Physics of Stratocumulus Top (POST): turbulence characteristics

Jen-La Plante, Imai; Ma, Yongfeng; Nurowska, Katarzyna; Gerber, Hermann; Khelif, Djamal; Karpinska, Katarzyna; Kopec, Marta K.; Kumala, Wojciech; Malinowski, Szymon P.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9711-2016

Articles | Volume 16, issue 15

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9711-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9711-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 16, issue 15

Research article

|

02 Aug 2016

Research article |

| 02 Aug 2016

Physics of Stratocumulus Top (POST): turbulence characteristics

Imai Jen-La Plante, Yongfeng Ma, Katarzyna Nurowska, Hermann Gerber, Djamal Khelif, Katarzyna Karpinska, Marta K. Kopec, Wojciech Kumala, and Szymon P. Malinowski

Data sets

NCAR Physics of Stratocumulus Top https://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/post/

Short summary

Using airborne data from of Physics of Stratocumulus Top campaign we analysed turbulence at the interface between free troposphere and cloud top. We found turbulence in temperature inversion capping cloud as well as in adjacent cloud top layer very anisotropic. Eddies are elongated horizontally by wind shear and flattened by static stability. These properties of turbulence at the cloud top were overlooked so far, which explains problems with understanding of entrainment at stratocumulus top.