S. P. de Szoeke

Ocean–Cloud–Atmosphere–Land Interactions in the Southeastern Pacific: The VOCALS Program

The present paper describes the Variability of the American Monsoon Systems (VAMOS) Ocean–Cloud–Atmosphere–Land Study (VOCALS), an international research program focused on the improved understanding and modeling of the southeastern Pacific (SEP) climate system on diurnal to interannual time scales. In the framework of the SEP climate, VOCALS has two fundamental objectives: 1) improved simulations by coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (CGCMs), with an emphasis on reducing systematic errors in the region; and 2) improved estimates of the indirect effects of aerosols on low clouds and climate, with an emphasis on the more precise quantification of those effects. VOCALS major scientific activities are outlined, and selected achievements are highlighted. Activities described include monitoring in the region, a large international field campaign (the VOCALS Regional Experiment), and two model assessments. The program has already produced significant advances in the understanding of major issue...

Quasi-Lagrangian Large Eddy Simulations of Cross-Equatorial Flow in the East Pacific Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Using a large eddy simulation (LES), the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is numerically modeled along 958W from 88 St o 48N during boreal autumn, and compared to observations from the East Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes in the Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere System (EPIC) 2001. Since the local ABL winds are predominantly southerly in this season, a ‘‘quasi-Lagrangian’’ forcing is used in which the ABL air column is forced as if it were advecting northward with the mean September‐October 2001 meridional wind across the equatorial cold tongue and the rapidly warming SSTs to the north. Pressure gradients and large-scale zonal advective tendencies are prescribed as a function of latitude. Where possible, observations from the EPIC 2001 experiment are used for forcing and for comparison with model results. The ABL’s modeled vertical structure accords with the conceptual model of Wallace et al. and agrees well with observations. Surface stability accounts for the minimum in surface wind over the equatorial cold tongue and the maximum over the warm water to the north. Stability of the lower ABL over the cold tongue allows a jet to accelerate at about 500-m height, relatively uncoupled to the frictional surface layer. Vertical mixing over the warm water to the north distributes this momentum to the surface. Additional simulations were performed to explore the modeled ABL’s sensitivity to pressure gradients, zonal advection, free-tropospheric humidity, and initial conditions. The model ABL was robust: changing the forcings resulted in little change in the modeled structure. The strongest sensitivity was of stratocumulus clouds over the cold tongue to cloud-top radiative cooling. Once formed at the southern edge of the cold tongue, modeled stratocumulus clouds demonstrate a remarkable ability to maintain themselves over the cold tongue in the absence of surface fluxes by radiative cooling at their tops. The persistence of thin stratocumulus clouds in this Lagrangian model suggests that horizontal advection of condensate might be an important process in determining cloudiness over the cold tongue.

Ship Observations of the Tropical Pacific Ocean along the Coast of South America

Abstract In October 2007 the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown sailed southward within 300 km of the coast of Ecuador and Peru, sampling surface meteorology, air–sea turbulent and radiative fluxes, cloud properties, and upper-air soundings from the equator to 20°S. Two distinct water masses characterize the coastal region: cold-pool water below 19°C in the Southern Hemisphere, and warm-pool water above 20°C to the north, with a transition between the water masses at 2.5°S. Net turbulent and radiative fluxes warm the cool water south of 2.5°S by 100 W m−2 but do not warm the equatorial water significantly. Winds blow parallel to the shore, about 5 m s−1 over the cold pool and 7 m s−1 over the equator. Stratocumulus clouds are remarkably solid over the coastal cold pool, with only brief periods of partial clearing, mostly in the afternoon. Lower aerosol concentrations and thicker clouds observed farther from the coast on 22–23 October are coincident with a pocket of open cells seen to the west and southwest of the ...