Do the tallest convective cells over the tropical ocean have slow updrafts?

Monthly Weather Review

Volumn 138, Issue 5, 2010, Pages 1651-1672

  Kelley, Owen A ^a,b   Stout, John ^a,b   Summers, Michael ^b   Zipser, Edward J ^c  

^a NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER   (United States)

^b GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF UTAH   (United States)

Author keywords

Convection; Tropics; Updrafts

Indexed keywords

CONVECTION; CONVECTIVE CELL; CONVECTIVE STORMS; ICE PARTICLES; LAPSE RATE; NCEP REANALYSIS; ORDER OF MAGNITUDE; POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE; PRECIPITATION RADAR; RADAR REFLECTIVITIES; SATELLITE RADAR; TROPICAL OCEAN; TROPICAL RAINFALL MEASURING MISSION SATELLITES;

OCEANOGRAPHY; RADAR; RADAR MEASUREMENT; RAIN; RAIN GAGES; STORMS; TROPICS;

CELLS;

LIGHTNING; OCEANIC CONVECTION; POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE; PRECIPITATION (CLIMATOLOGY); RADAR IMAGERY; SATELLITE IMAGERY; STRATOSPHERE; UPDRAFT; WEATHER FORECASTING;

SAHEL [SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA];

EID: 77955577515     PISSN: 00270644     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1175/2009MWR3030.1     Document Type: Article

References (113)

1. Alcala, C. M., and A. E. Dessler, 2002: Observations of deep convection in the tropics using the Tropical Rainfall Measur-ing Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar. J. Geophys. Res., 107, 4792, doi:10.1029/2002JD002457.
2. Anderson, N. F., C. A. Grainger, and J. L. Stith, 2005: Character-istics of strong updrafts in precipitation systems over the central tropical Pacific Ocean and in the Amazon. J. Appl. Meteor., 44,732-738.
3. Beard, K. V., and H. R. Pruppacher, 1969: A determination of terminal velocity and drag of small water drops by means of a wind tunnel. J. Atmos. Sci., 26,1066-1072.
4. Bennartz, R., and G. W. Petty, 2001: The sensitivity of microwave remote sensing observations of precipitation to ice particle size distribution. J. Appl. Meteor., 40, 345-364.
5. Berg, W., C. Kummerow, and C. A. Morales, 2002: Differences between east and west Pacific rainfall systems. J. Climate, 15, 3659-3672.
6. Black, M. L., R. W. Burpee, and F. D. Marks, 1996: Vertical motion characteristics of tropical cyclones determined with airborne Doppler radial velocities. J. Atmos. Sci., 53,1887-1909.
7. Black, R. A., G. M. Heymsfield, and J. Hallett, 2003: Extra large particle images at 12 km in a hurricane eyewall: Evidence of high-altitude supercooled water? Geophys. Res. Lett., 30,2124, doi:10.1029/2003GL017864.
8. Bluestein, H. B., E. W. McCaul Jr., G. P. Byrd, and G. R. Woodall, 1988: Mobile sounding observations of a tornadic storm near the dryline: The Canadian, Texas, storm of 7 May 1986. Mon. Wea. Rev., 116,1790-1804.
9. Boccippio, D. J., S. J. Goodman, and S. Heckman, 2000: Regional differences in tropical lightning distributions. J. Appl. Meteor., 39, 2231-2248.
10. Bolton, D., 1980: The computation of equivalent potential tem-perature. Mon. Wea. Rev., 108,1046-1053.
11. Casey, S. P. F., A. E. Dessler, and C. Schumacher, 2007: Frequency of tropical precipitating clouds as observed by the TRMM Precipitation Radar and ICESat/Geoscience Laser Altim-eter System. J. Geophys. Res., 112, D14215, doi:10.1029/2007JD008468.
12. Caylor, I. J., and V. Chandrasekar, 1996: Time-varying ice crystal orientation in thunderstorms observed with multiparameter radar. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 34, 847-858.
13. Cecil, D. J., E. J. Zipser, and S. W. Nesbitt, 2002: Reflectivity, ice scattering, and lightning characteristics of hurricane eyewall rainbands. Part I: Quantitative description. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130,769-784.
14. Christian, H. J., 2000: Algorithm theoretical basis document for the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS). NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, 53 pp. [Available online at http://thunder.msfc.nasa. gov/bookshelf/pubs/atbd-lis-2000.pdf.]
15. Cotton, W. R., and R. A. Anthes, 1989: Storm and Cloud Dynamics. Academic Press, 883 pp.
16. Czekala, H., S. Crewell, C. Simmer, A. Thiele, A. Hornbostel, and A. Schroth, 2001: Interpretation of polarization features in ground-based microwave observations as caused by horizontally aligned oblate raindrops. J. Appl. Meteor., 40, 1918-1932.
17. Dessler, A. E., S. P. Palm, and J. D. Spinhirne, 2006: Tropical cloud-top height distributions revealed by the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICEsat)/Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS). J. Geophys. Res., 111, D12215, doi:10.1029/2005JD006705.
18. Dessler, A. E., T. F. Hanisco, and S. Fueglistaler, 2007: Effects of convective ice lofting on H20 and HDO in the tropical tropopause layer. J. Geophys. Res., 112, D18309, doi:10.1029/2007JD008609.
19. Dinku, T., and E. N. Anagnostou, 2005: Regional differences in overland rainfall estimation from PR-calibrated TMI algorithm. J. Appl. Meteor., 44,189-205.
20. Djuric, D., 1994: Weather Analysis. Prentice Hall, 304 pp.
21. Doviak, R. J., and D. S. Zrnic, 1993: Doppler Radar and Weather Observations. 2nd ed. Academic Press, 562 pp.
22. Dvorak, V. F., 1975: Tropical cyclone intensity analysis and fore-casting from satellite imagery. Mon. Wea. Rev., 103, 420-430.
23. Ebert, E. E., and G. J. Holland, 1992: Observations of record cold cloud-top temperatures in Tropical Cyclone Hilda (1990). Mon. Wea. Rev., 120, 2240-2251.
24. Emanuel, K. A., 1994: Atmospheric Convection. Oxford University Press, 580 pp.
25. Ferraro, R. R., and G. F. Marks, 1995: The development of SSM/I rain-rate retrieval algorithms using ground-based radar measurements. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 12, 755-770.
26. Fierro, A. O., L. M. Leslie, E. R. Mansell, and J. M. Straka, 2008: Numerical simulations of the microphysics and electrification of the weakly electrified 9 February 1993 TOGA COARE squall line: Comparisons with observations. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 364-379.
27. Fierro, A. O., J. M. Simpson, M. A. LeMone, J. M. Straka, and B. F. Smull, 2009: On how hot towers fuel the Hadley Cell: An observational and modeling study of line-organized convection in the equatorial trough from TOGA COARE. J. Atmos. Sci., 66, 2730-2746.
28. Frisby, E. M., and H. W. Sansom, 1967: Hail incidence in the tropics. J. Appl. Meteor., 6, 339-353.
29. Fueglistaler, S., A. E. Dessler, T. J. Dunkerton, I. Folkins, Q. Fu, and P. W. Mote, 2009: The tropical tropopause layer. Rev. Geophys., 47, RG1004, doi:10.1029/2008RG000267.
30. Geerts, B., and T. Dejene, 2005: Regional and diurnal variability of the vertical structure of precipitation systems in Africa based on spaceborne radar data. J. Climate, 18, 893-916.
31. Glickman, T. S., Ed., 2000: Glossary of Meteorology. 2nd ed. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 855 pp.
32. Grecu, M., W. S. Olson, and E. N. Anagnostou, 2004: Retrieval of precipitation profiles from multiresolution, multifrequency active and passive microwave observations. J. Appl. Meteor., 43,562-575.
33. Gunn, R., and G. D. Kinzer, 1949: The terminal velocity of fall for water droplets in stagnant air. J. Meteor., 6, 243-248.
34. Halverson, J. B., J. Simpson, G. Heymsfield, H. Pierce, T. Hock, and L. Ritchie, 2006: Warm core structure of Hurricane Erin diagnosed from high altitude dropsondes during CAMEX-4. J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 309-324.
35. Hendry, A., and G. C. McCormick, 1976: Radar observations of the alignment of precipitation particles by electrostatic fields in thunderstorms. J. Geophys. Res., 81, 5353-5357.
36. Heymsfield, G. M., and R. Fulton, 1994: Passive microwave structure of severe tornadic storms on 17 November 1987. Mon. Wea. Rev., 122, 2587-2595.
37. Heymsfield, G. M., L. Tian, A. J. Heymsfield, L. Li, and S. Guimond, 2010: Characteristics of deep tropical and subtropical convection from nadir-viewing high-altitude airborne Doppler radar. J. Atmos. Sci., 67, 285-308.
38. Hoinka, K. P., 1999: Temperature, humidity, and wind at the global tropopause. Mon. Wea. Rev., 127, 2248-2265.
39. Holton, J. R., P. H. Haynes, M. E. McIntyre, A. R. Douglass, R. B. Rood, and L. Pfister, 1995: Stratosphere-troposphere exchange. Rev. Geophys., 33, 403-139.
40. Hong, Y., J. L. Haferman, W. S. Olson, and C. D. Kummerow, 2000: Microwave brightness temperatures from tilted convective systems. J. Appl. Meteor., 39, 983-998.
41. Hood, R. E., and Coauthors, 2006: Classification of tropical oceanic precipitation using high-altitude aircraft microwave and electric field measurements. J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 218-233.
42. Houze, R. A., 1993: Cloud Dynamics. Academic Press, 573 pp.
43. James, P., A. Stohl, C. Forster, S. Eckhardt, P. Seibert, and A. Frank, 2003: A 15-year climatology of stratosphere-troposphere exchange with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model: 1. Methodology and validation. J. Geophys. Res., 108,8519, doi:10.1029/2002JD002637.
44. James, R., M. Bonazzola, B. Legras, K. Surbled, and S. Fueglistaler, 2008: Water vapor transport and dehydration above convective outflow during Asian monsoon. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35,L20810, doi:10.1029/2008GL035441.
45. JAXA, 2005: TRMM precipitation radar algorithm instruction manual for Version 6. 175 pp. [Available online at http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/TRMM/documents/PR_algorithm_product_ information/pr_manual/pr_manual_v6.pdf.]
46. Jiang, H., and E. J. Zipser, 2006: Retrieval of hydrometeor profiles in tropical cyclones and convection from combined radar and radiometer observations. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 45,1096-1115.
47. Jorgensen, D. P., and M. A. LeMone, 1989: Vertical velocity characteristics of oceanic convection. J. Atmos. Sci., 46, 621-640.
48. Kalnay, E., and Coauthors, 1996: The NCEP/NCAR 40-Year Reanalysis Project. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77, 437-471.
49. Kelley, O., 2008: The association of tall eyewall convection with tropical cyclone intensification. Ph.D. dissertation, George Mason University, 320 pp.
50. Khain, A., D. Rosenfeld, and A. Pokrovsky, 2005: Aerosol impact on the dynamics and microphysics of deep convective clouds. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 131, 2639-2663.
51. Khaykin, S., and Coauthors, 2009: Hydration of the lower stratosphere by ice crystal geysers over land convective systems. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 2275-2287.
52. Kingsmill, D. E., and Coauthors, 2004: TRMM common microphysical products: A tool for evaluating spaceborne precipitation retrieval algorithms. J. Appl. Meteor., 43,1598-1618.
53. Kistler, R., and Coauthors, 2001: The NCEP-NCAR 50-Year Reanalysis: Monthly means, CD-ROM, and documentation. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 82, 247-267.
54. Knight, C. A., andN. C. Knight, 2001: Hailstorms. Severe Convective Storms, Meteor. Monogr., No. 50, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 223-248.
55. Kozu, T., 1989: Consideration of vertical resolution for near nadirlooking spaceborne radar. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 27, 354-357.
56. Kozu, T., and Coauthors, 2001: Development of precipitation radar on board the TRMM satellite. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 39,102-116.
57. Kummerow, C., W. Barnes, T. Kozu, J. Shiue, and J. Simpson, 1998: The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) sensor package. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 15, 809-817.
58. Lane, T. P., and M. J. Reeder, 2001: Convectively generated gravity waves and their effect on the cloud environment. J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 2427-2440.
59. Lane, T. P., M. J. Reeder, and T. L. Clark, 2001: Numerical modeling of gravity wave generation by deep tropical convection. J. Atmos. Sci., 58,1249-1274.
60. L'Ecuyer, T. S., and G. L. Stephens, 2002: An uncertainty model for Bayesian Monte Carlo retrieval algorithms: Applications to the TRMM observing system. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 128,1713-1737.
61. Lelieveld, J., and Coauthors, 2007: Stratospheric dryness: model simulations and satellite observations. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 1313-1332.
62. Li, Y., E. J. Zipser, S. K. Krueger, and M. A. Zulauf, 2008: Cloud-resolving modeling of deep convection during KWAJEX. Part I: Comparison to TRMM satellite and ground-based radar observations. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 2699-2712.
63. Liu, C., and E. J. Zipser, 2005: Global distribution of convection penetrating the tropical tropopause. J. Geophys. Res., 110, D23104, doi:10.1029/2005JD006063.
64. Liu, C., and E. J. Zipser, 2008: Diurnal cycles of precipitation, clouds, and lightning in the tropics from 9 years of TRMM observations. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L04819, doi:10.1029/2007GL032437.
65. Liu, C., E. J. Zipser, and S. W. Nesbitt, 2007: Global distribution of tropical deep convection: Different perspectives from TRMM infrared and radar data. J. Climate, 20, 489-503.
66. Liu, G., and J. A. Curry, 1998: An investigation of the relationship between emission and scattering signals in SSM/I data. J. Atmos. Sci., 55,1628-1643.
67. Lucas, C., and E. J. Zipser, 1996: Reply. J. Atmos. Sci., 53,1212-1214
68. Liu, C., and E. J. Zipser, and M. A. LeMone, 1994: Vertical velocity in oceanic convection off tropical Australia. J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 3183-3193.
69. Lyu, C.-H., and W. L. Barnes, 2003: Four years of TRMM/VIRS on-orbit calibrations and characterization using lunar models and data from Terra/MODIS. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 20, 333-347.
70. Ma, L., T. Zhang, Q. Li, O. W. Frauenfeld, and D. Qin, 2008: Evaluation of ERA-40, NCEP-1, and NCEP-2 reanalysis air temperatures with ground-based measurements in China. J. Geophys. Res., 113, D15115, doi:10.1029/2007JD009549.
71. Malkus, J. S., and C. Ronne, 1954: On the structure of some cumulonimbus clouds which penetrated the high tropical troposphere. Tellus, 6, 351-366.
72. Marks, D. A., D. B. Wolff, D. S. Silberstein, A. Tokay, J. L. Pippitt, and J. Wang, 2009: Availability of high-quality TRMM ground validation data from Kwajalein, RMI: A practical application of the relative calibration adjustment technique. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 26, 413-429.
73. Masunaga, H., T. Iguchi, R. Oki, and M. Kachi, 2002: Comparison of rainfall products derived from TRMM microwave imager and precipitation radar. J. Appl. Meteor., 41, 849-862.
74. Matrosov, S. Y., 1999: Retrievals of vertical profiles of ice cloud microphysics from radar and IR measurements using tuned regressions between reflectivity and cloud parameters. J. Geophys. Res., 104D, 16 741-16 753.
75. McCumber, M., W.-K. Tao, and J. Simpson, 1991: Comparison of ice-phase microphysical parameterization schemes using numerical simulations of tropical convection. J. Appl. Meteor., 30, 985-1003.
76. McFarquhar, G. M., and R. A. Black, 2004: Observations of particle size and phase in tropical cyclones: Implications for mesoscale modeling of microphysical processes. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 422-139.
77. Michaud, L. M., 1996: Comments on "Convective available potential energy in the environment of oceanic and continental clouds." Atmos. Sci., 53,1209-1211.
78. Mullendore, G. L., D. R. Durran, and J. R. Holton, 2005: Cross-tropopause tracer transport in midlatitude convection. J. Geophys. Res., 110, D06113, doi:10.1029/2004JD005059.
79. Nesbitt, S. W., E. J. Zipser, and D. J. Cecil, 2000: A census of precipitation features in the tropics using TRMM: Radar, ice scattering, and lightning observations. J. Climate, 13,4087-1106.
80. Nesbitt, S. W., R. Cifelli, and S. A. Rutledge, 2006: Storm morphology and rainfall characteristics of TRMM precipitation features. Mon. Wea. Rev., 134, 2702-2721.
81. Nielsen, J. K., N. Larsen, F. Cairo, G. Di Donfrancesco, J. M. Rosen, G. Durry, G. Held, and J. P. Pommereau, 2007: Solid particles in the tropical lower stratosphere. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7,685-695.
82. Olson, W. S., Y. Hong, C. D. Kummerow, and J. Turk, 2001: A texture-polarization method for estimating convective-stratiform precipitation area coverage from passive microwave radiometer data. J. Appl. Meteor., 40,1577-1591.
83. Pawson, S., and M. Fiorino, 1998: A comparison of reanalyzes in the tropical stratosphere, Part 1: Thermal structure and the annual cycle. Climate Dyn., 14, 631-644.
84. Petersen, W. A., and S. A. Rutledge, 2001: Regional variability in tropical convection: Observations from TRMM. J. Climate, 14, 3566-3586.
85. Petty, G. W., 1994: Physical retrievals of over-ocean rain rate from multi-channel microwave imagery. Part I: Theoretical char-acteristics of normalized polarization and scattering indices. Meteor. Atmos. Phys., 54, 79-99.
86. Prigent, C., E. Defer, J. R. Pardo, C. Pearl, W. B. Rossow, and J.-P. Pinty, 2005: Relations of polarized scattering signatures observed by the TRMM microwave instrument with electrical processing in cloud systems. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L04810, doi:10.1029/2004GL022225.
87. Rakov, V. A., and M. A. Uman, 2003: Lightning: Physics and Effects. Cambridge University Press, 687 pp.
88. Riehl, H., and J. S. Malkus, 1958: On the heat balance in the equatorial trough zone. Geophysica, 6, 503-538.
89. Riehl, H., and J. Simpson, 1979: The heat balance of the equatorial trough zone, revisited. Contrib. Atmos. Phys., 54, 287-304.
90. Rogers, R. F., M. L. Black, S. S. Chen, and R. A. Black, 2007: An evaluation of microphysics fields from mesoscale model simulations of tropical cyclones. Part I: Comparisons with observations. J. Atmos. Sci., 64,1812-1834.
91. Rossow, W. B., and C. Pearl, 2007: 22-year survey of tropical convection penetrating into the lower stratosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L04803, doi:10.1029/2006GL028635.
92. Saunders, C. P. R., and J. S. Rimmer, 1999: The electrical field alignment of ice crystals in thunderstorms. Atmos. Res., 51, 337-343.
93. Seeber, G., 1993: Satellite Geodesy. deGruyter, 531 pp.
94. Shao, X. M., and P. R. Krehbiel, 1996: The spatial and temporal development of intracloud lightning. J. Geophys. Res., 101D, 26 641-26 668.
95. Sherwood, S. C., P. Minnis, and M. McGill, 2004: Deep convective cloud-top heights and their thermodynamic control during CRYSTAL-FACE. J. Geophys. Res., 109, D20119, doi:10.1029/2004JD004811.
96. Shimizu, S., N. Takahashi, T. Iguchi, J. Awaka, T. Kozu, R. Meneghini, and K. Okamoto, 2003: Validation analyses after the altitude change of TRMM. Microwave Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Environment III, C. D. Kummerow, J. Jiang, and S. Uratuka, Eds., International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 4894), 83-91.
97. Silberstein, D. S., D. B. Wolff, D. A. Marks, D. Atlas, and J. L. Pippitt, 2008: Ground clutter as a monitor of radar stability at Kwajalein, RMI. J. Oceanic Atmos. Technol., 25, 2037-2045.
98. Simpson, J., J. B. Halverson, B. S. Ferrier, W. A. Petersen, R. H. Simpson, R. Blakeslee, and S. L. Durden, 1998: On the role of "hot towers" in tropical cyclone formation Meteor. Atmos. Phys., 67,15-35.
99. Stohl, A., and Coauthors, 2003: Stratosphere-troposphere exchange: A review, and what we have learned from STACCATO. J. Geophys. Res., 108D, 8516, doi:10.1029/2002JD002490.
100. Takahashi, N., and T. Iguchi, 2004a: Characteristics of system noise of TRMM/PR and their application to the rain detection algorithm. Preprints, IEEE Int. Geoscience Remote Sensing Symp., Anchorage, AK, IEEE, 910-913.
101. Takahashi, N., and T. Iguchi, 2004b: Estimation and correlation of beam mismatch of the precipitation radar after an orbit boost of the TRMM satellite. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 42, 2362-2369.
102. Takahashi, T., 1987: Hawaiian hailstones-30 January 1985. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 68,1530-1534.
103. Van Den Heever, S. C., and W. R. Cotton, 2007: Urban aerosol impacts on downwind convective storms. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 46, 828-850.
104. Velden, C., and Coauthors, 2006: The Dvorak tropical cyclone in-tensity estimation technique: A satellite-based method that has endured over 30 years. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87,1195-1210.
105. Wallace, J. M., and P. V. Hobbs, 2006: Atmospheric Science. 2nd ed. Academic Press, 483 pp.
106. Warner, T. T., 2004: Desert Meteorology. Cambridge University Press, 595 pp.
107. Wei, D., A. M. Blyth, and D. J. Raymond, 1998: Buoyancy of con-vective clouds in TOGA CO ARE. J. Atmos. Sci., 55,3381-3391.
108. Yang, H., and K. Tung, 1996: Cross-isentropic stratosphere-troposphere exchange of mass and water vapor. J. Geophys. Res., 101D, 9413-9423.
109. Young, F. A., 1927: Weather on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Mon. Wea. Rev., 55,146-147.
110. Zipser, E. J., 2003: Some views on "hot towers" after 50 years of tropical field programs and two years of TRMM data. Cloud Systems, Hurricanes, and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM): A Tribute to Dr. Joanne Simpson, Meteor. Monogr., No. 51, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 49-58.
111. Zipser, E. J., and M. A. LeMone, 1980: Cumulonimbus vertical velocity events in GATE, Part II: Synthesis and model core structure. J. Atmos. Sci., 37, 2458-2468.
112. Zipser, E. J., and K. R. Lutz, 1994: The vertical profile of radar reflectivity of convective cells: A strong indicator of storm intensity and lightning probability. Mon. Wea. Rev., 122,1752-1759.
113. Zipser, E. J., D. J. Cecil, C. Liu, S. W. Nesbitt, and D. P. Yorty, 2006: Where are the most intense thunderstorms on earth? Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87,1057-1070.