Springtime cloud properties in the Taiwan Strait: synoptic controls and local processes

This paper examines the springtime cloud properties in the Taiwan Strait (TS), with emphases on their dependence on synoptic controls and local processes, using a suite of in situ and remote sensing observations. Cloud properties in the TS are inferred from a combination of MODIS and in situ observations and further classified into two synoptic conditions: continental cold air surge and frontal system. The study reveals a predominance of synoptic-scale controls in regulating the cloud properties in the TS. The sensitivity of clouds to the local thermodynamic mechanisms as well as the underlying surface conditions is fundamentally dependent on synoptic-scale flow patterns. The springtime clouds over the TS are commonly a mixture of stratocumulus and alto clouds. More precisely, there is a preponderance of stratocumulus over the strait. A preferential occupancy of stratiform alto clouds is recognized during cold air surge, whereas vertical development of cloud layers (mostly the stratocumulus) is commonly observed with frontal passage. The most distinct difference between the local clouds formation associated with the two synoptic conditions is the suppression of very low cloud and fog along with cold air surge. Stratus clouds and fog are present within the northward prefrontal airflow from warmer to colder water sites, along with an increase in stability relating to lower altitudes of boundary layer clouds. Although the rainfall occurrences are about the same for both synoptic conditions, the frontal rain amounts are larger on average.