TY - JOUR
T1 - The Temperature Control of Cloud Adiabatic Fraction and Coverage
AU - Lu, Xin
AU - Mao, Feiyue
AU - Rosenfeld, Daniel
AU - Zhu, Yannian
AU - Zang, Lin
AU - Pan, Zengxin
AU - Gong, Wei
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. The Authors.
PY - 2023/11/28
Y1 - 2023/11/28
N2 - The fraction of cloud water compared to its adiabatic value is defined as the adiabatic fraction, fad. The accuracy of cloud representation in climate models is highly sensitive to mixing rate, manifested in fad. Here, we present the first fad distribution of marine boundary layer clouds over global oceans, retrieved by satellite observations. The fad is shown to decrease exponentially with cloud base temperature (CBT) and cloud depth, in agreement with the increasing evaporation capacity of entrained warmer air. Cloud cover decreases with increasing CBT, but to a much lesser extent than fad. The dependence of fad on CBT has little dependence on relative humidity or precipitation. The relationship between CBT and fad highlights the importance of CBT as a core control factor on cloud evaporation. The simultaneous decrease in cloud water content and cover with increasing CBT can lead to positive cloud feedback, resulting in greater future climate warming.
AB - The fraction of cloud water compared to its adiabatic value is defined as the adiabatic fraction, fad. The accuracy of cloud representation in climate models is highly sensitive to mixing rate, manifested in fad. Here, we present the first fad distribution of marine boundary layer clouds over global oceans, retrieved by satellite observations. The fad is shown to decrease exponentially with cloud base temperature (CBT) and cloud depth, in agreement with the increasing evaporation capacity of entrained warmer air. Cloud cover decreases with increasing CBT, but to a much lesser extent than fad. The dependence of fad on CBT has little dependence on relative humidity or precipitation. The relationship between CBT and fad highlights the importance of CBT as a core control factor on cloud evaporation. The simultaneous decrease in cloud water content and cover with increasing CBT can lead to positive cloud feedback, resulting in greater future climate warming.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85177236486&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2023GL105831
DO - 10.1029/2023GL105831
M3 - ???researchoutput.researchoutputtypes.contributiontojournal.article???
AN - SCOPUS:85177236486
SN - 0094-8276
VL - 50
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
IS - 22
M1 - e2023GL105831
ER -
