Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer
The tropical deep overshooting convection is known to be most intense above continental areas such as South America, Africa, and the maritime continent. However, its impact on the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) at global scale remains debated. In our analysis, we use the 8-year Microwave Limb Sound...
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doaj-a01d090d4a39462a9adbb057fc3b19802020-11-24T22:39:11ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242014-06-0114126195621110.5194/acp-14-6195-2014Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layerF. Carminati0P. Ricaud1J.-P. Pommereau2E. Rivière3S. Khaykin4J.-L. Attié5J. Warner6CNRM GAME, Météo-France, CNRS UMR 3589, Toulouse, FranceCNRM GAME, Météo-France, CNRS UMR 3589, Toulouse, FranceLATMOS, CNRS, Université Versailles St Quentin, Guyancourt, FranceGSMA, CNRS, Université Champagne Ardennes, Reims, FranceLATMOS, CNRS, Université Versailles St Quentin, Guyancourt, FranceCNRM GAME, Météo-France, CNRS UMR 3589, Toulouse, FranceAOSC, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USAThe tropical deep overshooting convection is known to be most intense above continental areas such as South America, Africa, and the maritime continent. However, its impact on the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) at global scale remains debated. In our analysis, we use the 8-year Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) water vapour (H<sub>2</sub>O), cloud ice-water content (IWC), and temperature data sets from 2005 to date, to highlight the interplays between these parameters and their role in the water vapour variability in the TTL, and separately in the northern and southern tropics. In the tropical upper troposphere (177 hPa), continents, including the maritime continent, present the night-time (01:30 local time, LT) peak in the water vapour mixing ratio characteristic of the H<sub>2</sub>O diurnal cycle above tropical land. The western Pacific region, governed by the tropical oceanic diurnal cycle, has a daytime maximum (13:30 LT). In the TTL (100 hPa) and tropical lower stratosphere (56 hPa), South America and Africa differ from the maritime continent and western Pacific displaying a daytime maximum of H<sub>2</sub>O. In addition, the relative amplitude between day and night is found to be systematically higher by 5–10% in the southern tropical upper troposphere and 1–3% in the TTL than in the northern tropics during their respective summer, indicative of a larger impact of the convection on H<sub>2</sub>O in the southern tropics. Using a regional-scale approach, we investigate how mechanisms linked to the H<sub>2</sub>O variability differ in function of the geography. In summary, the MLS water vapour and cloud ice-water observations demonstrate a clear contribution to the TTL moistening by ice crystals overshooting over tropical land regions. The process is found to be much more effective in the southern tropics. Deep convection is responsible for the diurnal temperature variability in the same geographical areas in the lowermost stratosphere, which in turn drives the variability of H<sub>2</sub>O.http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/14/6195/2014/acp-14-6195-2014.pdf |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
F. Carminati P. Ricaud J.-P. Pommereau E. Rivière S. Khaykin J.-L. Attié J. Warner |
spellingShingle |
F. Carminati P. Ricaud J.-P. Pommereau E. Rivière S. Khaykin J.-L. Attié J. Warner Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
author_facet |
F. Carminati P. Ricaud J.-P. Pommereau E. Rivière S. Khaykin J.-L. Attié J. Warner |
author_sort |
F. Carminati |
title |
Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer |
title_short |
Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer |
title_full |
Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer |
title_fullStr |
Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer |
title_sort |
impact of tropical land convection on the water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
series |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
issn |
1680-7316 1680-7324 |
publishDate |
2014-06-01 |
description |
The tropical deep overshooting convection is known to be most intense above
continental areas such as South America, Africa, and the maritime continent.
However, its impact on the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) at global scale
remains debated. In our analysis, we use the 8-year Microwave Limb Sounder
(MLS) water vapour (H<sub>2</sub>O), cloud ice-water content (IWC), and
temperature data sets from 2005 to date, to highlight the interplays between
these parameters and their role in the water vapour variability in the TTL,
and separately in the northern and southern tropics. In the tropical upper
troposphere (177 hPa), continents, including the maritime continent, present
the night-time (01:30 local time, LT) peak in the water vapour mixing ratio
characteristic of the H<sub>2</sub>O diurnal cycle above tropical land. The
western Pacific region, governed by the tropical oceanic diurnal cycle, has
a daytime maximum (13:30 LT). In the TTL (100 hPa) and tropical
lower stratosphere (56 hPa), South America and Africa differ from the maritime
continent and western Pacific displaying a daytime maximum of H<sub>2</sub>O. In
addition, the relative amplitude between day and night is found to be
systematically higher by 5–10% in the southern tropical upper troposphere and 1–3% in
the TTL than in the northern tropics during their respective summer,
indicative of a larger impact of the convection on H<sub>2</sub>O in the southern
tropics. Using a regional-scale approach, we investigate how mechanisms
linked to the H<sub>2</sub>O variability differ in function of the geography. In
summary, the MLS water vapour and cloud ice-water observations demonstrate a
clear contribution to the TTL moistening by ice crystals overshooting over
tropical land regions. The process is found to be much more effective in the
southern tropics. Deep convection is responsible for the diurnal temperature
variability in the same geographical areas in the lowermost stratosphere,
which in turn drives the variability of H<sub>2</sub>O. |
url |
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/14/6195/2014/acp-14-6195-2014.pdf |
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