SIO 209 (Winter 2013)
Special Topics: Cloud Dynamics and Climate
Instructor: Joel Norris
440 NH
822-4420
jnorris@ucsd.edu
Instructor Absence: I will be away at the Annual AMS meeting on January 9. Class is canceled
on that day because suitable substitute instructors will also be at that meeting.
Office Hours: Students are welcome to stop by my office at any time, but I recommend checking
with me ahead of time to make sure I will be in. It is not a good idea to expect assistance the
same day a homework assignment is due.
Attendance Expectations: Students are expected to attend every class with exceptions only for
illness and direct time conflicts such as out-of-town conferences.
Grading Option: Letter grade or S/U. First year SIO students should take the letter grade option.
Grading Criteria: 50% final exam, 50% homework exercises
Homework Exercises: Homework exercises must be completed on time and extensions will be
granted only in exceptional circumstances.
Collaboration: Students are encouraged to collaborate on homework exercises as long as each
student does his or her own work. No collaboration is allowed on exams.
Examinations: There will be a final.
Course Website: You should frequently check the website for class information, supplemental
notes, and homework assignments:
http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~jnorris/sio209.wi13/sio209.wi13.html
Reading Expectations: This course will rely heavily on out-of-class reading to prepare students
for in-class instruction and discussions. I expect all students to look over the assigned material
ahead of class. I chose an expansive reading list to provide a large background, greater depth
than I will cover in class, and different perspectives on the same topics. Students will need to use
their judgment regarding which material should be carefully read and which material should be
only skimmed. It will be worthwhile rereading material after class. The more you put into this
course, the more you will get out of this course.
Textbook: I found no single textbook that included all of the material I wished to cover in this
course, so I have chosen excerpts from several textbooks. There will be some duplication of
material between textbooks with one going into greater depth than the others.
Thermodynamics of Atmospheres & Oceans by J. A. Curry and P. J. Webster
UCSD only: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/bookseries/00746142/65
Cloud Dynamics by R. A. Houze
Global Physical Climatology by D. L. Hartmann
UCSD only: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/bookseries/00746142/56
I selected Thermodynamics of Atmospheres & Oceans because it was used in SIO 217A and
most students already have it. Cloud Dynamics is good for meteorological processes affecting
cloudiness. Global Physical Climatology has a good introductory treatment of radiative transfer
and cloud radiative impacts on climate. I will not require students to buy these textbooks
(although they may be a useful long-term resource) and have placed a copy of Cloud Dynamics
on reserve at SIO. The other books are available online for a UCSD IP address.
Journal Articles: We will read journal articles that go into greater depth than the textbooks.
Arakawa, A., and W. H. Schubert, 1974: Interaction of a cumulus cloud ensemble with the
large-scale environment, Part I. J. Atmos. Sci., 31, 674-701.
Bretherton, C. S., and M. C.Wyant, 1997: Moisture transport, lower-tropospheric stability,
and decoupling of cloud-topped boundary layers. J. Atmos. Sci., 54, 148-167.
Carlson, T. N., 1980: Airflow through midlatitude cyclones and the comma cloud pattern.
Mon. Wea. Rev., 108, 1498-1509.
Harrison, E. F., P. Minnis, B. R. Barkstrom, V. Ramanathan, R. D. Cess, and G. G. Gibson,
1990: Seasonal variation of cloud radiative forcing derived from the Earth radiation
Budget Experiment. J. Geophys. Res., 95, 18687-18703.
Lau, N.-C., and M. W. Crane, 1997: Comparing satellite and surface observations of cloud
patterns in synoptic-scale circulation systems. Mon. Wea. Rev., 125, 3172-3189.
Lilly, D. K., 1968 Models of cloud-topped mixed layers under a strong inversion. Quart. J.
Roy Meteor. Soc., 94, 292-309.
Norris, J. R., 1998a: Low cloud type over the ocean from surface observations. Part I:
relationship to surface meteorology and the vertical distribution of temperature and
moisture. J. Climate, 11, 369-382.
Norris, J. R., 1998b: Low cloud type over the ocean from surface observations. Part II:
geographical and seasonal variations. J. Climate, 11, 383-403.
Norris, J. R., and S. A. Klein, 2000: Low cloud type over the ocean from surface
observations. Part III: relationship to vertical motion and the regional surface synoptic
environment. J. Climate, 13, 245-256.
Norris, J. R., and S. F. Iacobellis, 2005: North Pacific cloud feedbacks inferred from
synoptic-scale dynamic and thermodynamic relationships. J. Climate, 18, 4862-4878.
Rossow, W. B., and R. A. Schiffer, 1999: Advances in understanding clouds from ISCCP.
Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 80, 2261- 2287.
Schubert, W. H., J. S. Wakefield, E. J. Steiner, and S. K. Cox, 1979: Marine stratocumulus
convection. Part I: Governing equations and horizontally homogeneous solutions. J.
Atmos. Sci., 36, 1286-1307.
Schubert, W. H., J. S. Wakefield, E. J. Steiner, and S. K. Cox, 1979: Marine stratocumulus
convection. Part II: Horizontally inhomogeneous solutions. J. Atmos. Sci., 36, 1308-1324.
Stevens, B., 2005: Atmospheric Moist Convection. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 33, 605-643.
Wood, R., 2012: Stratocumulus clouds. Mon. Wea. Rev., 140, 2373-2423.
Wood, R., and C. S. Bretherton, 2004: Boundary layer depth, entrainment, and decoupling in
the cloud-capped subtropical and tropical marine boundary layer. J. Climate, 17, 35763588.
Wyant, M. C., C. S. Bretherton, H. A. Rand, and D. E. Stevens, 1997: Numerical simulations
and a conceptual model of the stratocumulus to trade cumulus transition. J. Atmos. Sci.,
54, 168-192.
Zelinka, M. D., S. A. Klein, and D. L. Hartmann, 2012: Computing and partitioning cloud
feedbacks using cloud property histograms. Part II: Attribution to changes in cloud
amount, altitude, and optical depth. J. Climate, 25, 3736-3754.
Web Resources: Several websites will also be useful in this course. One is an online
encyclopedia that supplements the textbooks. Another has very useful training modules for
weather forecasters. The others provide photos of cloud types and optical phenomena or
graphical displays of cloud and radiation climatologies.
Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences (free access through UCSD)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/referenceworks/9780122270901
MetEd (quick registration required)
https://www.meted.ucar.edu/
Houze’s Cloud Atlas
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/Atlas/
Atmospheric Optics Website
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/
Graphical display of CERES radiation fluxes and cloud properties
http://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/order_data.php
Graphical display of ERBE radiation fluxes and cloud properties (predecessor to CERES)
http://eos.atmos.washington.edu/erbe/
Graphical display of ISCCP cloud properties
http://isccp.giss.nasa.gov/products/browsed2.html
Numerical display of visually observed cloud types
http://www.atmos.washington.edu/CloudMap/
Course Topics and Reading:
It is assumed that students already have familiarity with the topics marked Review. These topics
will usually only be briefly discussed in class.
1.
Review. Atmospheric vertical structure and moist thermodynamics: C&W 1.1, 1.3-7,
2.
3.
4.
1.10, 2.1-10, 3.1, 4.1-4, 6.1-8, 7.1-3 (skim math details), Houze 1.1, 2.1 Hartmann 1.1-8;
MetEd Skew-T Mastery; Norris Skew-T Notes
Review. Cloud Nucleation: C&W 5.1-5; Houze 3.1.1-3, 3.2.1-3; (skip math details)
Review. Precipitation Processes: C&W 8.2; Houze 3.1.4-5, 3.2.4-8 (skip math details)
Visual Cloud Types: C&W 8.1; Houze 1.2; EoAS CLOUDS | Classification; Houze’s
Cloud Atlas website
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Cloud Optical Phenomena: EoAS OPTICS, ATMOSPHERIC | Optical Phenomena;
Atmospheric Optics website (ice halos and water droplets sections)
Review. Radiative Transfer and Clouds: C&W 3.2-3, 8.3; Hartmann 2.1-5, 3.1-10 (skim
math details)
Satellite Cloud Identification: Norris Satellite Cloud Notes; EoAS SATELLITE REMOTE
SENSING | Cloud Properties; MetEd Monitoring the Climate System with Satellites (only
the How Satellites Measure ECVs section), Satellite Meteorology: GOES Channel
Selection v2 (skip pre-assessment); Rossow and Schiffer 1999
Cloud Radiative Effect: C&W 12.1, Hartmann 2.6-8, 3.11-12; Harrison et al. 1990
Global Climatology of Cloudiness and Radiative Effects: Hartmann 2.7-8, 3.12; EoAS
CLOUDS | Climatology; Harrison et al. 1990; ERBE website
Local Environmental Conditions and Spatial Distribution of Cloud Types: Norris
Cloud Notes 1; Norris 1998a, Norris 1998b
Review. Dynamics of Extratropical Cyclones: Houze 11.1 (skip math details)
Clouds Associated with Extratropical Cyclones: Houze 1.3, 11.4 (skim cloud structure
details); Carlson 1980, Lau and Crane 1997, Norris and Klein 2000, Norris and Iacobellis
2005 (skip material associated with Figs. 7-8 and Tables 2-5)
Fog and Stratus: C&W 8.4.1; Houze 5.1 (skip math details); MetEd Radiation Fog,
Dynamically Forced Fog, West Coast Fog; Norris 1998a, Norris 1998b, Norris and Klein
2000, Lau and Crane 1997, Norris and Iacobellis 2005 (only sections related to fog and
stratus in preceding articles)
Stratocumulus: C&W 8.4.2; Houze 5.2 (skip math details); Norris 1998a, Norris 1998b,
Norris and Klein 2000, Lau and Crane 1997, Norris and Iacobellis 2005 (only sections
related to stratocumulus in preceding articles); Wood 2012, Stevens 2005 (only sections 1
and 3.1)
Review. Boundary Layer Dynamics: Houze 2.1, 2.3, 2.6, 2.10, 2.11
Mixed Layer Models: Houze 5.2 (read math details); Lilly 1968, Schubert et al. 1979a,
Schubert et al. 1979b (skim math details in preceding articles); Stevens 2005 (sections 1-3)
Shallow Cumulus: C&W 8.5.0-1; Houze 7.1-3 (skip math); EoAS CLOUDS |
Cumuliform; MetEd Buoyancy and CAPE; Stevens 2005 (only sections 1 and 4.1)
Cumulus Dynamics: Houze 7.1-3 (skim math); Stevens 2005 (sections 1, 2, and 4)
Decoupled Boundary Layers: Norris Cloud Notes 2; C&W 8.4.2; Norris 1998a, Norris
1998b, Norris and Klein 2000, Norris and Iacobellis 2005 (only sections related to mixed
cumulus/stratocumulus in preceding articles); Bretherton and Wyant 1997, Wyant et al.
1997, Wood and Bretherton 2004 (skim math details in preceding articles); Wood 2012
20.
21.
22.
Deep Convection: C&W 8.5.2; Houze 8.5.1-4 (skim); Stevens 2005 (only section 5);
Arakawa and Schubert 1974 (skim math)
Cirriform and Altiform Clouds: Houze 5.3-4
Cloud Feedbacks on Climate: C&W 13.4; Hartmann 9.7; Zelinka et al. 2012
Remaining topics in the course will be suggested by students.