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This study examines the spatial and temporal patterns of tropical tropopause layer (TTL) cirrus clouds (i.e., clouds with bases higher than 14.5 km) and their relationship to tropical tropopause including both cold point tropopaus...
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This study examines the spatial and temporal patterns of tropical tropopause layer (TTL) cirrus clouds (i.e., clouds with bases higher than 14.5 km) and their relationship to tropical tropopause including both cold point tropopause (CPT) and lapse rate tropopause (LRT). We use eight years (2006-2014) data from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) measurements. In addition to the CALIPSO cloud layer product, the clouds included in the current CALIPSO dataset as stratospheric features have been considered by separating clouds from aerosols, which are important in the TTL cloud analysis. It is also shown that the temporal variation of the stratospheric aerosols matches well with the volcanic eruption events. The TTL cloud fraction and the tropical tropopause temperature both have pronounced annual cycles and are strongly negatively correlated both temporally and spatially. The examination of the TTL cloud height relative to tropopause from collocated CALIPSO and COSMIC observations indicates that the tropopause plays a critical role in constraining the TIT cloud top height. We show that the probability density function of TTL cloud top height peaks just below the CPT while the occurrence of TTL clouds with cloud tops above the CPT could be largely explained by observed tropopause height uncertainty associated with the COSMIC vertical resolution. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signatures interpreted in different tropical tropopause layer (TTL) parameters are investigated by using long-term Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (CO...
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The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signatures interpreted in different tropical tropopause layer (TTL) parameters are investigated by using long-term Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC)-1 radio occultation temperature data from July 2006 to March 2019. The TTL parameters include the cold point tropopause height (CPT-H) and corresponding temperature (CPT-T), lapse rate tropopause height (LRT-H) and corresponding temperature (LRT-T), convective outflow level height (COH), and TTL thickness. Results indicate that the warm phase of ENSO is associated with prominent negative CPT-T anomalies, whereas the cold phase of ENSO is associated with positive CPT-T anomalies over the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Further, correlation analysis is carried out between TTL parameters obtained over the Nino 3.4 region (5 degrees N-5 degrees S, 170 degrees W-120 degrees W) and sea surface temperature Nino 3.4 Index. We found weak positive correlations in CPT-H (0.37) and LRT-H (0.49), and moderate negative correlations in CPT-T (- 0.62), LRT-T (- 0.64), and TTL thickness (- 0.5) with Nino 3.4 Index. Interestingly, a higher correlation of 0.8 is noticed between COH and the Nino 3.4 Index. Furthermore, lag correlation analysis reveals that a 4-month lag is noticed in tropopause heights (CPT-H and LRT-H) and a 2-month lag is evident in tropopause temperatures (CPT-T and LRT-T) with the Nino 3.4 Index. In addition, only 1-month lag is noticed between COH and Nino 3.4 index. With a high correlation and 1-month lag with the Nino 3.4 index, it is concluded that the COH is the most suitable TTL parameter to detect the ENSO signatures among the TTL parameters.
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We present a method of identifying the tropical tropopause transition layer (TTL) using chemical tracer-tracer relationships. Coincident ozone (O3) and water vapor (H2O) measurements over Alajuela, Costa Rica (~10°N), in July and...
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We present a method of identifying the tropical tropopause transition layer (TTL) using chemical tracer-tracer relationships. Coincident ozone (O3) and water vapor (H2O) measurements over Alajuela, Costa Rica (~10°N), in July and August 2007 are used to demonstrate the concept. In the tracer-tracer space, the O_3 and H_2O relationship helps to separate the transition layer air mass from the background troposphere and stratosphere. This tracer relationship-based transition layer is found to span an approximately 40 K potential temperature range between 340 and 380 K and is largely confined between the level of minimum stability (LMS) and the cold point tropopause (CPT). This chemical composition-based transition layer is, therefore, consistent with a definition of the TTL based on the thermal structure, for which the LMS and CPT are the lower and upper boundaries of TTL, respectively. We also examine the transition layer over the region of Asian summer monsoon (ASM) anticyclone using the measurements over Kunming, China (~25°N), and compare its behavior with the TTL structure in the deep tropics. The comparison shows that the transition layer over the ASM is similar to the TTL, although the data suggest the ASM transition layer lies at higher potential temperature levels and is potentially prone to the influence of extratropical processes.
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We investigate the respective roles of large-scale transport and convection in determining the water vapor maximum at 100 hPa in the Asian monsoon region. The study uses backward trajectories with ECMWF ERA-Interim heating rates. ...
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We investigate the respective roles of large-scale transport and convection in determining the water vapor maximum at 100 hPa in the Asian monsoon region. The study uses backward trajectories with ECMWF ERA-Interim heating rates. It includes simple microphysics with supersaturation and takes into account convective sources based on CLAUS data with a simple parameterization of overshoots. A good agreement between reconstructed water vapor and observations is obtained over Asia. It is found that parcels belonging to the water vapor maximum have been first lifted by convection over the Bay of Bengal and the Sea of China and then transported through the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) via the monsoon anticyclonic circulation towards North-West India, where they are eventually dehydrated, avoiding the coldest temperatures of the TTL. Convective moistening accounts for about 0.3 ppmv in the Asian monsoon region and overshoots do not have a significant impact on the water vapor budget. Citation: James, R., M. Bonazzola, B. Legras, K. Surbled, and S. Fueglistaler (2008), Water vapor transport and dehydration above convective outflow during Asian monsoon, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L20810, doi:10.1029/2008GL035441.
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The detailed evolution of different tropical tropopause layer (TTL) parameters, such as tropopause height (cold point (CPH)/lapse rate (LRH)/convective (COH)), its corresponding temperature (CPT/LRT/COT) and TTL thickness in respo...
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The detailed evolution of different tropical tropopause layer (TTL) parameters, such as tropopause height (cold point (CPH)/lapse rate (LRH)/convective (COH)), its corresponding temperature (CPT/LRT/COT) and TTL thickness in response to recent 2015-16 El Nino event are delineated using high-resolution Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) Radio Occultation (RO) measurements. Distinct TTL anomalies are noticed between June-July-August (JJA), September-October-November (SON), and December -January-February (DJF) seasons during 2015-16 El Nino event. A pronounced positive anomaly in the CPH and LRH (similar to 0.8 km) is noticed in JJA over most of the tropical equatorial region, whereas, in DJF, positive anomalies mostly concentrate over off equatorial central Pacific (CP) and eastern Pacific (EP) regions. Interestingly, prominent higher positive anomalies are evident in the convective outflow level altitude (similar to 1 km) particularly over the tropical CP and EP regions in JJA and DJF. The CPT and LRT exhibit strong negative anomalies (>4 K) over CP and EP regions and positive anomalies over the western Pacific region in all the seasons. However, significant positive CPT and LRT anomalies are evident over the Atlantic region in DJF. In contrast, the COH (COT) and TTL thickness anomalies are well-matched with the outgoing long wave radiation anomalies compared to the CPH and LRH (CPT and LRT) anomalies. Overall, the observed TTL parameters exhibit similar El Nino signatures as observed for the other events. However, the 2015-16 El Nino event was one of strongest summer ENSO events in the 21st century compared to the previous events. As a result, prominent warm tropopause temperatures are evident over the WP region during JJA and these anomalies reaches maximum in DJF. The observed changes in the TTL parameters are explained in the context of circulation and convection changes over the tropics.
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Pervasive cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) play an important role in determining the composition of stratospheric air through dehydration of tropospheric air entering the stratosphere. This dehydration affects ...
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Pervasive cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) play an important role in determining the composition of stratospheric air through dehydration of tropospheric air entering the stratosphere. This dehydration affects Earth's energy budget and climate, yet uncertainties remain regarding the microphysical processes that govern TTL cirrus. TTL cirrus were sampled with the NASA Global Hawk UAV for over 30 hr in the Western Pacific in 2014 during the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment. In situ measurements by a Fast Cloud Droplet Probe and Hawkeye probe (combination Fast Cloud Droplet Probe, Two-Dimensional Stereo optical array probe, and Cloud Particle Imager) provided particle concentrations and sizing between 1- and 1,280-μm diameter and high resolution images for habit identification. We present the variability in ice concentrations, size distributions, and habits as functions of temperature, altitude, and time since convective influence. Observed ice particles were predominantly small and quasi-spheroidal in shape, with the percentage of quasi-spheroids increasing with decreasing temperature. In comparison to the large fraction of the population consisting of quasi-spheroids, faceted habits (columns, plates, rosettes, and budding rosettes) constituted a smaller percentage of the overall population and exhibited the opposite correlation with temperature. The trend of higher percentages of faceted crystals occurring at warmer temperatures may be due to diffusional growth or aggregation as particles descend through cloud, and/or the more rapid diffusional growth rate at warmer temperatures. Sampling was typically well away from deep convection, however, and very few aggregates were observed, so the trend of higher percentages of faceted habits is likely attributable to diffusional growth.
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Ozone variations with seasonal and intraseasonal timescales in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) are investigated using a 5-year tropical ozonesonde data set from the SHADOZ (Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes) archive. ...
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Ozone variations with seasonal and intraseasonal timescales in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) are investigated using a 5-year tropical ozonesonde data set from the SHADOZ (Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes) archive. The longitudinal ozone distribution in the tropical upper troposphere (TUT) shows a zonal wave one structure with maxima around the Atlantic and Africa and minima around the western Pacific throughout the year, while the annual variation shows maxima during northern summer to autumn at most longitudes. We compare the ozone distribution with the vertical temperature structure and found that the lapse rate is gradual (steep) at the ozone-enhanced (reduced) longitude and season. The east-west temperature structure and ozone variation in the TUT may be explained by the longitudinal variation of the large-scale atmospheric responses to the tropical heat source, which could govern both the temperature structure and the vertical transport processes. Ozone variability in the TUT is also large around the Atlantic and Africa and small around the western Pacific. However, the zonal wave one structure is not clear in the temperature variability and in the correlation coefficient between ozone and temperature, which can be related with wave activities around the tropopause. Remarkably large ozone variabilities with good correlation are observed in Africa during summer and in the central Pacific during autumn-winter. These are associated with large-scale equatorial waves, but the longitudinal variation of the wave activities does not seem to be an important factor in the zonal wave one structure of ozone.
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High-frequency (20 Hz) aircraft measurements of tropical tropopause layer (TTL) cirrus and humidity are used to examine recent homogeneous freezing ice nucleation events. Several localized regions with peak ice concentrations grea...
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High-frequency (20 Hz) aircraft measurements of tropical tropopause layer (TTL) cirrus and humidity are used to examine recent homogeneous freezing ice nucleation events. Several localized regions with peak ice concentrations greater than 10 cm~(?3) are documented. These high ice concentrations are almost certainly generated by homogeneous freezing of aqueous aerosols. The high-frequency data reveals considerable structure in the cloud properties and humidity at along-track scales as short as 8.5 m. Simulations of vapor depletion by growing ice crystals are used to assess the time since nucleation in these high ice concentration patches. Comparisons between observed and simulated dependence of supersaturation on ice concentration indicate the nucleation events occurred within minutes (sometimes only a few minutes) of the aircraft sampling. The infrequency and short ages of the events suggest that the high ice concentrations do not persist for long times, but they may still be important for TTL cirrus microphysical properties by providing a source of ice crystals that can lead to extensive, persistent clouds with lower ice concentrations. We have also used the extensive TTL measurements provided by the high-altitude aircraft campaigns to evaluate the threshold supersaturation for homogeneous freezing. Peak supersaturations observed are consistent with recent laboratory experiments indicating that ice saturation ratios of about 1.75-1.95 are required for homogeneous freezing of aqueous aerosols at temperatures of 185-200 K.
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A significant part of clouds in the tropics appears over the tropopause due to intense convections and in situ condensation activity. These tropical tropopause layer (TTL) clouds not only play an important role in the radiation bu...
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A significant part of clouds in the tropics appears over the tropopause due to intense convections and in situ condensation activity. These tropical tropopause layer (TTL) clouds not only play an important role in the radiation budget over the tropics, but also in water vapor and other chemical material transport from the troposphere to the stratosphere. This study quantifies and analyzes the properties of TTL clouds based on spaceborne active observations, which provide one of the most reliable sources of information on cloud vertical distributions. We use four years (2007-2010) of observations from the joint Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) and CloudSat and consider all cloudy pixels with top height above the tropopause as TTL clouds. The occurrence frequency of TTL clouds during the nighttime is found to be almost 13% and can reach ~50-60% in areas with frequent convections. The annual averages of tropical tropopause height, tropopause temperature, and cloud top height are 16.2 km, ?80.7 °C, and 16.6 km, respectively, and the average cloud top exceeds tropopause by approximately 500 m. More importantly, the presence of TTL clouds causes tropopause temperature to be ~3-4 °C colder than in the all-sky condition. It also lifts the tropopause heights ~160 m during the nighttime and lowers the heights ~84 m during the daytime. From a cloud type aspect, ~91% and ~4% of the TTL clouds are high clouds and altostratus, and only ~5% of them are associated with convections (i.e., nimbostratus and deep convective clouds). Approximately 30% of the TTL clouds are single-layer clouds, and multi-layer clouds are dominated by those with 2-3 separated layers.
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The dehydration of air in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) and mechanisms for the entry of water vapor into the stratosphere are investigated by an analysis of ACE-FTS profiles of temperature, water vapor, and the ratio [HDO]/[...
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The dehydration of air in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) and mechanisms for the entry of water vapor into the stratosphere are investigated by an analysis of ACE-FTS profiles of temperature, water vapor, and the ratio [HDO]/[H2O] expressed in δD notation. Month-to-month comparisons indicate greater seasonal variability than interannual variability between 25°S–25°N, thus comparisons are made between February, April, August, and October averages for the years 2004 and 2005 combined. The data indicate a pattern of seasonal variability which is clearer in the Northern Hemisphere tropics and a relationship between minimum temperature, minimum water vapor, and maximum HDO depletion, which exists beyond the estimated uncertainty in these values. The range of values observed for HDO depletion and comparisons to modeled Rayleigh distillation curves indicate an important contribution from convection in addition to gradual dehydration. Multiple factors including the shape of the δD profiles suggest that a likely mechanism for the convective influence is the lofting of ice particles in the tropical troposphere.
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