Diagnosis of the net cloud mass flux in GATE

A diagnostic analysis of the net cloud mass flux for the mean state of Phase 3 is presented. In the upper troposphere, the environmental mass flux is shown to be slightly larger than the adiabatic sinking motion required by radiative cooling. At the outflow layer of tall clouds, if the moistening ef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the atmospheric sciences 1985-01, Vol.42 (16), p.1757-1769
Main Author: Chen, Yi-Leng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Meteorology
Weather analysis and prediction
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A diagnostic analysis of the net cloud mass flux for the mean state of Phase 3 is presented. In the upper troposphere, the environmental mass flux is shown to be slightly larger than the adiabatic sinking motion required by radiative cooling. At the outflow layer of tall clouds, if the moistening effect due to detrainments is balanced primarily by the drying caused by adiabatic sinking in the environment, the computed net detrainment rate would be underestimated. It is hypothesized that a considerable portion of the moisture detrained from tall clouds is transported horizontally toward higher latitudes by horizontal eddy fluxes. The diagnosed environmental subsidence has a maximum in the midtroposphere and is
ISSN:0022-4928
1520-0469
DOI:10.1175/1520-0469(1985)042<1757:dotncm>2.0.co;2