Abstract
This numerical study examines the breakup of marine atmospheric boundary-layer (MABL) clouds through various physical processes over an inhomogeneous sea surface temperature (SST) field. Three regimes are identified under which the cloud layer will break up. (A) advection of drier air into the MABL for the California case. (B) daytime absorption of solar radiation, occurring most easily over the cold water. (C) mesoscale fluctuations in the flow, producing holes in the cloud layer.
The budget study of these three situations concludes that large-scale subsidence, solar radiation, local mesoscale advection, and inhomogeneous surface fluxes cannot be neglected in modeling cloud breakup. This study also confirms the belief that the mixing process alone induced by evaporative entrainment is generally insufficient to predict the breakup of the cloud layer.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Betts, A.: 1990, ‘Diurnal Variation of Califormia Coastal Stratocumulus from Two Days of Boundary Layer Soundings’, Tellus 42A, 302–304.
Betts, A., and Boers, R.: 1990, ‘A Cloudiness Transition in a Marine Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 47, 1480–1497.
Bougeault, PH.: 1985, ‘The Diurnal Cycle of the Marine Stratocumulus Layer: A Higher-Order Model Study’, J. Atmos. Sci. 42, 2826–2843.
Brost, R. A., Lenschow, D. H., and Wyngaard, J. C.: 1982, ‘Marine Stratocumulus Layers. Part I: Mean Conditions’, J. Atmos. Sci. 39, 800–817.
Businger, J. A. and Shaw, W. J.: 1984, ‘The Response of the Boundary Layer to Mesoscale Variation in Sea-Surface Temperature’, Dynamics Atmos. Oceans 8, 267–281.
Fouquart, B. Y. and Vanhoutte, J. C.: 1983, ‘Radiative Properties of some African and Mid-latitude Stratocumulus Clouds’, Beitr. Phys. Atmosph. 56, 409–428.
Hanson, H. P.: 1984, ‘On the Mixed Layer Modelling of the Stratocumulus Topped Marine Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 41, 1226–1236.
Hanson, H. P., and Gruber, P.: 1982, ‘Effect of Marine Stratocumulus Clouds on the Ocean-Surface Heat Budget’, J. Atmos. Sci. 39, 897–908.
Joseph, J. R., Wiscombe, W. J., and Weinman, J. A.: 1976, ‘The Delta-Eddington Approximation of Radiative Flux Transfer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 33, 2452–2459.
Kraus, H. and Schaller, E.: 1978, ‘Steady-State Characteristics of Inversion Capping a Well-Mixed Planetary Boundary Layer’, Boundary-layer Meteorol. 14, 83–104.
Kuo, H.-C. and Schubert, W. H.: 1988, ‘Stability of Cloud-Topped Boundary Layer’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 105, 915–944.
Lenschow, D. H., Paluch, I. R., Bandy, A. R., Pearson, Jr., R., Kawa, S. R., Weaver, C. J., Huebert, B. J., Kay, J. G., Thornton, D. C., and Driedger III, A. R.: 1988, ‘Dynamics and Chemistry of Marine Stratocumulus (DYCOMS) Experiment’, Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc. 69, 1058–1067.
Liou, K. N.: 1974, ‘Analytic Two-Stream and Four-Stream Solution for Radiative Transfer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 31, 1473–1475.
Moeng, D. H. and Arakawa, A.: 1980, ‘A Numerical Study of a Marine Subtropical Stratus Cloud Layer and Its Stability’, J. Atmos. Sci. 37, 2661–2676.
Nicholls, S.: 1984, ‘The Dynamics of Stratocumulus: Aircraft Observations and Comparsions with a Mixed Layer Model’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 110, 783–820.
Nicholls, S. and Turton, J. D.: 1986, ‘An Experimental Study of Stratiform Cloud Sheets. Part II: Entrainment’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. 112, 461–480.
Oliver, D. A., Lewellen, W. S., and Williamson, G. G.: 1978, ‘The Interaction Between Turbulent and Radiative Transport in the Development of Fog and Low-Level Stratus’, J. Atmos. Sci. 35, 301–316.
Rogers, D. and Telford, J. W.: 1986, ‘Metastable Stratus Tops’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 112, 481–500.
Sagan, C. and Pollack, J. B.: 1967, ‘Anisotropic Nonconservative Scattering and the Clouds of Venus’, J. Geophys. Res. 172, 469–477.
Schubert, W. H., Wakefield, J. S., Steiner, E. J., and Cox, S. K.: 1979a, ‘Marine Stratocumulus Convections. Part I: Governing Equations and Horizontally Homogeneous Solutions’, J. Atmos. Sci. 36, 1286–1306.
Schubert, W. H., Wakefield, J. S., Steiner, E. J., and Cox, S. K.: 1979b, ‘Marine Stratocumulus Convection. Part II: Horizontally Inhomogeneous Solutions’, J. Atmos. Sci. 36, 1308–1324.
Siems, S. S., Bretherton, C. S., Baker, M. B., Shy, S., and Breidenthal, R. E.: 1990, ‘Bouyancy Reversal and Cloud-top Entrainment Instability’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 116, 705–739.
Stage, S. A., Shaw, W. J., Khalsa, S. J., Greenhut, G. K., Crescenti, G. H., Friehe, C. A., Gautier, C., Davidson, K., Katsaro, K., Wai, M. M.-K., Rogers, D., Herbster, C., Lind, R., and Bates, J.: 1990, ‘Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer Structure in the Vicinity of a Sea Surface Temperature Front’, Submitted to J. Geophysical Res.
Stephens, G. L.: 1984, ‘The Parameterization of Radiation for Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models’, Mon. Wea. Rev. 112, 826–867.
Tag, P. M. and Payne, S. W.: 1987, ‘An Examination of the Break Up of Marine Stratus: a Three-Dimensional Numerical Investigation’, J. Atmos. Sci. 44, 208–223.
Wai, M. M.-K.: 1987, ‘A Numerical Study of the Marine Stratocumulus Cloud Layer’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 40, 241–267.
Wai, M. M.-K.: 1988, ‘Modeling the Effects of Spatial Varying Sea Surface Temperature on the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer’, J. Appl. Meteorol. 27, 5–19.
Wai, M. M.-K. and Stage, S. A.: 1989, ‘Dynamical Analyses of Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer Structure Near the Gulf Stream Oceanic Front’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 115, 29–44.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Sections of this paper are based on an extended abstract by the author and Dr. Steven Stage for the Ninth Symposium on Turbulence and Diffusion held at Riso, Denmark, 1990.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wai, M.MK. The breakup of marine boundary-layer clouds over an inhomogeneous sea surface temperature field. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 57, 139–165 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00119717
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00119717