scholarly journals Empirical evidence for deep convection being a major source of stratospheric ice clouds over North America

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 10457-10475
Author(s):  
Ling Zou ◽  
Lars Hoffmann ◽  
Sabine Griessbach ◽  
Reinhold Spang ◽  
Lunche Wang
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Ice Clouds ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern

Abstract. Ice clouds in the lowermost stratosphere affect stratospheric water vapour and the Earth's radiation budget. The knowledge of its occurrence and driving forces is limited. To assess the distribution and possible formation mechanisms of stratospheric ice clouds (SICs) over North America, we analysed SIC occurrence frequencies observed by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) instrument during the years 2006 to 2018. Possible driving forces such as deep convection are assessed based on Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations during the same time. Results show that at nighttime, SICs are most frequently observed during the thunderstorm season over the Great Plains from May to August (MJJA) with a maximum occurrence frequency of 6.2 %. During the months from November to February (NDJF), the highest SICs occurrence frequencies are 5.5 % over the north-eastern Pacific and western Canada and 4.4 % over the western North Atlantic. Occurrence frequencies of deep convection from AIRS, which includes storm systems, fronts, mesoscale convective systems, and mesoscale convective complexes at midlatitude and high latitude, show similar hotspots like the SICs, with highest occurrence frequencies being observed over the Great Plains in MJJA (4.4 %) and over the north-eastern Pacific, western Canada, and the western North Atlantic in NDJF (∼ 2.5 %). Both, seasonal patterns and daily time series of SICs and deep convection show a high degree of spatial and temporal relation. Further analysis indicates that the maximum fraction of SICs related to deep convection is 74 % over the Great Plains in MJJA and about 50 % over the western North Atlantic, the north-eastern Pacific, and western Canada in NDJF. We conclude that, locally and regionally, deep convection is the leading factor related to the occurrence of SICs over North America. In this study, we also analysed the impact of gravity waves as another important factor related to the occurrence of SICs, as the Great Plains is a well-known hotspot for stratospheric gravity waves. In the cases where SICs are not directly linked to deep convection, we found that stratospheric gravity wave observations correlate with SICs with as much as 30 % of the cases over the Great Plains in MJJA, about 50 % over the north-eastern Pacific and western Canada, and up to 90 % over eastern Canada and the north-west Atlantic in NDJF. Our results provide a better understanding of the physical processes and climate variability related to SICs and will be of interest for modellers as SIC sources such as deep convection and gravity waves are small-scale processes that are difficult to represent in global general circulation models.

Stratospheric cirrus clouds related to deep convection over North America observed by satellite measurements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Zou ◽  
Lars Hoffmann ◽  
Sabine Griessbach ◽  
Lunche Wang
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Formation Mechanism ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern

<p>Cirrus clouds in the stratosphere (SCCs) regulate the water vapor budget in the stratosphere, impact the stratosphere and tropopshere exchange, and affect the surface energy balance. But the knowledge of its occurrence and formation mechanism is limited, especially in middle and high latitudes. In this study, we aim to assess the occurrence frequencies of SCC over North America based on The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) instrument during the years 2006 to 2018. Possible driving forces such as deep convection are assessed based on Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations during the same time. </p><p>Results show that at nighttime, SCCs are most frequently observed during the thunderstorm season over the Great Plains from May to August (MJJA) with maximum occurrence frequency of 6.2%. During the months from November to February (NDJF), the highest SCCs occurrence frequencies are 5.5% over the North-Eastern Pacific, western Canada and 4.4% over the western North Atlantic. Occurrence frequencies of deep convection and strong storm systems from AIRS show similar hotspots like the SCCs, with highest occurrence frequencies being observed over the Great Plains in MJJA (4.4%) and over the North-Eastern Pacific, western Canada and the western North Atlantic in NDJF (~2.5%). Both, seasonal patterns and daily time series of SCCs and deep convection show a high degree of spatial and temporal correlation. As further analysis indicates that the maximum fraction of SCCs generated by deep convection is 74% over the Great Plains in MJJA and about 50% over the western North Atlantic, the North-Eastern Pacific and western Canada in NDJF, we conclude that, locally and regionally, deep convection is a leading factor for the formation of SCCs over North America. Other studies stressed the relevance of isentropic transport, double tropopause events, or gravity waves for the formation of SCCs. </p><p>In this study, we also analyzed the impact of gravity waves as a secondary formation mechanism for SCCs, as the Great Plains is a well-known hotspot for stratospheric gravity waves. In case of SCCs that are not directly linked to deep convection, we found that stratospheric gravity wave observations correlate in as much as 30% of the cases over the Great Plains in MJJA, about 50% over the North-Eastern Pacific, western Canada and maximally 90% over eastern Canada and the north-west Atlantic in NDJF. </p><p>Our results provide better understanding of the physical processes and climate variability related to SCCs and will be of interest for modelers as SCC sources such as deep convection and gravity waves are small-scale processes that are difficult to represent in global general circulation models. </p>

scholarly journals Empirical evidence for deep convection related stratospheric cirrus clouds over North America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Zou ◽  
Lars Hoffmann ◽  
Sabine Griessbach ◽  
Reinhold Spang ◽  
Lunche Wang
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Cirrus Clouds ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern

Abstract. Cirrus clouds in the lowermost stratosphere affect stratospheric water vapor and the Earth's radiation budget. The knowledge of its occurrence and driving forces is limited. To assess the distribution and possible formation mechanisms of stratospheric cirrus clouds (SCCs) over North America, we analyzed SCC occurrence frequencies observed by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) instrument during the years 2006 to 2018. Possible driving forces such as deep convection are assessed based on Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations during the same time. Results show that at nighttime, SCCs are most frequently observed during the thunderstorm season over the Great Plains from May to August (MJJA) with a maximum occurrence frequency of 6.2 %. During the months from November to February (NDJF), the highest SCCs occurrence frequencies are 5.5 % over the North-Eastern Pacific, western Canada and 4.4 % over the western North Atlantic. Occurrence frequencies of deep convection from AIRS, which includes storm systems, fronts, mesoscale convective systems and mesoscale convective complexes at mid- and high latitude, show similar hotspots like the SCCs, with highest occurrence frequencies being observed over the Great Plains in MJJA (4.4 %) and over the North-Eastern Pacific, western Canada and the western North Atlantic in NDJF (~2.5 %). Both, seasonal patterns and daily time series of SCCs and deep convection show a high degree of spatial and temporal relation. Further analysis indicates that the maximum fraction of SCCs related to deep convection is 74 % over the Great Plains in MJJA and about 50 % over the western North Atlantic, the North-Eastern Pacific and western Canada in NDJF. We conclude that, locally and regionally, deep convection is the leading factor related to occurrence of SCCs over North America. In this study, we also analyzed the impact of gravity waves as another important factor related to the occurrence SCCs, as the Great Plains is a well-known hotspot for stratospheric gravity waves. In the cases where SCCs are not directly linked to deep convection, we found that stratospheric gravity wave observations correlate with SCCs in as much as 30 % of the cases over the Great Plains in MJJA, about 50 % over the North-Eastern Pacific, western Canada and up to 90 % over eastern Canada and the north-west Atlantic in NDJF. Our results provide better understanding of the physical processes and climate variability related to SCCs and will be of interest for modelers as SCC sources such as deep convection and gravity waves are small-scale processes that are difficult to represent in global general circulation models.

Ancestral trans−North American Bell River system recorded in late Oligocene to early Miocene sediments in the Labrador Sea and Canadian Great Plains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia I. Corradino ◽  
Alex Pullen ◽  
Andrew L. Leier ◽  
David L. Barbeau Jr. ◽  
Howie D. Scher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
North American ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Labrador Sea ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
North American Cordillera ◽  
The North

The Bell River hypothesis proposes that an ancestral, transcontinental river occupied much of northern North America during the Cenozoic Era, transporting water and sediment from the North American Cordillera to the Saglek Basin on the eastern margin of the Labrador Sea. To explore this hypothesis and reconstruct Cenozoic North American drainage patterns, we analyzed detrital zircon grains from the Oligocene−Miocene Mokami and Saglek formations of the Saglek Basin and Oligocene−Miocene fluvial conglomerates in the Great Plains of western Canada. U-Pb detrital zircon age populations in the Mokami and Saglek formations include clusters at <250 Ma, 950−1250 Ma, 1600−2000 Ma, and 2400−3200 Ma. Detrital zircons with ages of <250 Ma were derived from the North American Cordillera, supporting the transcontinental Bell River hypothesis. Oligocene−Miocene fluvial strata in western Canada contain detrital zircon age populations similar to those in the Saglek Basin and are interpreted to represent the western headwaters of the ancient Bell River drainage. Strontium-isotope ratios of marine shell fragments from the Mokami and Saglek formations yielded ages between 25.63 and 18.08 Ma. The same shells have εNd values of −10.2 to −12.0 (average = −11.2), which are consistent with values of Paleozoic strata in western North America but are more radiogenic than the modern Labrador Current, Labrador Sea Water, and North Atlantic Deep Water values (εNd ∼−12 to −25). As a freshwater source, the existence and termination of the Bell River may have been important for Labrador Sea circulation, stratification, and chemistry.

Using Synthetic Brightness Temperatures to Address Uncertainties in Cloud-Top-Height Verification

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-296
Author(s):  
Jason E. Nachamkin ◽  
Yi Jin ◽  
Lewis D. Grasso ◽  
Kim Richardson
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Vertical Position ◽  
Sargasso Sea ◽  
Ice Clouds ◽  
Brightness Temperatures ◽  
The North ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Cloud Tops

AbstractCloud-top verification is inherently difficult because of large uncertainties in the estimates of observed cloud-top height. Misplacement of cloud top associated with transmittance through optically thin cirrus is one of the most common problems. Forward radiative models permit a direct comparison of predicted and observed radiance, but uncertainties in the vertical position of clouds remain. In this work, synthetic brightness temperatures are compared with forecast cloud-top heights so as to investigate potential errors and develop filters to remove optically thin ice clouds. Results from a statistical analysis reveal that up to 50% of the clouds with brightness temperatures as high as 280 K are actually optically thin cirrus. The filters successfully removed most of the thin ice clouds, allowing for the diagnosis of very specific errors. The results indicate a strong negative bias in midtropospheric cloud cover in the model, as well as a lack of land-based convective cumuliform clouds. The model also predicted an area of persistent stratus over the North Atlantic Ocean that was not apparent in the observations. In contrast, high cloud tops associated with deep convection were well simulated, as were mesoscale areas of enhanced trade cumulus coverage in the Sargasso Sea.

Late Quaternary palaeo-oceanography of the Denmark Strait overflow pathway, South-East Greenland margin

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 163-167
Author(s):  
Antoon Kuijpers ◽  
Jørn Bo Jensen ◽  
Simon R . Troelstra ◽  
And shipboard scientific party of RV Professor Logachev and RV Dana
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Conveyor Belt ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Labrador Sea ◽  
Greenland Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Denmark Strait ◽  
The North Atlantic

Direct interaction between the atmosphere and the deep ocean basins takes place today only in the Southern Ocean near the Antarctic continent and in the northern extremity of the North Atlantic Ocean, notably in the Norwegian–Greenland Sea and Labrador Sea. Cooling and evaporation cause surface waters in the latter region to become dense and sink. At depth, further mixing occurs with Arctic water masses from adjacent polar shelves. Export of these water masses from the Norwegian–Greenland Sea (Norwegian Sea Overflow Water) to the North Atlantic basin occurs via two major gateways, the Denmark Strait system and the Faeroe– Shetland Channel and Faeroe Bank Channel system (e.g. Dickson et al. 1990; Fig.1). Deep convection in the Labrador Sea produces intermediate waters (Labrador Sea Water), which spreads across the North Atlantic. Deep waters thus formed in the North Atlantic (North Atlantic Deep Water) constitute an essential component of a global ‘conveyor’ belt extending from the North Atlantic via the Southern and Indian Oceans to the Pacific. Water masses return as a (warm) surface water flow. In the North Atlantic this is the Gulf Stream and the relatively warm and saline North Atlantic Current. Numerous palaeo-oceanographic studies have indicated that climatic changes in the North Atlantic region are closely related to changes in surface circulation and in the production of North Atlantic Deep Water. Abrupt shut-down of the ocean-overturning and subsequently of the conveyor belt is believed to represent a potential explanation for rapid climate deterioration at high latitudes, such as those that caused the Quaternary ice ages. Here it should be noted, that significant changes in deep convection in Greenland waters have also recently occurred. While in the Greenland Sea deep water formation over the last decade has drastically decreased, a strong increase of deep convection has simultaneously been observed in the Labrador Sea (Sy et al. 1997).

scholarly journals Analog Ensemble Methods for Improving Satellite-Based Intensity Estimates of Tropical Cyclones

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 830
Author(s):  
William E. Lewis ◽  
Timothy L. Olander ◽  
Christopher S. Velden ◽  
Christopher Rozoff ◽  
Stefano Alessandrini
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Mean Absolute Error ◽  
Ensemble Methods ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Intensity Maximum ◽  
The North ◽  
The University ◽  
Meteorological Satellite ◽  
Fold Cross Validation

Accurate, reliable estimates of tropical cyclone (TC) intensity are a crucial element in the warning and forecast process worldwide, and for the better part of 50 years, estimates made from geostationary satellite observations have been indispensable to forecasters for this purpose. One such method, the Advanced Dvorak Technique (ADT), was used to develop analog ensemble (AnEn) techniques that provide more precise estimates of TC intensity with instant access to information on the reliability of the estimate. The resulting methods, ADT-AnEn and ADT-based Error Analog Ensemble (ADTE-AnEn), were trained and tested using seventeen years of historical ADT intensity estimates using k-fold cross-validation with 10 folds. Using only two predictors, ADT-estimated current intensity (maximum wind speed) and TC center latitude, both AnEn techniques produced significant reductions in mean absolute error and bias for all TC intensity classes in the North Atlantic and for most intensity classes in the Eastern Pacific. The ADTE-AnEn performed better for extreme intensities in both basins (significantly so in the Eastern Pacific) and will be incorporated in the University of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (UW-CIMSS) workflow for further testing during operations in 2021.

Notes on Power Operated Controls for Large Aircraft

1945 ◽  
Vol 49 (410) ◽  
pp. 51-54
Author(s):  
A. Gouge
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The North ◽  
The World ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Large Aircraft

A Study of the air routes of the world brings out almost at once the fact that some of the most difficult route are also the most attractive. For instance, the North Atlantic route which couples North America with Europe is certainly one of the most difficult in the world, but also by the fact that it couples two of the most densely populated, as well as the most wealthy groups of people in the world, one of the most attractive.

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