A preliminary analysis of tropical anvil-cloud dynamics in EarthCARE
- 1Nagoya University (Nagoya, Japan)
Abstract
The vertical motion in tropical anvil clouds is crucial for understanding their maintenance and evolution but is notoriously difficult to observe. This work explores the potential utility of EarthCARE in revealing previously unobserved aspects of anvil clouds using the radar-only (2A.CPR_CLP) and radar-lidar synergy (2B.AC_CLP) products. Composite vertical profiles of cloud fraction sorted by ice water path (IWP) are constructed as a statistical representation of anvil clouds and deep convection. In-cloud vertical air motion as estimated from Doppler measurements reveals that intense updraft penetrating within deep convection gives way to a weaker ascent in anvil clouds. The radar-only product slightly underestimates the ascent in anvil clouds relative to the radar-lidar product due to a difference in the particle size distribution, while the overall spatial pattern of vertical air motion remains consistent. Diagnostic horizontal wind is then derived from the vertical motion estimates under mass conservation in composite vertical-horizontal space. The resulting wind vector field emerges as an overturning mesoscale circulation constituted of a mid-tropospheric inflow and an upper-tropospheric outflow. The present findings, although preliminary, confirm the promising potential of EarthCARE observations for investigating the anvil cloud dynamics.
Versions
Related
- The contribution of mesoscale dynamics to the tropical anvil cloud growth rate
- EarthCARE Observations of Vertical Motion and Cloud Microphysical Structure in Tropical Cyclones
- Airborne Validation of Cloud Spatial Properties from the ATLID Instrument on EarthCARE
- Reconciling the Lack of a Robust Anvil Cloud Amount Response to Warming
- Validation of EarthCARE CPR reflectivity using the ACTRIS cloud radar network
BibTeX
@article{masunaga2026preliminary,
title = {{A preliminary analysis of tropical anvil-cloud dynamics in EarthCARE}},
author = {Hirohiko Masunaga},
journal = {Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.5194/acp-26-15593-2026},
url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-15593-2026},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A preliminary analysis of tropical anvil-cloud dynamics in EarthCARE
AU - Hirohiko Masunaga
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
DO - 10.5194/acp-26-15593-2026
UR - https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-15593-2026
AB - The vertical motion in tropical anvil clouds is crucial for understanding their maintenance and evolution but is notoriously difficult to observe. This work explores the potential utility of EarthCARE in revealing previously unobserved aspects of anvil clouds using the radar-only (2A.CPR_CLP) and radar-lidar synergy (2B.AC_CLP) products. Composite vertical profiles of cloud fraction sorted by ice water path (IWP) are constructed as a statistical representation of anvil clouds and deep convection. In-cloud vertical air motion as estimated from Doppler measurements reveals that intense updraft penetrating within deep convection gives way to a weaker ascent in anvil clouds. The radar-only product slightly underestimates the ascent in anvil clouds relative to the radar-lidar product due to a difference in the particle size distribution, while the overall spatial pattern of vertical air motion remains consistent. Diagnostic horizontal wind is then derived from the vertical motion estimates under mass conservation in composite vertical-horizontal space. The resulting wind vector field emerges as an overturning mesoscale circulation constituted of a mid-tropospheric inflow and an upper-tropospheric outflow. The present findings, although preliminary, confirm the promising potential of EarthCARE observations for investigating the anvil cloud dynamics.
SN - 1680-7324
ER -