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Spatiotemporal variations of cloud amount over the Yangtze River Delta, China

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Abstract

Based on the NOAA’s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Pathfinder Atmospheres Extended (PATMOS-x) monthly mean cloud amount data, variations of annual and seasonal mean cloud amount over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China were examined for the period 1982–2006 by using a linear regression analysis. Both total and high-level cloud amounts peak in June and reach minimum in December, mid-level clouds have a peak during winter months and reach a minimum in summer, and low-level clouds vary weakly throughout the year with a weak maximum from August to October. For the annual mean cloud amount, a slightly decreasing tendency (−0.6% sky cover per decade) of total cloud amount is observed during the studying period, which is mainly due to the reduction of annual mean high-level cloud amount (−2.2% sky cover per decade). Mid-level clouds occur least (approximately 15% sky cover) and remain invariant, while the low-level cloud amount shows a significant increase during spring (1.5% sky cover per decade) and summer (3.0% sky cover per decade). Further analysis has revealed that the increased low-level clouds during the summer season are mainly impacted by the local environment. For example, compared to the low-level cloud amounts over the adjacent rural areas (e.g., cropland, large water body, and mountain areas covered by forest), those over and around urban agglomerations rise more dramatically.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Climate and Global Change Research and School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Wenjing Zhao  (赵文静), Ning Zhang  (张 宁) & Jianning Sun  (孙鉴泞)

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  1. Wenjing Zhao  (赵文静)
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  2. Ning Zhang  (张 宁)
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  3. Jianning Sun  (孙鉴泞)
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Correspondence to Ning Zhang  (张 宁).

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research and Development (973) Program of China (2010CB428501) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41375014).

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Zhao, W., Zhang, N. & Sun, J. Spatiotemporal variations of cloud amount over the Yangtze River Delta, China. J Meteorol Res 28, 371–380 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-014-3064-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-014-3064-0

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