What question did this study set out to answer?

Infer mean rates of change for temperature, moisture, and ozone along eastern Pacific airflow trajectories to determine the turbulence mechanisms that cause marine stratus cloud dissipation.

June 1, 1994Journal of the Atmospheric SciencesOpen Access

Evolution of the Subtropical Marine Boundary Layer: Comparison of Soundings over the Eastern Pacific from FIRE and HaRP

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Authors

IPIlga R. PaluchNSF National Center for Atmospheric Research DLDonald H. LenschowNSF National Center for Atmospheric Research SSSteven T. SiemsAustralian Antarctic Division

Discussion

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Implication

Comparative aircraft sounding analysis reveals stratus cloud dissipation driven by boundary layer decoupling over the eastern Pacific, indicating mixed-layer models fail to predict cloud breakup.

Key Points

Infer mean rates of change for temperature, moisture, and ozone along eastern Pacific airflow trajectories to determine the turbulence mechanisms that cause marine stratus cloud dissipation.
Analyzed and compared aircraft soundings from the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) and the Hawaiian Rainband Project (HaRP) along lower tropospheric airflow trajectories.
Evaluated cloud persistence and breakup using both a standard well-mixed boundary layer model and a model allowing vertical decoupling below the capping inversion.
Demonstrated that stratus dissipation results from the slowdown of turbulent mixing and boundary layer decoupling beneath the capping inversion rather than uniform drying of a well-mixed layer.
Identified an ozone chemical loss rate of 3–8 ppb day⁻¹ (atmospheric lifetime of 3–9 days) within the marine boundary layer, demonstrating ozone cannot act as a conserved tracer over multi-day trajectories.

Cite This Study

Paluch et al. (1994) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a910b5dda08d7e10a82fea7 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1994)051<1465:eotsmb>2.0.co;2

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Implication

Comparative aircraft sounding analysis reveals stratus cloud dissipation driven by boundary layer decoupling over the eastern Pacific, indicating mixed-layer models fail to predict cloud breakup.