Science Use Cases Example 3: Climate-Scale Features of Total Cloud Fraction and Pressure Vertical Velocity

Services Used: 2D variable Map and 3D variable 2D slice

Datasets used: MODIS total cloud fraction and ECMWF pressure vertical velocity

Scientific Merit: Total Cloud Fraction from MODIS from Oct-2002 until Sep-2011, indicating large amounts of clouds over the global oceans, except westward away from the strong subsidence, predominantly low-cloud regions.

Services Used: 3-D Variable 2-D Slice

Datasets used: MODIS total cloud fraction and ECMWF pressure vertical velocity

Scientific Merit: Pressure vertical velocity (ω) at 500 hPa from ECMWF-Interim during the same time period depict the ITCZ across the near-equatorial North Pacific, the northwest-to-southeast oriented SPCZ, the main subsidence bands off the northeast ocean basins extending westward, and the mean storm track, especially in the north Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins.