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Publication Abstracts

Cesana and Waliser 2016

Cesana, G., and D.E. Waliser, 2016: Characterizing and understanding systematic biases in the vertical structure of clouds in CMIP5/CFMIP2 models. Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, no. 19, 10538-10546, doi:10.1002/2016GL070515.

From a traditional low-, middle-, and high-cloud "layered" perspective as well as a more detailed "level" perspective (40 levels), we compare the vertical distribution of clouds in 12 general circulation models (GCMs) against the GCM-Oriented Cloud-Aerosols Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations Cloud Product (CALIPSO-GOCCP) using a satellite simulator approach. The layered perspective shows that models exhibit the similar regional biases: an overestimate (underestimate) of high clouds over oceans (continents) in the tropics and a strong underestimate of low clouds over stratocumulus regions. Although high clouds are too infrequent on average, the level perspective reveals that high-level clouds fill too many upper levels of the column when present (geometrically too thick), suggesting an overestimation of the cloud overlap. Compositing by dynamical regimes and large-scale relative humidity shows that the models tend to have too many high-level clouds in moist environments and too few boundary layer clouds in dry environments regardless of dynamical regimes.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{ce09100t,
  author={Cesana, G. and Waliser, D. E.},
  title={Characterizing and understanding systematic biases in the vertical structure of clouds in CMIP5/CFMIP2 models},
  year={2016},
  journal={Geophysical Research Letters},
  volume={43},
  number={19},
  pages={10538--10546},
  doi={10.1002/2016GL070515},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - ce09100t
AU  - Cesana, G.
AU  - Waliser, D. E.
PY  - 2016
TI  - Characterizing and understanding systematic biases in the vertical structure of clouds in CMIP5/CFMIP2 models
JA  - Geophys. Res. Lett.
JO  - Geophysical Research Letters
VL  - 43
IS  - 19
SP  - 10538
EP  - 10546
DO  - 10.1002/2016GL070515
ER  -

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