Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2984
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2984
08 Oct 2024
 | 08 Oct 2024
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).

Shallow cloud variability in Houston, Texas during the ESCAPE and TRACER field experiments

Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomenech Treserras, Paloma Borque, and Mariko Oue

Abstract. Shallow convection plays an important role in Earth’s climate system by regulating the vertical transport of heat, moisture, and momentum in the lower troposphere. Aerosols, large-scale meteorology, and low-level convergence influence the spatiotemporal variability of shallow convection, and the coastal urban area of Houston, Texas is an ideal laboratory to investigate these complex interactions. Here, geostationary satellite and ground-based radar observations from June to September 2022 during the TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) and Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation, and Environment (ESCAPE) field campaigns are used to characterize the spatial coverage, vertical extent and precipitation fraction of shallow convective clouds. The fused operational remote sensing datasets over a 250x250 km domain are evaluated against profiling observations. The domain-wide diurnal shallow cloud fractions are used to identify four distinct modes of shallow convection. In all clusters, the domain-wide cloud fractions are consistently higher than the domain-wide precipitation fractions, and shallow cloud fractions are higher over water than they are over land while the shallow precipitation fractions show the opposite behavior. In the two modes with minimal deep cloud activity, shallow cloud frequency is highest over ocean in the early morning, and there is a transition to higher shallow cloud frequency over land by the afternoon in one cluster or to high shallow cloud frequencies everywhere by the afternoon in the other. Lastly, we find regions with higher shallow cloud top heights and a large region along the coastline where shallow clouds are more likely to precipitate.

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Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomenech Treserras, Paloma Borque, and Mariko Oue

Status: open (until 19 Nov 2024)

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Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomenech Treserras, Paloma Borque, and Mariko Oue
Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomenech Treserras, Paloma Borque, and Mariko Oue

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Short summary
Convective clouds are a key component of the climate system. Using remote sensing observations during two field experiments in Houston, Texas, we identify four diurnal patterns of shallow convective clouds. We find areas more frequently experiencing shallow convective clouds, and we find areas where the vertical extent of shallow convective clouds is higher and where they are more likely to precipitate. This provides insight into the complicated environment that forms these clouds in Houston.