Microphysical Properties of Convective Clouds in Summer over the Tibetan Plateau from SNPP/VIIRS Satellite Data

作     者：Zhiguo YUE Xing YU Guihua LIU Jin DAI Yannian ZHU Xiaohong XU Ying HUI Chuang CHEN 

作者机构：Meteorological Institute of Shaanxi Province Xi'an 710014 Office of Weather Modification of Shaanxi Province Xi'an 710014 

出 版 物：《Journal of Meteorological Research》 (气象学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2019年第33卷第3期

页      面：433-445页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 0707[理学-海洋科学] 070601[理学-气象学] 0815[工学-水利工程] 0706[理学-大气科学] 0816[工学-测绘科学与技术] 0824[工学-船舶与海洋工程] 0825[工学-航空宇航科学与技术] 

基　　金：Supported by the China Meteorological Administration Special Public Welfare Research Fund for the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment(GYHY201406001) National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFC1507903) National Natural Science Foundation of China(41575136) 

主　　题：Tibetan Plateau Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VⅡRS) retrieval of cloud microphysical properties convective cloud cloud base temperature cloud condensation nuclei 

摘      要：The Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays an important role in formation and development of the East Asian atmospheric circulation, climate variability, and disastrous weathers in China. Among the many topics on TP meteorology, it is critical to understand the microphysical characteristics of clouds over the TP;however, observations of the cloud microphysics in this area are insufficient mainly due to sparse stations and limited cloud physical data. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VⅡRS), onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite, has an improved imaging spectroradiometer with 17 channels of 750-m moderate resolution and 5 channels of 375-m image resolution. The high-resolution instrument has an advantage for observing the small or initial convective clouds. Based on the methodologies that we proposed before for retrieving cloud microphysical properties from SNPP, an automated mapping software package named Automatic Mapping of Convective Clouds (AMCC) has been developed at the scale of satellite swath. The properties of convective clouds are retrieved by AMCC and their values are averaged over 0.33°×0.33° grids based on the SNPP/VⅡRS satellite data over the TP during the summers of 2013-17. The results show that:(1) the temperature of lifting condensation level (TLCL) at Naqu meteorological station and the cloud base temperature (Tb) retrieved from VⅡRS are linearly correlated, with a correlation coefficient of 0.87 and standard deviation (STD) of 3.0℃;(2) convective clouds over the TP have the following macro-and microphysical properties. First, the cloud base temperature (Tb) is about -5℃, the cloud base height above the ground (Hb) ranges between 1800 and 2200 m, and the cloud water content is low. Second, the cloud condensation nuclei concentration (NCCN) is between 200 and 400 mg-1 with 0.7% in maximum supersaturation (Smax);consequently, the condensation growth of water cloud droplet with less NCCN and higher Smax is fast. Thir