The importance of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) and stratus/stratocumulus clouds in atmospheric and atmosphere-ocean coupled models has been widely recognized, particularly over the Southeastern Pacific (SEP). However, the simulation of these processes still has serious deficiencies even in the most recent version of the NCEP Coupled Forecast System (CFS03) and the NCAR Community Climate System Model (CCSM3), as discussed in the VOCALS Modeling Plan (2006). As part of the overall VOCALS modeling efforts, we are integrating the in situ data from VOCALS and previous field experiments as well as satellite (CloudSat, CALIPSO, ICESat, MODIS) data to address these issues through two specific tasks:

• to integrate in-situ and satellite data to document and understand the temporal and spatial variation of marine boundary layer (MABL) height and clouds over the SEP, and
• to evaluate and improve the treatment of MABL, cloud microphysics, and cloud fraction in CCSM3 and CFS03.

To this end, we have performed:

• A satellite intercomparison of liquid water path (LWP),
• A multi-platform comparison of cloud properties with those simulated by CAM3.1, and
• A budget analysis of various contributions to the change in grid-volume average cloud condensate.

View our manuscript currently published in the VOCALS Special Issue of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics:

Brunke, M. A., S. P. de Szoeke, P. Zuidema, and X. Zeng, 2010: A comparison of ship and satellite measurements of cloud properties in the southeast Pacific stratus deck. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 3301-3318.

PI:
Xubin Zeng

Co-PI:
Michael Brunke

Funding provided by: