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Abstract:
Trade-wind cumuli constitute the cloud type with the highest frequency
of occurrence on Earth, and it has been shown that their sensitivity to
changing environmental conditions will critically influence the
magnitude and pace of future global warming. Research over the last
decade has pointed out the importance of the interplay between clouds,
convection and circulation in controling this sensitivity. Numerical
models represent this interplay in diverse ways, which translates into
different responses of trade-cumuli to climate perturbations. Climate
models predict that the area covered by shallow cumuli at cloud base is
very sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, while process
models suggest the opposite. To understand and resolve this
contradiction, we propose to organize a field campaign aimed at
quantifying the physical properties of trade-cumuli (e.g., cloud
fraction and water content) as a function of the large-scale
environment. Beyond a better understanding of clouds-circulation
coupling processes, the campaign will provide a reference data set that
may be used as a benchmark for advancing the modelling and the satellite
remote sensing of clouds and circulation. It will also be an opportunity
for complementary investigations such as evaluating model convective
parameterizations or studying the role of ocean mesoscale eddies in
air-sea interactions and convective organization.
