Cloud climatology

Liquid water is one of the most important cloud characteristics for atmospheric chemistry. The liquid water content of an air parcel starts from almost zero during cloud formation, reaches a maximum for a mature cloud, and returns to zero during cloud evaporation. 

Pruppacher and Klett (1980) note that the liquid water content field of clouds has four characteristic features  

It varies considerably horizontally due to variations in the vertical air velocity. 

It increases with height above the cloud base, reaches a maximum value somewhere in the upper half of the cloud, and then decreases toward the cloud top. 

It is determined to a large extent by drop size rather than drop number concentration. 

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Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics International Study of Arctic Change International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare Influence of Stochastic Forcing International Organization for Standardization Independent Summary for Policy-Makers International Sea Year... 

Figure 1 Annual average cloud fractional area coverage, for clouds with tops higher than the 440 mb level, estimated from satellite data under the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project. Data kindly provided by D. Hartmann.

Diamonds represent measured data collected under all sky conditions. The solid line represents the UV (290-325 am) irradiance calculated at local noon by means of the STAR model for cloud-free conditions as described in [5]. Climatological values of the model input parameters for both stations are used (Table 1). 

Figure 15.31 shows a zonally averaged climatology based on six cloud types high clouds (Ci, Cs), middle clouds (As, Ac), low clouds (St, Sc), cumulus, cumulonimbus, and nimbostratus. The altitude, thickness, and cloud cover are shown with a 10° resolution. Note that the cirrus base heights vary with latitude but their thickness is fixed at 1.7 km due to limitations of the observations. 

FIGURE 15.31 Zonally averaged climatology of cloud type, cover (number over bar indicates percent occurrence), and thickness for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres at 10° latitudinal intervals. Reprinted from K. N. Liou, Radiation and Cloud Processes in the Atmosphere, 1992, by permission of Oxford University Press. 

For a description of cloud chemical climatology, the most important cloud parameters are (see Table 2.24) ... 

For a description of precipitation chemical climatology the most important cloud... 

In addition, one funnel cloud has been observed in the same 20-year period. This cloud was reported in the Four Hills area of Albuquerque about 6 km (3.7 mi) to the north of the TA-V site on KAFB. Based on the climatological records available, Albuquerque can be classified as a region of low tornado occurrence with an annual frequency of 0.1 or less. Tornado severity within the Albuquerque area would be expected to be significantly less than that in the Midwest because the meteorological conditions required to produce a severe tornado rarely occur. 

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Atmospheric Diffusion Modeling Atmospheric Turbulence Climatology Cloud Physics ... 

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