Stable water isotope signals in tropical ice clouds in the West African monsoon simulated with a regional convection-permitting model
Stable water isotope signals in tropical ice clouds in the West African monsoon simulated with a regional convection-permitting model
复制标题
用区域对流允许模型模拟西非季风热带冰云中的稳定水同位素信号
DOI:
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发表时间:
2022
影响因子:
6.3
通讯作者:
H. Wernli
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Andrie De Vries;F. Aemisegger;S. Pfahl;H. Wernli
Abstract. Tropical ice clouds have an important influence on the
Earth's radiative balance. They often form as a result of tropical deep
convection, which strongly affects the water budget of the tropical
tropopause layer. Ice cloud formation involves complex interactions on
various scales. These processes are not yet fully understood and lead to large
uncertainties in climate projections. In this study, we investigate the
formation of tropical ice clouds related to deep convection in the West
African monsoon, using stable water isotopes as tracers of moist atmospheric
processes. We perform convection-permitting simulations with the regional Consortium for Small-Scale Modelling
isotope-enabled (COSMOiso) model for the period from June to July 2016. First,
we evaluate our model simulations using space-borne observations of mid-tropospheric water vapour isotopes, monthly station data of precipitation isotopes, and satellite-based precipitation estimates. Next, we explore the isotope signatures
of tropical deep convection in atmospheric water vapour and ice based on a
case study of a mesoscale convective system (MCS) and a statistical analysis
of a 1-month period. The following five key processes related to tropical
ice clouds can be distinguished based on isotope information: (1) convective
lofting of enriched ice into the upper troposphere, (2) cirrus clouds that
form in situ from ambient vapour under equilibrium fractionation, (3) sedimentation and sublimation of ice in the mixed-phase cloud layer in the
vicinity of convective systems and underneath cirrus shields, (4) sublimation of ice in convective downdraughts that enriches the environmental
vapour, and (5) the freezing of liquid water just above the 0 ∘C
isotherm in convective updraughts. Importantly, we note large variations in
the isotopic composition of water vapour in the upper troposphere and lower
tropical tropopause layer, ranging from below −800 ‰ to
over −400 ‰, which are strongly related to vertical
motion and the moist processes that take place in convective updraughts and
downdraughts. In convective updraughts, the vapour is depleted by the
preferential condensation and deposition of heavy isotopes, whereas the
non-fractionating sublimation of ice in convective downdraughts enriches the
environmental vapour. An opposite vapour isotope signature emerges in thin-cirrus cloud regions where the direct transport of enriched (depleted)
vapour prevails in large-scale ascent (descent). Overall, this study
demonstrates that isotopes can serve as useful tracers to disentangle the
role of different processes in the West African monsoon water cycle,
including convective transport, the formation of ice clouds, and their
impact on the tropical tropopause layer.
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影响因子:
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作者:
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通讯作者:
Blossey P
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作者:
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通讯作者:
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影响因子:
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作者:
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通讯作者:
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作者:
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