Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment (CEPEX); An Airborne Experiment to Address Issues Concerning the Role of Cloud-Radiation Feedbacks in El-Nino and Global Warming

“恒温器假说”依赖于三个假设。 首先，存在超级温室效应。 卫星数据显示 最温暖的海洋上空的大气非常潮湿， 它捕获了大量的红外线能量， 海洋 此外，红外捕获-称为 温室效应-随着SST的增加， 对流区。 这造成了一种不稳定性， 某种负反馈（例如恒温器），以保持 海洋和大气层的稳定状态 第二、 存在一个临界温度， 开始. 第三，明亮的卷云砧，达到海拔16 公里（55，000英尺）并延伸到数万平方公里 公里，将大量的太阳能反射回 这样海面就冷却下来了，因此，恒温器。 CEPEX的目标是测试恒温器假设， 从而了解水汽温室效应的作用， 云辐射相互作用和蒸发调节SST。 CEPEX将部署三架飞机： 飞机-在海拔55,000的砧云上方飞行- 60,000英尺-收集云层反射的太阳能数据， 地面-大气系统辐射的红外能量， 卷云砧的顶部和底部高度;中间高度 飞机-在35，000 - 40，000英尺的铁砧下飞行- 测量超级温室效应，砧座能量调节 云和垂直分布的水汽和 温度;和一架低空飞机来测量蒸发量 从海洋向大气释放的热量 大约150英尺。 由于中心目标是衡量SST的影响， 差异，飞行计划将跨越赤道太平洋中部， 在日期变更线两侧约700海里处 这 该区域包含所需的SST范围，并伴有频繁的对流 日界线的西面和南面，但东面很少。 的 测量辐射能的航班将从斐济岛起飞 (17oS，178oE）。 斐济和赤道之间的地区也 在27 ℃和28 ℃之间的所需范围内， 30oC。 蒸发测量将沿沿着进行 位于瑙鲁岛和圣诞岛之间。 高海拔测量将在一个月内进行 大约从1993年3月1日开始。 高和 中型飞机将大约每隔一天飞行一次， 100飞行小时 地面蒸发测量将 在上半年的低水平飞机采取的 实验 如何调节热带SST的问题很重要 了解地球气候的一般规律; 特别是，暖池区的大气行为可能 在预期的全球变暖的情况下变得更加普遍。

The "thermostat hypothesis" depends upon three postulates. First, a super-greenhouse effect exists. Satellite data reveal that the atmosphere over the warmest oceans is very humid, causing it to trap a significant fraction of the infrared energy emitted by the ocean. Furthermore, the infrared trapping - known as the greenhouse effect - increases very sharply with increasing SST in regions of convection. This creates an instability which requires some sort of negative feedback (e.g. thermostat) in order to keep the ocean and atmosphere in their present, stable state. Second, there is a threshold temperature above which deep convection begins. Third, bright cirrus anvils, which reach altitudes of 16 km (55,000 ft.) and extend over tens of thousands of square kilometers, reflect significant amounts of solar energy back to space so that the sea surface cools down, hence, the thermostat. The goal of CEPEX is to test the thermostat hypothesis and thus understand the role of the water vapor greenhouse effect, cloud-radiative interactions and evaporation in regulating SSTs. Three aircraft will be deployed in CEPEX: A high altitude aircraft - flying above the anvil clouds at altitudes of 55,000 - 60,000 feet - to collect data on solar energy reflected by clouds, infrared energy radiated by the surface-atmosphere system, and the top and bottom altitudes of the cirrus anvils; an intermediate aircraft - flying below the anvils at 35,000 - 40,000 feet - to measure the super-greenhouse effect, the energy regulation by anvil clouds, and the vertical distributions of water vapor and temperature; and a low altitude aircraft to measure the evaporation and heat release from the ocean to the atmosphere from an altitude of about 150 feet. Since the central objective is to measure the impact of SST differences, flight plans will span the central equatorial Pacific, about 700 nautical miles to either side of the date line. This region encompasses the desired SST range, with frequent convection west and south of the date line, but little to the east. The flights measuring radiant energy will originate from Fiji island (17oS, 178oE). The region between Fiji and the equator also contains large SST gradients in the desired range between 27oC and 30oC. Evaporation measurements will be made along the equator between Nauru Island and Christmas Island. The high altitude measurements will be made over a one month period beginning approximately March 1, 1993. The high and intermediate aircraft will fly about every other day for a total of 100 flight hours each. Surface evaporation measurements will be taken by the low-level aircraft during the first half of the experiment. The question of how tropical SSTs are regulated is important to understanding the regulation of the Earth's climate in general; in particular, the atmospheric behavior in the warm pool region may become more widespread in the event of anticipated global warming.