Properties of deep convection in tropical continental, monsoon, and oceanic rainfall regimes

Geophysical Research Letters

Volumn 39, Issue 7, 2012, Pages

  Xu, Weixin ^a   Zipser, Edward J ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF UTAH   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ATMOSPHERIC THERMODYNAMICS; NATURAL CONVECTION; RAIN;

CONVECTIVE INTENSITY; CONVECTIVE PROPERTIES; DEEP CONVECTION; LIGHTNING FLASHES; MICROPHYSICAL PROCESS; MODELING STUDIES; MONSOON RAINFALL; MONSOON REGIMES; RADAR ECHOES; RAINFALL REGIME; VERTICAL STRUCTURES;

RAIN GAGES;

COMPARATIVE STUDY; CONTINENTAL MARGIN; ECHO SOUNDER; FREEZING; FREQUENCY-MAGNITUDE DISTRIBUTION; LIGHTNING; MONSOON; OCEANIC CONVECTION; RADAR ALTIMETRY; RAINDROP; RAINFALL; TRMM; TROPICAL REGION;

EID: 84859564586     PISSN: 00948276     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1029/2012GL051242     Document Type: Article

References (32)

1. Arakawa, A. (2004), The cumulus parameterization problem: Past, present, and future, J. Clim., 17, 2493-2525, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(2004) 0172.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 39047914)
2. Cecil, D. J. (2011), Relating passive 37-GHz scattering to radar profiles in strong convection, J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol., 50, 233-240, doi:10.1175/2010JAMC2506.1.
3. Cecil, D. J., and C. B. Blankenship (2012), Toward a global climatology of severe hailstorms as estimated by satellite passive microwave ima-gers, J. Clim., 25, 687-703, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00130.1.
4. Chang, C.-P. (2004), East Asian Monsoon, 564 pp., World Sci., Singapore.
5. Cifelli, R., W. A. Petersen, L. D. Carey, S. A. Rutledge, and M. A. F. da Silva Dias (2002), Radar observations of the kinematic, microphysical, and precipitation characteristics of two MCSs in TRMM LBA, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D20), 8077, doi:10.1029/2000JD000264.
6. Fink, A. H., D. G. Vincent, and V. Ermert (2006), Rainfall types in the West African Sudanian zone during the summer monsoon 2002, Mon. Weather Rev., 134(8), 2143-2164, doi:10.1175/MWR3182.1. (Pubitemid 44275529)
7. Gadgil, S. (2003), The Indian monsoon and its variability, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 31, 429-467, doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.31.100901.141251. (Pubitemid 37216304)
8. Guy, N., and S. A. Rutledge (2012), Regional comparison of West African convective characteristics: A TRMM-based climatology, Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., doi:10.1002/qj.1865, in press.
9. Kelley, O. A., J. Stout, M. Summers, and E. J. Zipser (2010), Do the tallest convective cells over the tropical ocean have slow updrafts?, Mon. Weather Rev., 138, 1651-1672, doi:10.1175/2009MWR3030.1.
10. Lang, S., W.-K. Tao, J. Simpson, R. Cifelli, S. Rutledge, W. Olson, and J. Halverson (2007), Improving simulations of convective systems from TRMM LBA: Easterly and westerly regimes, J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 1141-1164, doi:10.1175/JAS3879.1. (Pubitemid 46690980)
11. Lang, T. J., S. A. Rutledge, and R. Cifelli (2010), Polarimetric radar observations of convection in northwestern Mexico during the North American Monsoon Experiment, J. Hydrometeorol., 11(6), 1345-1357, doi:10.1175/ 2010JHM1247.1.
12. Liu, C., E. J. Zipser, D. J. Cecil, S. W. Nesbitt, and S. Sherwood (2008), A cloud and precipitation feature database from nine years of TRMM observations, J. Appl. Meteorol., 47, 2712-2728, doi:10.1175/2008JAMC1890.1.
13. Liu, C., D. J. Cecil, E. J. Zipser, K. Kronfeld, and R. E. Robertson (2012), Relationships between lightning flash rates and radar reflectivity vertical structures in thunderstorms over the tropics and subtropics, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2011JD017123, in press.
14. Mapes, B. E., and R. A. Houze Jr. (1995), Diabatic divergence profiles in western Pacific mesoscale convective systems, J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 1807-1828, doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1995)0522.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 26436700)
15. May, P. T., and A. Ballinger (2007), The statistical characteristics of con-vective cells in a monsoon regime (Darwin, northern Australia), Mon. Weather Rev., 135(1), 82-92, doi:10.1175/MWR3273.1. (Pubitemid 46188844)
16. Mohr, K. I., and E. J. Zipser (1996), Mesoscale convective systems defined by their 85-GHz ice scattering signature: Size and intensity comparison over tropical oceans and continents, Mon. Weather Rev., 124, 2417-2437, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1996)1242.0. CO;2. (Pubitemid 126527490)
17. Petersen, W. A., and S. A. Rutledge (2001), Regional variability in tropical convection: Observations from TRMM, J. Clim., 14, 3566-3586, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(2001)0142.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 32980830)
18. Petersen, W. A., S. W. Nesbitt, R. J. Blakeslee, R. Cifelli, P. Hein, and S. A. Rutledge (2002), TRMM observations of intraseasonal variability in con-vective regimes over the Amazon, J. Clim., 15, 1278-1294, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(2002)0152.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 34689982)
19. Rickenbach, T. M., R. N. Ferreira, J. B. Halverson, D. L. Herdies, and M. A. F. Silva Dias (2002), Modulation of convection in the southwestern Amazon basin by extratropical stationary fronts, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D20), 8040, doi:10.1029/2000JD000263.
20. Riehl, H., and J. S. Simpson (1979), The heat balance in the equatorial trough zone, revisited, Contrib. Atmos. Phys., 52, 287-305.
21. Rosenfeld, D., and I. M. Lensky (1998), Satellite-based insights into precipitation formation processes in continental and maritime convective clouds, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 79, 2457-2476, doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1998)0792.0. CO;2.
22. Suppiah, R. (1992), The Australian monsoon: A review, Prog. Phys. Geogr., 16, 283-318, doi:10.1177/030913339201600302.
23. Tao, W.-K., J. Simpson, S. Lang, M. McCumber, R. Adler, and R. Penc (1990), An algorithm to estimate the heating budget from vertical hydro-meteor profiles, J. Appl. Meteorol., 29, 1232-1244, doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1990)0292.0. CO;2.
24. Varble, A., et al. (2011), Evaluation of cloud-resolving model intercompar-ison simulations using TWP-ICE observations: Precipitation and cloud structure, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D12206, doi:10.1029/2010JD015180.
25. Williams, E. R., et al. (2002), Contrasting convective regimes over the Amazon: Implications for cloud electrification, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D20), 8082, doi:10.1029/2001JD000380.
26. Williams, E. R., and S. Stanfill (2002), The physical origin of the land-ocean contrast in lightning activity, C. R. Phys., 3, 1277-1292, doi:10.1016/S1631-0705(02)01407-X. (Pubitemid 36646091)
27. Xu, W., E. J. Zipser, and C. Liu (2009), Rainfall characteristics and convec-tive properties of Mei-Yu precipitation systems over south China, Taiwan and the South China Sea. Part I: TRMM observations, Mon. Weather Rev., 137, 4261-4275, doi:10.1175/2009MWR2982.1.
28. Zhou, J., and K.-M. Lau (1998), Does a monsoon climate exist over South America?, J. Clim., 11, 1020-1040, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1998) 0112.0.CO;2. (Pubitemid 28426409)
29. Zipser, E. J. (1994), Deep cumulonimbus cloud systems in the tropics with and without lightning, Mon. Weather Rev., 122,1837-1851, doi:10.1175/1520- 0493(1994)1222.0.CO;2.
30. Zipser, E. J. (2003), Some views on "hot towers" after 50 years of tropical field programs and two years of TRMM data, Meteorol. Monogr., 29, 49, doi:10.1175/0065-9401(2003)0292.0.CO;2.
31. 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. Weather Rev., 122, 1751-1759, doi:10.1175/1520- 0493(1994)1222.0.CO;2.
32. 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. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 87, 1057-1071, doi:10.1175/BAMS-87-8-1057. (Pubitemid 44336120)