discrepancies may be expected, their magnitude is still disturbing. We pay particular attention to discrepancies in radiative heating (which may be surprising given the strength of observational constraints on temperature and tropospheric water vapour) and discrepancies in heating due to turbulent mixing (which have received comparatively little attention). The largest differences in radiative heating in the tropical UTLS are attributable to differences in cloud radiative heating, but important systematic differences are present even in the absence of clouds. Local maxima in heating and cooling due to parameterised turbulent mixing occur in the vicinity of the tropical tropopause.

Sounding-Based Thermodynamic Budgets for DYNAMO

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 598-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Johnson ◽  
Paul E. Ciesielski ◽  
James H. Ruppert ◽  
Masaki Katsumata
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Convective Heating ◽  
Madden Julian Oscillation ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Gross Moist Stability ◽  
Cumulus Congestus

Abstract The Dynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) field campaign, conducted over the Indian Ocean from October 2011 to March 2012, was designed to study the initiation of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). Two prominent MJOs occurred in the experimental domain during the special observing period in October and November. Data from a northern and a southern sounding array (NSA and SSA, respectively) have been used to investigate the apparent heat sources and sinks (Q1 and Q2) and radiative heating rates QR throughout the life cycles of the two MJO events. The MJO signal was far stronger in the NSA than the SSA. Time series of Q1, Q2, and the vertical eddy flux of moist static energy reveal an evolution of cloud systems for both MJOs consistent with prior studies: shallow, nonprecipitating cumulus during the suppressed phase, followed by cumulus congestus, then deep convection during the active phase, and finally stratiform precipitation. However, the duration of these phases was shorter for the November MJO than for the October event. The profiles of Q1 and Q2 for the two arrays indicate a greater stratiform rain fraction for the NSA than the SSA—a finding supported by TRMM measurements. Surface rainfall rates and net tropospheric QR determined as residuals from the budgets show good agreement with satellite-based estimates. The cloud radiative forcing was approximately 20% of the column-integrated convective heating and of the same amplitude as the normalized gross moist stability, leaving open the possibility of radiative–convective instability for the two MJOs.

Combining Satellite Microwave Radiometer and Radar Observations to Estimate Atmospheric Heating Profiles

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 6356-6376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mircea Grecu ◽  
William S. Olson ◽  
Chung-Lin Shie ◽  
Tristan S. L’Ecuyer ◽  
Wei-Kuo Tao
Keyword(s):  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Model Simulations ◽  
Surface Precipitation ◽  
Cloud Resolving Model ◽  
Microwave Imager ◽  
Heating Profile

Abstract In this study, satellite passive microwave sensor observations from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) are utilized to make estimates of latent + eddy sensible heating rates (Q1 − QR) where Q1 is the apparent heat source and QR is the radiative heating rate in regions of precipitation. The TMI heating algorithm (herein called TRAIN) is calibrated or “trained” using relatively accurate estimates of heating based on spaceborne Precipitation Radar (PR) observations collocated with the TMI observations over a one-month period. The heating estimation technique is based on a previously described Bayesian methodology, but with improvements in supporting cloud-resolving model simulations, an adjustment of precipitation echo tops to compensate for model biases, and a separate scaling of convective and stratiform heating components that leads to an approximate balance between estimated vertically integrated condensation and surface precipitation. Estimates of Q1 − QR from TMI compare favorably with the PR training estimates and show only modest sensitivity to the cloud-resolving model simulations of heating used to construct the training data. Moreover, the net condensation in the corresponding annual mean satellite latent heating profile is within a few percent of the annual mean surface precipitation rate over the tropical and subtropical oceans where the algorithm is applied. Comparisons of Q1 produced by combining TMI Q1 − QR with independently derived estimates of QR show reasonable agreement with rawinsonde-based analyses of Q1 from two field campaigns, although the satellite estimates exhibit heating profile structures with sharper and more intense heating peaks than the rawinsonde estimates.

The Southeast Pacific Warm Band and Double ITCZ

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1189-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirohiko Masunaga ◽  
Tristan S. L’Ecuyer
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Ocean Mixed Layer ◽  
The South ◽  
Surface Heat Fluxes ◽  
Double Itcz ◽  
Southeast Pacific

Abstract The east Pacific double intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in austral fall is investigated with particular focus on the growing processes of its Southern Hemisphere branch. Satellite measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) are analyzed to derive 8-yr climatology from 2000 to 2007. The earliest sign of the south ITCZ emerges in sea surface temperature (SST) by January, followed by the gradual development of surface convergence and water vapor. The shallow cumulus population starts growing to form the south ITCZ in February, a month earlier than vigorous deep convection is organized into the south ITCZ. The key factors that give rise to the initial SST enhancement or the southeast Pacific warm band are diagnosed by simple experiments. The experiments are designed to calculate SST, making use of an ocean mixed layer “model” forced by surface heat fluxes, all of which are derived from satellite observations. It is found that the shortwave flux absorbed into the ocean mixed layer is the primary driver of the southeast Pacific warm band. The warm band does not develop in boreal fall because the shortwave flux is seasonally so small that it is overwhelmed by other negative fluxes, including the latent heat and longwave fluxes. Clouds offset the net radiative flux by 10–15 W m−2, which is large enough for the warm band to develop in boreal fall if it were not for clouds reflecting shortwave radiation. Interannual variability of the double ITCZ is also discussed in brief.

Rainfall, Convection, and Latent Heating Distributions in Rapidly Intensifying Tropical Cyclones

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 2789-2809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Zagrodnik ◽  
Haiyan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Intensity Change ◽  
Shear Direction ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Rainfall Frequency ◽  
Trmm Precipitation

Abstract Tropical cyclone (TC) rainfall, convection, and latent heating distributions are compiled from 14 years of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar overpasses. The dataset of 818 Northern Hemisphere tropical storms through category 2 hurricanes is divided by future 24-h intensity change and exclusively includes storms with at least moderately favorable environmental conditions. The rapidly intensifying (RI) category is further subdivided into an initial [RI (initial)] and continuing [RI (continuing)] category based on whether the storm is near the beginning of an RI event or has already been undergoing RI for 12 or more hours prior to the TRMM overpass. TCs in each intensity change category are combined into composite diagrams orientated relative to the environmental vertical wind shear direction. Rainfall frequency, defined as the shear-relative occurrence of PR near-surface reflectivity >20 dBZ, is most strongly correlated with future intensity change. The rainfall frequency is also higher in RI (continuing) TCs than RI (initial). Moderate-to-deep convection and latent heating only increase significantly after RI is underway for at least 12 h in the innermost 50 km relative to the TC center. The additional precipitation in rapidly intensifying TCs is composed primarily of a mixture of weak convective and stratiform rain, especially in the upshear quadrants. The rainfall frequency and latent heating distributions are more symmetric near the onset of RI and continue to become more symmetric as RI continues and the rainfall coverage expands upshear. The relationship between rainfall distributions and future TC intensity highlights the potential of 37-GHz satellite imagery to improve real-time intensity forecasting.

scholarly journals Large differences in the diabatic heat budget of the tropical UTLS in reanalyses

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 8805-8830 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Wright ◽  
S. Fueglistaler
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Mixing ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Transport And Mixing ◽  
Heat Budgets

Abstract. We present the time mean heat budgets of the tropical upper troposphere (UT) and lower stratosphere (LS) as simulated by five reanalysis models: MERRA, ERA-Interim, CFSR, JRA-25/JCDAS, and NCEP/NCAR. The simulated diabatic heat budget in the tropical UTLS differs significantly from model to model, with substantial implications for representations of transport and mixing. Large differences are apparent both in the net heat budget and in all comparable individual components, including latent heating, heating due to radiative transfer, and heating due to parameterised vertical mixing. We describe and discuss the most pronounced differences. Although they may be expected given difficulties in representing moist convection in models, the discrepancies in latent heating are still disturbing. We pay particular attention to discrepancies in radiative heating (which may be surprising given the strength of observational constraints on temperature and tropospheric water vapour) and discrepancies in heating due to turbulent mixing (which have received comparatively little attention).

scholarly journals Assessing the Vertical Latent Heating Structure of the East Pacific ITCZ Using the CloudSat CPR and TRMM PR

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 2563-2577 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Huaman ◽  
C. Schumacher
Keyword(s):  
Meridional Circulation ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
Convective Precipitation ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Shallow Convection ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Trmm Pr ◽  
Heating Profiles

In the east Pacific (EP) intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) latent heating retrievals suggest a top-heavy structure; however, light precipitation and its associated low-level heating are underestimated by the PR. This study uses stratiform and deep convective precipitation from the TRMM PR and shallow precipitation from the more sensitive CloudSat radar to assess the seasonal latent heating structure in the EP ITCZ (130°–90°W) for 1998–2014. This study also uses reanalyses (MERRA-2, ERA-Interim, and NCEP–NCAR) to analyze the meridional circulation linked to variations in ITCZ heating. The TRMM/ CloudSat heating profiles suggest a distinct seasonality. During DJF, latent heating peaks at 800 hPa because of the predominance of shallow convection and rises to 700 hPa during MAM as the contribution from deep convective rain increases. During JJA and SON, stratiform precipitation increases and the latent heating has a double peak at 700 and 400 hPa. Additionally, the EP ITCZ heating has a meridional slope throughout most of the year as a result of the prevalence of shallow (deep) convection in the southern (northern) part of the ITCZ. While the reanalyses agree that the most bottom-heavy heating occurs in DJF and the most top-heavy heating occurs in JJA, they underestimate heating aloft compared to the satellite retrievals throughout the year and show varying ability in representing the shallow meridional circulation and deeper Hadley cell overturning.

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