Comparison of factors modulating marine stratocumulus in the northeast Atlantic and southeast Pacific
Authors
Sandra Yuter — North Carolina State University
Matthew Allen Miller — North Carolina State University
Simon Paul de Szoeke — Oregon State University
David B. Mechem — University of Kansas
Category
Cloud Properties
Description
Marine low clouds are important sources of cooling within the Earth’s radiation budget. The relative importance of environmental factors that modulate low cloud fraction is fundamental to improving the representation of these clouds within climate models. We use satellite and surface-based data sets from CAP-MBL and several ship cruises to the southeast Pacific to differentiate factors that are common to both stratocumulus regimes versus those that are unique to a particular geographic area. Our initial work uses geosynchronous IR data to obtain cloud fraction, height, area, and mesoscale organization for the two regions. We then examine the more detailed surface-based observations in terms of that larger scale context.
