Wintertime Synoptic Patterns of Midlatitude Boundary Layer Clouds Over the Western North Atlantic: Climatology and Insights From In Situ ACTIVATE Observations
Corresponding Author
David Painemal
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Correspondence to:
D. Painemal,
Search for more papers by this authorSeethala Chellappan
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorWilliam L. Smith Jr.
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorDouglas Spangenberg
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAndrew Ackerman
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences, New York, NY, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJingyi Chen
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorEwan Crosbie
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorSimon Kirschler
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorXiang-Yu Li
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAllison McComiskey
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRichard H. Moore
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorArmin Sorooshian
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Search for more papers by this authorFlorian Tornow
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences, New York, NY, USA
Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
Search for more papers by this authorChristiane Voigt
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorHailong Wang
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorEdward Winstead
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorXubin Zeng
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Search for more papers by this authorPaquita Zuidema
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
David Painemal
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Correspondence to:
D. Painemal,
Search for more papers by this authorSeethala Chellappan
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorWilliam L. Smith Jr.
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorDouglas Spangenberg
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAndrew Ackerman
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences, New York, NY, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJingyi Chen
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorEwan Crosbie
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorSimon Kirschler
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorXiang-Yu Li
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAllison McComiskey
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRichard H. Moore
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorArmin Sorooshian
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Search for more papers by this authorFlorian Tornow
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences, New York, NY, USA
Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
Search for more papers by this authorChristiane Voigt
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorHailong Wang
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorEdward Winstead
Science Systems and Applications, Inc, Hampton, VA, USA
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorXubin Zeng
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
Search for more papers by this authorPaquita Zuidema
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The winter synoptic evolution of the western North Atlantic and its influence on the atmospheric boundary layer is described by means of a regime classification based on Self-Organizing Maps applied to 12 years of data (2009–2020). The regimes are classified into categories according to daily 600-hPa geopotential height: dominant ridge, trough to ridge eastward transition (trough-ridge), dominant trough, and ridge to trough eastward transition (ridge–trough). A fifth synoptic regime resembles the winter climatological mean. Coherent changes in sea-level pressure and large-scale winds are in concert with the synoptic regimes: (a) the ridge regime is associated with a well-developed anticyclone; (b) the trough-ridge gives rise to a low-pressure center over the ocean, ascents, and northerly winds over the coastal zone; (c) trough is associated with the eastward displacement of a cyclone, coastal subsidence, and northerly winds, all representative characteristics of cold-air outbreaks; and (d) the ridge–trough regime features the development of an anticyclone and weak coastal winds. Low clouds are characteristic of the trough regime, with both trough and trough–ridge featuring synoptic maxima in cloud droplet number concentration (Nd). The Nd increase is primarily observed near the coast, concomitant with strong surface heat fluxes exceeding by more than 400 W m−2 compared to fluxes further east. Five consecutive days of aircraft observations collected during the ACTIVATE campaign corroborates the climatological characterization, confirming the occurrence of high Nd for days identified as trough. This study emphasizes the role of boundary-layer dynamics and aerosol activation and their roles in modulating cloud microphysics.
Key Points
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Winter synoptic evolution is well described by a clustering method applied to 600 hPa geopotential height
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Marine low clouds are characteristic of the trough regime, associated with strong surface heat fluxes
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Cold-air outbreaks are associated with trough and ridge–trough regimes, and witness peaks in cloud droplet number and aerosol concentrations
Plain Language Summary
The synoptic evolution of boundary layer clouds over the western North Atlantic is described by means of a regime classification based on Self-Organizing Maps. The analysis is able to capture events with low and high low-cloud coverage. High-cloud coverage days are associated with cold-air outbreaks (CAOs). The combination of cold and dry conditions gives rise to an enhancement of surface heat fluxes during CAO, consistent with an increase in cloud fraction. In addition, prevailing winds during CAO days explain the occurrence of a synoptic maximum in cloud droplet number concentration, linked to transport of continental aerosol over the ocean. Overall, the dynamics of midlatitude low clouds substantially differ from archetypal stratocumulus clouds regimes.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The Aerosol Cloud Meteorology Interactions over the Western Atlantic Experiment data used in this study can be downloaded from the experiment’s repository at https://doi.org/www-air.larc.nasa.gov/missions/activate/index.html; https://doi.org/10.5067/SUBORBITAL/ACTIVATE/DATA001 (ACTIVATE, 2021).
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| 2022JD037725-sup-0001-Supporting Information SI-S01.docx770.4 KB | Supporting Information S1 |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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