
Effects of varying sea breeze profiles on the coastal Stratocumulus dissipation
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Coastal Stratocumulus clouds have a wide presence at midlatitude locations, with a distinct evolution in which they progressively thin and dissipate during morning hours. This process depends on a complex balance between thinning and thickening contributions that vary throughout the day. One of these contributions corresponds to sea breeze advection, which typically contributes to cloud growth through advecting cooler and moister air [1]. However, wind can also induce shear, which can diminish cloud fraction [2]. In this work, we explore the effects of sea breeze using Large Eddy Simulations in a coastal case based on the DYCOMS II RF-01. We simulate a coastal land domain subjected to different sea breeze profiles, representing variations of time and magnitude, incorporating changes in both mean wind speed as well as advection of marine properties. We also explore deactivating the advection of wind speed in order to analyze the diminished shear effect. Results suggest that changes in wind speed magnitude are responsible for the greatest differences in cloud dissipation due to the fast enhanced humidity thickening effect in the morning hours. Deactivating wind advection does not lead to major differences, suggesting that sea breeze does not diminish cloud fraction alone in this case. [1] M. Ghonima, T. Heus and J. Kleissl. Factors controlling Stratocumulus cloud lifetime over coastal land. J. Atm. Sci., Vol. 73(8), pp. 2961-2983, 2016. [2] M. Zamora Zapata, T. Heus and J. Kleissl. Effects of Surface and Top Wind Shear on the Spatial Organization of Marine Stratocumulus-Topped Boundary Layers, JGR Atmospheres, Vol. 126(11), 2021.