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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
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Atm/Ocean Structure/ Phenomena; Boundary layer; Convective clouds; Marine boundary layer; Stratiform clouds; Physical Meteorology and Climatology; Surface fluxes; Models and modeling; Large eddy simulations
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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Factors Controlling Stratocumulus Cloud Lifetime Over Coastal Land, Mohamed S. Ghonima, Thijs Heus, Joel R. Norris, Jan Kleissl
Factors Controlling Stratocumulus Cloud Lifetime Over Coastal Land, Mohamed S. Ghonima, Thijs Heus, Joel R. Norris, Jan Kleissl
Physics Faculty Publications
The breakup of stratocumulus clouds over coastal land areas is studied using a combination of large-eddy simulations (LESs) and mixed-layer models (MLMs) with a focus on mechanisms regulating the timing of the breakup. In contrast with stratocumulus over ocean, strong sensible heat flux over land prevents the cloud layer from decoupling during day. As the cloud thins during day, turbulence generated by surface flux becomes larger than turbulence generated by longwave cooling across the cloud layer. To capture this shift in turbulence generation in the MLM, an existing entrainment parameterization is extended. The MLM is able to mimic cloud evolution …