A Global Climatology of Temperature and Water Vapor Variance Scaling from the Atmospheric Infrared SounderSource: Journal of Climate:;2009:;volume( 022 ):;issue: 020::page 5558DOI: 10.1175/2009JCLI2934.1Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Abstract: A global climatology of height-resolved variance scaling within the troposphere is presented using derived temperature (T) and water vapor (q) profiles from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). The power-law exponent of T variance scaling approaches 1.0 outside of the tropics at scales >500?800 km, but it is closer to 0.3 at scales <500 km, similar to exponents obtained from aircraft campaigns, numerical modeling, and theoretical studies. The T exponents in the tropics at all scales become less than 0.3, with a similar pattern observed within the boundary layer in some extratropical regions. For q, the variance scaling differs substantially from T with exponents near 0.5?0.6 in parts of the tropics and subtropics with little to no scale break, showing some consistency with a very limited set of aircraft and satellite studies. Scaling differences as a function of land and ocean, altitude, and cloudy- and clear-sky scenes are quantified. Both T and q exponents indicate peak magnitudes in the midtroposphere and reductions are observed near the boundary layer and upper troposphere. Seasonal variations of T and q scaling reveal a stronger seasonal cycle over land than ocean, especially for T at large length scales. While the zonal variations of T and q exponents vary significantly for scales <500 km, the seasonal variations are much smaller in magnitude. The exponents derived from AIRS could eventually be extrapolated to smaller scales in the absence of additional scale breaks <150 km to provide useful information for constraining subgrid-scale cloud parameterizations.
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contributor author | Kahn, Brian H. | |
contributor author | Teixeira, João | |
date accessioned | 2017-06-09T16:29:27Z | |
date available | 2017-06-09T16:29:27Z | |
date copyright | 2009/10/01 | |
date issued | 2009 | |
identifier issn | 0894-8755 | |
identifier other | ams-68809.pdf | |
identifier uri | http://onlinelibrary.yabesh.ir/handle/yetl/4210408 | |
description abstract | A global climatology of height-resolved variance scaling within the troposphere is presented using derived temperature (T) and water vapor (q) profiles from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). The power-law exponent of T variance scaling approaches 1.0 outside of the tropics at scales >500?800 km, but it is closer to 0.3 at scales <500 km, similar to exponents obtained from aircraft campaigns, numerical modeling, and theoretical studies. The T exponents in the tropics at all scales become less than 0.3, with a similar pattern observed within the boundary layer in some extratropical regions. For q, the variance scaling differs substantially from T with exponents near 0.5?0.6 in parts of the tropics and subtropics with little to no scale break, showing some consistency with a very limited set of aircraft and satellite studies. Scaling differences as a function of land and ocean, altitude, and cloudy- and clear-sky scenes are quantified. Both T and q exponents indicate peak magnitudes in the midtroposphere and reductions are observed near the boundary layer and upper troposphere. Seasonal variations of T and q scaling reveal a stronger seasonal cycle over land than ocean, especially for T at large length scales. While the zonal variations of T and q exponents vary significantly for scales <500 km, the seasonal variations are much smaller in magnitude. The exponents derived from AIRS could eventually be extrapolated to smaller scales in the absence of additional scale breaks <150 km to provide useful information for constraining subgrid-scale cloud parameterizations. | |
publisher | American Meteorological Society | |
title | A Global Climatology of Temperature and Water Vapor Variance Scaling from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder | |
type | Journal Paper | |
journal volume | 22 | |
journal issue | 20 | |
journal title | Journal of Climate | |
identifier doi | 10.1175/2009JCLI2934.1 | |
journal fristpage | 5558 | |
journal lastpage | 5576 | |
tree | Journal of Climate:;2009:;volume( 022 ):;issue: 020 | |
contenttype | Fulltext |