Clouds, Radiation, and the Diurnal Cycle of Sea Surface Temperature in the Tropical Western Pacific

Abstract The relationship among clouds, surface radiation flux, and the sea surface temperature (SST) of the tropical western Pacific Ocean over the diurnal cycle is addressed in the context of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program scientific objectives for the tropical western Pacific Ocean. An understanding of the relationship between clouds and SST on a variety of time and space scales is needed to understand fully the cloud-radiation feedback in the tropical oceans and the maintenance of the warm pool. Here the diurnal cycle is emphasized. Data from the TOGA COARE Intensive Observation Period is examined and interpreted using an ocean mixed layer model that includes a parameterization of the “skin” temperature, explicit salinity, a surface beat budget that includes the sensible heat flux associated with rain, and the contribution of rain to the surface momentum flux. Using a mix of modeling and observations, three different case studies are examined in detail: clear and calm, clear and w...