PNNL

Abstract

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program operates three climate observation stations in the tropical western Pacific region. Two of these sites, located on Manus island in Papua New Guinea and on the island republic of Nauru, have been operating for over five years. This data set provides an opportunity to examine variability in tropical cloudiness on a wide range of time scales. The focus of this study is on the annual cycle. The most obvious manifestation of the annual cycle in this region is the oscillation of monsoon convection between Asia and Australia. The impact of the annual cycle on Manus and Nauru is more subtle; however, analysis of radiation and cloud observations from the Manus and Nauru ARM sites reveals links to the annual monsoon cycle. One such link relates to the proximity of Manus to the Maritime Continent, the collection of islands separating the Pacific and Indian oceans. Convection over the large islands in the maritime continent exhibits a distinct annual cycle. Outflow from large-island convection is shown to modulate the cirrus population over Manus. During neutral or cool ENSO periods, convection over Nauru is relatively suppressed. During such periods, Nauru is shown to exhibit an annual cycle in local convective activity. During the inactive season, cirrus are often found near the tropopause over Nauru. These clouds are not formed directly by the outflow from convection. The seasonality and source of these clouds is also examined. Identifying the source of cirrus observed at Manus and Nauru is important because of the potential dependence of cirrus properties on the source of convection.