The relationships between soil moisture and boundary layer cloud development over the United States Mid-Atlantic region

The extent to which changes of surface moisture conditions in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US during summer 2006 and 2007 impacted the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) structure and cloud properties are investigated. Of particular interest in this study is analysis of a comprehensive set of observed data to research the impact of surface moisture variability on cloud properties such as cloud liquid water content (CLW), lifting condensation level (LCL), cloud base (CB). Better understanding of cloud convective processes as related to soil moisture conditions is important for improved representation of these processes in numerical models. For this assessment data collected at the Howard University Beltsville research site during summer 2006 and 2007 are analyzed. The former can be characterized as an anomalous dry summer while the latter was normal. The collocation of micrometeorological and soil flux measurements, rawinsonde, solar radiation, and raingauge data at this site provided a unique opportunity for this investigation.