6.4 Coincident Observations of Temperature and Cirrus Clouds in the Tropical Tropopause Layer: A Case Study using Data from COSMIC and CALIPSO

Wednesday, 26 January 2011: 11:15 AM
3B (Washington State Convention Center)
Jeffrey R. Taylor, NCAR, Boulder, CO; and W. Randel

High vertical resolution GPS radio-occultation temperature measurements from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) are combined with cloud measurements from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission to quantify relationships between temperatures and clouds in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL). This study focuses on the behavior of thin cirrus clouds frequently observed over altitudes ~13-17 km. The COSMIC and CALIPSO data provide ~5000 near-coincident observations per month in the tropics (data within 200 km and 2 hours). We show results for case studies of isolated thin cirrus linked to TTL temperature anomalies, and their related statistics. Initial results highlight persistent negative temperature anomalies in the TTL linked to high level cirrus.
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