Cloud vertical structure across China from a national Ka-band cloud radar network: Thermodynamic, dynamical, and land-surface controls

Abstract. Cloud vertical structure plays a central role in regulating Earth’s radiation balance and hydrological cycle, yet it remains poorly represented in weather and climate models due to limited high-resolution observations. Using a newly established national network of 80 Ka-band cloud radars, we provide the first high-spatiotemporal-resolution characterization of cloud vertical structure across China for 2024 and quantify its thermodynamic, dynamical, and land-surface controls. An improved retrieval algorithm accounting for height-dependent radar sensitivity and clutter suppression is applied to derive cloud boundaries. The national annual mean cloud occurrence frequency is 56.7 %, dominated by single-layer clouds (34.7 %), followed by two-layer (14.7 %) and multi-layer clouds (7.1 %). Single-layer clouds prevail over arid northwestern China, whereas multi-layer clouds are more frequent in humid southeastern regions. Cloud base height exhibits strong seasonality, with higher values in summer and lower values in winter, and distinctly lower bases over the Tibetan Plateau. Diurnally, summer clouds show a pronounced afternoon peak between 3 and 9 km, while winter clouds are mainly confined below 3 km with a near-sunrise maximum. Thermodynamic conditions exert primary control on cloud vertical development. Higher low-level humidity favors deeper clouds and higher tops, whereas stronger lower-tropospheric stability suppresses vertical growth. Wind shear generally limits cloud depth, though moderate shear may enhance organization under unstable conditions. Land-surface characteristics further modulate cloud base height, with higher bases over barren land and lower bases over forests. These results provide national-scale observational benchmarks for improving cloud parameterizations in numerical models.