---
_id: '14752'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Radiative cooling of the lowest atmospheric levels is of strong importance
for modulating atmospheric circulations and organizing convection, but detailed
observations and a robust theoretical understanding are lacking. Here we use unprecedented
observational constraints from subsidence regimes in the tropical Atlantic to
develop a theory for the shape and magnitude of low‐level longwave radiative cooling
in clear‐sky, showing peaks larger than 5–10 K/day at the top of the boundary
layer. A suite of novel scaling approximations is first developed from simplified
spectral theory, in close agreement with the measurements. The radiative cooling
peak height is set by the maximum lapse rate in water vapor path, and its magnitude
is mainly controlled by the ratio of column relative humidity above and below
the peak. We emphasize how elevated intrusions of moist air can reduce low‐level
cooling, by sporadically shading the spectral range which effectively cools to
space. The efficiency of this spectral shading depends both on water content and
altitude of moist intrusions; its height dependence cannot be explained by the
temperature difference between the emitting and absorbing layers, but by the decrease
of water vapor extinction with altitude. This analytical work can help to narrow
the search for low‐level cloud patterns sensitive to radiative‐convective feedbacks:
the most organized patterns with largest cloud fractions occur in atmospheres
below 10% relative humidity and feel the strongest low‐level cooling. This motivates
further assessment of favorable conditions for radiative‐convective feedbacks
and a robust quantification of corresponding shallow cloud dynamics in current
and warmer climates.'
acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviews and gratefully
acknowledge diverse funding agencies and resources used for this work. B.F. and
C.M. thank funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's
Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Project CLUSTER, grant agreement no.
805041), and the EUREC4A campaign organizers for giving the opportunity to take
part to the campaign and use the data early on. R. P. was supported by the US National
Science Foundation (award AGS 19–16908), by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (award NA200AR4310375), and the Vetlesen Foundation.
article_number: e2023AV000880
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: B.
full_name: Fildier, B.
last_name: Fildier
- first_name: Caroline J
full_name: Muller, Caroline J
id: f978ccb0-3f7f-11eb-b193-b0e2bd13182b
last_name: Muller
orcid: 0000-0001-5836-5350
- first_name: R.
full_name: Pincus, R.
last_name: Pincus
- first_name: S.
full_name: Fueglistaler, S.
last_name: Fueglistaler
citation:
ama: Fildier B, Muller CJ, Pincus R, Fueglistaler S. How moisture shapes low‐level
radiative cooling in subsidence regimes. AGU Advances. 2023;4(3). doi:10.1029/2023av000880
apa: Fildier, B., Muller, C. J., Pincus, R., & Fueglistaler, S. (2023). How
moisture shapes low‐level radiative cooling in subsidence regimes. AGU Advances.
American Geophysical Union. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023av000880
chicago: Fildier, B., Caroline J Muller, R. Pincus, and S. Fueglistaler. “How Moisture
Shapes Low‐level Radiative Cooling in Subsidence Regimes.” AGU Advances.
American Geophysical Union, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023av000880.
ieee: B. Fildier, C. J. Muller, R. Pincus, and S. Fueglistaler, “How moisture shapes
low‐level radiative cooling in subsidence regimes,” AGU Advances, vol.
4, no. 3. American Geophysical Union, 2023.
ista: Fildier B, Muller CJ, Pincus R, Fueglistaler S. 2023. How moisture shapes
low‐level radiative cooling in subsidence regimes. AGU Advances. 4(3), e2023AV000880.
mla: Fildier, B., et al. “How Moisture Shapes Low‐level Radiative Cooling in Subsidence
Regimes.” AGU Advances, vol. 4, no. 3, e2023AV000880, American Geophysical
Union, 2023, doi:10.1029/2023av000880.
short: B. Fildier, C.J. Muller, R. Pincus, S. Fueglistaler, AGU Advances 4 (2023).
date_created: 2024-01-08T13:07:49Z
date_published: 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-01-09T08:54:03Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: CaMu
doi: 10.1029/2023av000880
ec_funded: 1
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: af773220a9fa194c61a8dc2fae092c16
content_type: application/pdf
creator: dernst
date_created: 2024-01-09T08:51:25Z
date_updated: 2024-01-09T08:51:25Z
file_id: '14761'
file_name: 2023_AGUAdvances_Fildier.pdf
file_size: 24149551
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2024-01-09T08:51:25Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 4'
issue: '3'
keyword:
- General Earth and Planetary Sciences
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
month: '06'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 629205d8-2b32-11ec-9570-e1356ff73576
call_identifier: H2020
grant_number: '805041'
name: organization of CLoUdS, and implications of Tropical cyclones and for the
Energetics of the tropics, in current and waRming climate
publication: AGU Advances
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 2576-604X
publication_status: published
publisher: American Geophysical Union
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: How moisture shapes low‐level radiative cooling in subsidence regimes
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by_nc_nd.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
short: CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 4
year: '2023'
...