Subgrid Variations of the Cloud Water and Droplet Number Concentration over Tropical Ocean: Satellite Observations and Implications for Warm Rain Simulation in Climate Models

One of the difficulties of simulating the warm rain process in global climate models (GCM) is how to account for the impact of subgrid variations of cloud properties, such as cloud water and cloud droplet number concertation, on the nonlinear precipitation processes such as autoconversion. In practice, this impact is often treated by adding a so-called enhancement factor term to the parameterization scheme. In this study, we derive the subgrid variations of liquid-phase cloud properties over the tropical ocean using the satellite remote sensing products from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and investigate the corresponding enhancement factors for the GCM parameterization of autoconversion rate. The wide spatial coverage of the MODIS product enables us to depict a detailed quantitative picture of the enhancement factor due to the subgrid variation of cloud water, which shows a clear cloud regime dependence, namely a significant increase from the stratocumulus (Sc) to cumulus (Cu) cloud regions. Assuming a constant would overestimate the observed in the Sc regions and underestimate it in the Cu regions. We also found that the based on the Lognormal PDF assumption performs slightly better than that based on the Gamma PDF assumption. A simple parameterization scheme is provided to relate the to the grid-mean liquid cloud fraction, which can be readily used in GCMs. For the first time, the enhancement factor due to the subgrid variation of CDNC is derived from satellite observation, and results reveal several regions downwind of biomass burning aerosols (e.g., Gulf of Guinea, East Coast of South Africa), air pollution (i.e., Eastern China Sea), and active volcanos (e.g., Kilauea Hawaii and Ambae Vanuatu), where the is comparable, or even larger than , even after the optically thin clouds are screened out.