Surface measurements of warm cloud fields’ properties

Abstract:

Warm shallow cloud fields were chosen to be the focus of a field campaign that was conducted in Israel in the summers of 2019 and 2020. Thermal and visible cameras together with ceilometer measurements were used for a detailed exploration of the properties of summertime warm cloud fields. We have analyzed a spectrum of the field’s features from large clouds that are easier to detect, through small clouds (that are likely to be non-buoyant), to humidity pockets.

We show that detecting clouds within the boundary layer, in cases for which the lifting condensation level (LCL) was located high above it, is quite common. There were other days with high LCL that as expected showed no apparent clouds. The thermodynamic differences between the two states are explored as well as the sizes and properties of humidity pockets. The properties of clouds, humidity pockets and the link to the thermodynamic conditions will be presented in this talk.