Convective self-aggregation over land versus ocean: insights from
diurnally oscillating sea surface temperature experiments
Abstract
Atmospheric convection grows differently over land and ocean. We address
land-ocean contrast in convective organization using idealized
cloud-resolving model simulations in a non-rotating radiative-convective
equilibrium framework. In our ocean forced simulations, we mimic ocean
and land forcing, exploiting their difference in heat capacities by
fixing and oscillating sea surface temperature (SST), respectively,
keeping temporal mean SST the same and also having a spatially
homogeneous SST at a given time. Examining the speed of transition to an
aggregated state we found that, an oscillating SST forces a faster onset
of an aggregated state. Spatial heterogeneities of long-wave cooling are
known to favor aggregation. With oscillating SST, we find that spatial
anomalies of outgoing long-wave radiation are stronger, thus favoring
aggregation. During the warm SST phase, long-wave cooling is enhanced in
dry regions compared to neighboring moist convective regions. Stronger
long-wave cooling allows stronger subsidence which allows low-level
circulation to more efficiently transport moisture and energy
up-gradient, driving convection to aggregate faster. We also note a
sensitivity of our experimental setup to initial conditions, more so at
warmer SST. This stochastic behavior, we suspect, might be critical in
reconciling the differences of opinion regarding the response of
convection aggregation to oscillating SST forcing.