Object-Based Evaluation of MERRA Cloud Physical Properties and Radiative Fluxes during the 1998 El Niño–La Niña Transition

Derek J. Posselt University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Andrew R. Jongeward University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland

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Chuan-Yuan Hsu University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Gerald L. Potter University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Abstract

The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application (MERRA) is a reanalysis designed to produce an improved representation of the Earth’s hydrologic cycle. This study examines the representation of deep convective clouds in MERRA, comparing analyzed liquid and ice clouds with deep convective cloud objects observed by instruments on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. Results show that MERRA contains deep convective cloud in 98.1% of the observed cases. MERRA-derived probability density functions (PDFs) of cloud properties have a similar form as the observed PDFs and exhibit a similar trend with changes in object size. Total water path, optical depth, and outgoing shortwave radiation (OSR) in MERRA are found to match the cloud object observations quite well; however, there appears to be a bias toward higher-than-observed cloud tops in the MERRA. The reanalysis fits the observations most closely for the largest class of convective systems, with performance generally decreasing with a transition to smaller convective systems. Comparisons of simulated total water path, optical depth, and OSR are found to be highly sensitive to the assumed subgrid distribution of condensate and indicate the need for caution when interpreting model-data comparisons that require disaggregation of grid-scale cloud to satellite pixel scales.

Corresponding author address: Derek J. Posselt, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143. E-mail: dposselt@umich.edu

This article is included in the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) special collection.

Abstract

The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application (MERRA) is a reanalysis designed to produce an improved representation of the Earth’s hydrologic cycle. This study examines the representation of deep convective clouds in MERRA, comparing analyzed liquid and ice clouds with deep convective cloud objects observed by instruments on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. Results show that MERRA contains deep convective cloud in 98.1% of the observed cases. MERRA-derived probability density functions (PDFs) of cloud properties have a similar form as the observed PDFs and exhibit a similar trend with changes in object size. Total water path, optical depth, and outgoing shortwave radiation (OSR) in MERRA are found to match the cloud object observations quite well; however, there appears to be a bias toward higher-than-observed cloud tops in the MERRA. The reanalysis fits the observations most closely for the largest class of convective systems, with performance generally decreasing with a transition to smaller convective systems. Comparisons of simulated total water path, optical depth, and OSR are found to be highly sensitive to the assumed subgrid distribution of condensate and indicate the need for caution when interpreting model-data comparisons that require disaggregation of grid-scale cloud to satellite pixel scales.

Corresponding author address: Derek J. Posselt, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143. E-mail: dposselt@umich.edu

This article is included in the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) special collection.

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