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Large-and-Sparse-particle Clouds (LSC), characterized by large particle size (radius > 50 μm) and small number concentration (

We show that thin cirrus clouds, whose particle radius is greater than 50 μm and number concentration is less than 10 /L, extinct supercooled water clouds (SC) by use of the data of the space-borne lidar, Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), and the space-borne 94-GHz cloud profiling radar (CPR). We call the cirrus Large-and-Sparse-particle Clouds (LSC). The space-borne imagers, such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), cannot measure LSC; hence, LSC had been difficult to be found by satellites. CALIOP is less sensitive to LSC than CPR though CALIOP is usually more sensitive to clouds than CPR because of the cloud particle size distribution of LSC.The most significant feature of LSC is that LSC extinct SC and cloud particles of SC are changed into pristine ice particles. This is because (1) SC and LSC do not tend to coexist while horizontally oriented ice particle clouds (2D) and LSC tend to coexist, (2) the cloud top height of LSC is higher than that of SC, and (3) the terminal velocity of LSC particles is about 1 km/h.Because 10-20% of clouds in the Arctic are LSC, LSC would indirectly impact on radiative forcing in the Arctics.

A meteorological balloon-borne cloud sensor called the cloud particle sensor (CPS) has been developed. The CPS is equipped with a diode laser at ∼ 790 nm and two photodetectors, with a polarization plate in front of one of the detectors, to count the number of particles per second and to obtain the cloud-phase information (i.e. liquid, ice, or mixed). The lower detection limit for particle size was evaluated in laboratory experiments as ∼ 2 µm diameter for water droplets. For the current model the output voltage often saturates for water droplets with diameter equal to or greater than ∼ 80 µm. The upper limit of the directly measured particle number concentration is ∼ 2 cm−3 (2 × 103 L−1), which is determined by the volume of the detection area of the instrument. In a cloud layer with a number concentration higher than this value, particle signal overlap and multiple scattering of light occur within the detection area, resulting in a counting loss, though a partial correction may be possible using the particle signal width data. The CPS is currently interfaced with either a Meisei RS-06G radiosonde or a Meisei RS-11G radiosonde that measures vertical profiles of temperature, relative humidity, height, pressure, and horizontal winds. Twenty-five test flights have been made between 2012 and 2015 at midlatitude and tropical sites. In this paper, results from four flights are discussed in detail. A simultaneous flight of two CPSs with different instrumental configurations confirmed the robustness of the technique. At a midlatitude site, a profile containing, from low to high altitude, water clouds, mixed-phase clouds, and ice clouds was successfully obtained. In the tropics, vertically thick cloud layers in the middle to upper troposphere and vertically thin cirrus layers in the upper troposphere were successfully detected in two separate flights. The data quality is much better at night, dusk, and dawn than during the daytime because strong sunlight affects the measurements of scattered light.

A unique type of cloud in the tropical lower stratosphere, which we call “stratospheric cirrus”, is described in this study. Stratospheric cirrus clouds are generally detached from overshooting deep convection and are much smaller than subvisual cirrus often observed near the tropical tropopause. We analyzed two cases of stratospheric cirrus in the tropical and subtropical lower stratosphere captured by the space-borne lidar, Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). Both cases occurred 2–3 hours after the most active phase of the nearby convective cloud clusters. Case 1 has a double-layer structure above the cold point height (CPH); the CPH and two cloud top heights are, respectively, 17.8, 18.9, and 19.9 km. Case 2 has a single cloud layer where CPH and the cloud top height are, respectively, 16.5 and 18.7 km. The mode radius and ice water content of the stratospheric cirrus clouds are estimated to be 4–10 μm and 0.2–0.8 mg/m 3 based on the radar-lidar method and consideration of the cloud particle terminal velocity. Comparisons with previous numerical model simulation studies suggest that the double-layer stratospheric cirrus clouds are likely from an overshooting plume, pushed up into the stratosphere in an overshoot when warm stratospheric air is inhomogeneously mixed with cold overshooting air. The single-layer stratospheric cirrus cloud is associated with some non-negligible wind shear, so it could be a jumping cirrus cloud, although we cannot rule out the possibility that it came from an overshooting plume because of the similarity in cloud characteristics and morphology between the two cases. Guided by the case studies, an automatic algorithm was developed to select stratospheric cirrus clouds for global survey and statistical analysis. A total of four years of CALIPSO and space-borne cloud radar (CloudSat) data were analyzed. Statistical analysis suggests that stratospheric cirrus clouds occur on the order of 3.0 × 10 3 times a year between 30 °S and 30 °N. Many of the stratospheric cirrus clouds are found in the pre-monsoon season in the South and Southeast Asia, where convection is deep and intense.

Variation in stratospheric water vapor is controlled mainly by the dehydration process in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) over the western Pacific; however, this process is poorly understood. To address this shortcoming, in this study the match method is applied to quantify the dehydration process in the TTL over the western Pacific. The match pairs are sought from the Soundings of Ozone and Water in the Equatorial Region (SOWER) campaign network observations using isentropic trajectories. For the pairs identified, extensive screening procedures are performed to verify the representativeness of the air parcel and the validity of the isentropic treatment, and to check for possible water injection by deep convection, consistency between the sonde data and analysis field, and conservation of the ozone content. Among the pairs that passed the screening test, we found some cases corresponding to the first quantitative value of dehydration associated with horizontal advection in the TTL. The statistical features of dehydration for the air parcels advected in the lower TTL are derived from the match pairs. Match analysis indicates that ice nucleation starts before the relative humidity with respect to ice (RHice) reaches 207 ± 81% (1σ) and that the air mass is dehydrated until RHice reaches 83 ± 30% (1σ). The efficiency of dehydration is estimated as the relaxation time required for the relative humidity of the supersaturated air parcel to approach the saturation state. This is empirically estimated from the match pairs as the quantity that reproduces the second water vapor observation, given the first observed water vapor amount and the history of the saturation mixing ratio of the match air mass exposed during the advection. The relaxation time is found to range from 2 to 3 h, which is consistent with previous studies.

A meteorological balloon-borne cloud sensor called the Cloud Particle Sensor (CPS) has been developed. The CPS is equipped with a diode laser at ~ 790 nm and two photo detectors, with a polarization plate in front of one of the detectors, to count the number of particles per second and to obtain the cloud phase information (i.e. liquid, ice, or mixed). The lower detection limit for particle size was evaluated in laboratory experiments as ~ 2 μm diameter for water droplets. For the current model the output voltage often saturates for water droplets with diameter equal to or greater than ~ 80 μm. The upper limit of the directly measured particle number concentration is ~ 2 cm−3 (2 × 103L−1), which is determined by the volume of the detection area of the instrument. In a cloud layer with a number concentration higher than this value, particle signal overlap and multiple scattering of light occur within the detection area, resulting in a counting loss, though a partial correction may be possible using the particle signal width data. The CPS is currently interfaced with either a Meisei RS-06G radiosonde or a Meisei RS-11G radiosonde that measures vertical profiles of temperature, relative humidity, height, pressure, and horizontal winds. Twenty-five test flights have been made between 2012 and 2015 at midlatitude and tropical sites. In this paper, results from four flights are discussed in detail. A simultaneous flight of two CPSs with different instrumental configurations confirmed the robustness of the technique. At a midlatitude site, a profile containing, from low to high altitude, water clouds, mixed phase clouds, and ice clouds was successfully obtained. In the tropics, vertically thick cloud layers in the middle to upper troposphere and vertically thin cirrus layers in the upper troposphere were successfully detected in two separate flights. The data quality is much better at night, dusk and dawn than during the daytime because strong sunlight affects the measurements of scattered light.

An optical particle counter (OPC) is used in conjunction with lidar measurements to examine the characteristics of the particle size distribution in cirrus cloud in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) over Thailand where the TTL is defined as the height at which temperature is lower than −75°C in this paper. Of 11 OPC launches, cirrus cloud was detected at 10–15 km high on 7 occasions, cirrus was detected in the TTL in 6 cases, and simultaneous OPC and lidar measurements were made on two occasions. Comparison of lidar and OPC measurements reveal that the cloud heights of cirrus in the TTL varies by several hundred meters over distances of tens kilometers; hence the height is not always horizontally uniform. The mode radii of particles constituting the clouds are estimated by lidar and OPC measurements to be less than approximately 10 μm. The regression lines of the particle size distribution with and without cirrus cloud exhibit similar features at equivalent radii of

In this study, the authors focused on the seasonal variations of precipitation properties over the western Pacific, particularly those associated with the wind direction of the monsoon. An observational project over Peleliu Island in the Republic of Palau was carried out, and data on precipitation, equivalent cloud amount, and precipitable water were collected from 28 June 2001 to 30 April 2002. First, the monsoon season over Palau was defined as a period with 850-hPa zonal-wind sounding data with sustained winds exceeding 5 m s−1. The westerly wind regime continued until 25 November 2001, and the next westerly wind regime began on 18 May 2002. The equivalent cloud amount increased during the period when the westerly wind intensified. The precipitation had a diurnal variation in the active phase of the westerly wind regime, increasing from nighttime to early morning and decreasing in the afternoon. The diurnal variation was weak in the inactive phase and had a lesser afternoon maximum. Precipitation intensity was high and its duration was short during the westerly wind regime. The precipitable water decreased during the easterly wind regime when a dry period appeared, and precipitation was also suppressed during those days. However, there was little difference between the precipitation amounts of the westerly and easterly wind regimes. The equivalent cloud amount did not decrease as the zonal-wind direction changed to easterlies during the easterly wind regime. The authors noticed no diurnal variation of precipitation during the easterly wind regime. These differences in the precipitation properties during westerlies and easterlies may be related to the seasonal variation of humidity in the environment.

We have developed a sequential algorithm to retrieve vertical profiles of cloud and rainfall microphysical information from radar reflectivities of a 14 GHz precipitation radar, and a 95 GHz cloud profiling radar. This sequential algorithm retrieves the number density NT, the mean volume diameter Dm and the liquid water content LWC from the nearest to the farthest ranges considering the significant attenuation and Mie scattering. To avoid the accumulation of numerical errors, the retrieval is computed in adjacent ranges assuming NT to be constant in each pair. We demonstrate that our method retrieves NT and Dm stably, even if the raindrop size distribution is different from our assumption, or even if some bias errors are appended to the radar constant. The method is applied to collocated ground-based observation by a 14 and a 95 GHz radar, and the retrieved results are evaluated by comparing them against disdrometer-derived size distributions, where the rainfall rate was from 0.1 to 4.6 mm/hr. The retrieved Dm, and the disdrometer-derived Dm, agree to within 30%. The retrieved log10 LWC, and the disdrometer-derived log10 LWC, also agree to within 30% when the rainfall rate is greater than 0.5 mm/hr.

A network of balloon-borne radiosonde observations employing chilled-mirror hygrometers for water and electrochemical concentration cells for ozone has been operated since the late 1990s in the Tropical Pacific to capture the evolution of dehydration of air parcels advected quasi-horizontally in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL). The analysis of this dataset is made on isentropes taking advantage of the conservative properties of tracers moving adiabatically. The existence of ice particles is diagnosed by lidars simultaneously operated with sonde flights. Characteristics of the TTL dehydration are presented on the basis of individual soundings and statistical features. Supersaturations close to 80% in relative humidity with respect to ice (RHice) have been observed in subvisible cirrus clouds located near the cold point tropopause at extremely low temperatures around 180 K. Although further observational evidence is needed to confirm the credibility of such high values of RHice, the evolution of TTL dehydration is evident from the data in isentropic scatter plots between the sonde-observed mixing ratio (OMR) and the minimum saturation mixing ratio (SMRmin) along the back trajectories associated with the observed air mass. Supersaturation exceeding the critical value of homogeneous ice nucleation (OMR > 1.6 × SMRmin) is frequently observed on the 360 and 365 K surfaces indicating that cold trap dehydration is in progress in the TTL. The near correspondence between the two (OMR ~ SMRmin) at 380 K on the other hand implies that this surface is not sufficiently cold for the advected air parcels to be dehydrated. Above 380 K, cold trap dehydration would scarcely function while some moistening occurs before the air parcels reach the lowermost stratosphere at around 400 K where OMR is generally smaller than SMRmin., Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13 (8), ISSN:1680-7375, ISSN:1680-7367

[1] Synergetic spaceborne observations of overshooting air, defined as cloud intrusion through the level of neutral buoyancy above deep convection, are analyzed using various thresholds introduced in previous studies to detect overshooting. The brightness temperature of the overshooting air measured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is generally 2 K higher than that retrieved by the radiative transfer model, in which the size distribution of ice cloud particles is estimated from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and CloudSat data and the vertical temperature profile of cloud is assumed to follow that of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). The lapse rate of overshooting whose cloud top is higher than the level of the cold-point temperature (CPT) is lower than that of an adiabatic expansion. These observations can be rationalized as being due to the overshooting air being locally warmed by a mixture of warmer stratospheric air. Analysis of CALIOP and CloudSat data by using a radar-lidar algorithm shows that the mode of averaged ice water content of the overshoot above the CPT height is 6.3–10 mg/m3. Therefore, if 5% or more of ice particles in the overshoot are sublimated and mixed into the lower stratosphere, the lower stratospheric air will be hydrated. The difference between the brightness temperatures of 6.7 and 11 μm channels observed with MODIS demonstrates that the overshoot enhances stratospheric water vapor. These results indicate that the warm stratospheric air moves downward at and around the overshoot and mixes with the overshooting air and that the overshooting hydrates the lower stratosphere.

We investigated water vapor variations in the tropical lower stratosphere on seasonal, quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), and decadal time scales using balloon-borne cryogenic frost point hygrometer data taken between 1993 and 2009 during various campaigns including the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment (March 1993), campaigns once or twice annually during the Soundings of Ozone and Water in the Equatorial Region (SOWER) project in the eastern Pacific (1998-2003) and in the western Pacific and Southeast Asia (2001-2009), and the Ticosonde campaigns and regular sounding at Costa Rica (2005-2009). Quasi-regular sounding data taken at Costa Rica clearly show the tape recorder signal. The observed ascent rates agree well with the ones from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) satellite sensor. Average profiles from the recent five SOWER campaigns in the equatorial western, Pacific in northern winter and from the three Ticosonde campaigns at Costa Rica (10degN) in northern summer clearly show two effects of the QBO. One is the vertical displacement of water vapor profiles associated with the QBO meridional circulation anomalies, and the other is the concentration variations associated with the QBO tropopause temperature variations. Time series of cryogenic frost point hygrometer data averaged in a lower stratospheric layer together with HALOE and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder data show the existence of decadal variations: The mixing ratios were higher and increasing in the 1990s, lower in the early 2000s, and probably slightly higher again or recovering after 2004. Thus linear trend analysis is not appropriate to investigate the behavior of the tropical lower stratospheric water vapor.

[1] We show characteristics of a tropical deep convection observed in an experiment employing the A-train constellation, the spaceborne imager Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the sounder Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)-advanced microwave sounding unit (AMSU), the cloud radar CloudSat, and the lidar Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarisation (CALIOP). CloudSat and CALIOP measured a vertical cross section of a deep convection at 1.1 km from its center, where the center is defined as the local minimum of the brightness temperature TB (11 μm) measured by using MODIS. This deep convection should be overshooting since its cloud top height measured by using CALIOP was 840 m higher than that of 380 K potential temperature as estimated by using AIRS-AMSU data. The cloud morphology observed by using CALIOP indicates that deep convections raised the isentropic surface in the tropical tropopause layer and that there were downdrafts around the deep convection. The averaged mode radius of ice particles and ice water content (IWC) in the deep convection above 380 K are estimated as 23.0 ± 4.9 μm and 7.2 ± 8.0 mg/m3, respectively, by the use of CloudSat and CALIOP data. The volume of the deep convection above a height of 380 K and the averaged IWC, of which the particle size is less than 20 μm, are estimated and the deep convection has the potential to hydrate the stratosphere with about 1 × 102 t of water vapor. We also show deep convections above a height of 380 K are not rare phenomena over the tropical land and warm water pool.

[1] Here we present extensive observations of stratospheric and upper tropospheric water vapor using the balloon-borne Cryogenic Frost point Hygrometer (CFH) in support of the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite instrument. Coincident measurements were used for the validation of MLS version 1.5 and for a limited validation of MLS version 2.2 water vapor. The sensitivity of MLS is on average 30% lower than that of CFH, which is fully compensated by a constant offset at stratospheric levels but only partially compensated at tropospheric levels, leading to an upper tropospheric dry bias. The sensitivity of MLS observations may be adjusted using the correlation parameters provided here. For version 1.5 stratospheric observations at pressures of 68 hPa and smaller MLS retrievals and CFH in situ observations agree on average to within 2.3% ± 11.8%. At 100 hPa the agreement is to within 6.4% ± 22% and at upper tropospheric pressures to within 23% ± 37%. In the tropical stratosphere during the boreal winter the agreement is not as good. The “tape recorder” amplitude in MLS observations depends on the vertical profile of water vapor mixing ratio and shows a significant interannual variation. The agreement between stratospheric observations by MLS version 2.2 and CFH is comparable to the agreement using MLS version 1.5. The variability in the difference between observations by MLS version 2.2 and CFH at tropospheric levels is significantly reduced, but a tropospheric dry bias and a reduced sensitivity remain in this version. In the validation data set a dry bias at 177.8 hPa of −24.1% ± 16.0% is statistically significant.

[1] Satellite imagery and C-band radar on the R/V Mirai detected an isolated convective cloud band over the western tropical Pacific, and dropsondes observed the surrounding atmospheric environment. The reasonable development mechanism of this unusual cloud band is investigated using observational and numerical simulation data. Although theoretically, the surrounding atmospheric profile supported convective rolls, only a single cloud band was developed. Numerical simulations revealed a single cloud band and roll structure without condensate in the boundary layer. A westerly jet just above the cloud band influenced the environment with strong vertical shear supporting convective rolls; this was maintained by a typhoon at a distance of 1500 km away. A large-scale convergence in the meridional wind was also accompanied with this westerly jet. This special environment made by a typhoon could develop the unusual single cloud band.

[1] We performed synergy observation of subvisual cirrus clouds (SVC) with 1064-nm lidar, 95-GHz cloud radar and radiosondes launched every 3 hours at 2°N, 138°E for one month from 9 November to 9 December 2001. The estimated effective radius reff of SVC is 9–16 μm (5–9 μm in mode radius). This assumes that the shape of cloud particles is spherical and the number concentration of the particles is 105 m−3. SVC disappear when temperature anomalies exceed +1.5°C. The fall velocity of SVC is same as the downward velocity of the phase propagation of the Kelvin wave, and the terminal velocity of hexagonal particles. Thus sedimentation and phase propagation are important for dissipation of SVC. In addition, it was noted that SVC tended to disappear at midday during the observational period except on 27 November 2001.

Cloud profiling radar can measure global distribution of cloud. Not only the information of the height of cloud tops and bases but also the information of particle shapes and water content (including whether ice or water) are expected. Multiparameter function of radar can be used for such purpose and the precise calibration of radar is necessary. The possibility for usage of sea surface return as an external calibration target is proposed because is stable under known condition of sea state. In addition, results of airborne measurements will be shown.

We analyze lidar backscattering enhancement for pristine hexagonal ice crystals by using Fraunhofer diffraction based on Kirchhoff's diffraction theory (KD). Our numerical computations show that received power $P_r(Z)$ at the altitude $Z$ in lidar equation is proportional to $Z^{-\alpha}$, where $\alpha$ is a function of $Z$, size and shape of particles. $P_r(Z)$ is proportional to $Z^{-1.5}$ for hexagonal plate and column randomly oriented in horizontal plane at $Z$=200~$m$ where its aspect ratios are 1/3 and 3 and mode radiuses are 100$\mu m$. Our calculations suggest hexagonal ice crystals that have mode radiuses of $100~\mu m$ and $30~\mu m$ with perfectly oriented in horizontal plane have anomalous backscattering enhancement compared with a sphere at even high altitude. This might explain the phenomena reported by Platt {\it et. al.} (1978)\cite{Platt1,Platt2}.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Vertical profile of liquid water cloud microphysics is retrieved by a newly proposed algorithm using radar and microwave radiometer. The data used in this algorithm is obtained form a 95-GHz cloud profiling radar (CPR) and a dual-wavelength microwave radiometer. This technique is applicable to liquid water clouds and its products are vertical profiles of attenuation-corrected radar reflectivity factor, liquid water content (LWC), and cloud dropsize distribution. The basic idea of this algorithm is to solve the radar equation with a constraint of integrated liquid water content (LWP: liquid water path) obtained from microwave radiometer. The main features of this algorithm are that it yields an attenuation-corrected radar reflectivity factor and the analytical solution is stable for the attenuation expected in typical stratocumulus clouds. Examples of its application to cloud data observed with a 95 GHz CPR and a microwave radiometer at Kashima, Japan on 4 February 2000 are described. The larger cloud drop size than the typical value retrieved and descending motion seen in the clouds examined is explained by the existence of drizzle particles in the lower part of cloud layer.

[1] An aerosol layer was found 1–2 km around the tropical cold point tropopause by observations using ground-based lidar and balloon-borne optical particle counters (OPC) over Biak, Indonesia, in January 2011. The layer was observed throughout the survey period from 6 to 13 January. The backscattering coefficient of the layer was about 5 times larger than that of the background aerosols. The lidar-observed depolarization ratio of the layer was very low, and the wavelength dependence of the backscattering coefficients of the layer was similar to that of stratospheric aerosols. A layer of the particles at the size of the accumulation mode was also observed by an OPC at ambient temperature, but the particles were volatile at 200°C. These properties indicate that the aerosol layer was composed of liquid phase aqueous sulfuric acid solution particles and probably originated from a volcanic eruption. It was observed by lidar that a thin cirrus cloud layer appeared within this aerosol layer. Backward trajectory analysis and satellite-observed equivalent blackbody temperature indicate that the cirrus cloud layer probably formed in situ. The estimated upper limit of the number concentration of cloud particles was 105 m−3. The number concentration of the volatile aerosol particles (∼3 × 106 m−3) was 30 times larger than this upper limit. This upper limit, however, is comparable to the aerosol particle concentration observed by the OPC at 200°C. These results are consistent with the cirrus cloud formation with solid sulfate particles in tropical upper troposphere suggested by previous studies.

[1] A polarization lidar was continuously operated aboard the research vessel Mirai in the tropical western Pacific over three northern winters: at 2.0°N, 138.0°E during November and December 2001; at 2.0°N, 138.5°E during November and December 2002; and at 7.5°N, 134.0°E during December 2004 and January 2005. Intensive radiosonde soundings were made from the vessel at 3-h intervals during all three campaigns. The mechanisms that underlie the observed variations in cirrus in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) are discussed from the viewpoint of large-scale dynamics and transport. During the 2001 campaign, the tropopause region was cold, but the TTL was often clear, with only some subvisual cirrus. Potential vorticity data and trajectories show that the TTL during this period was strongly affected by dry air transport from the northern midlatitude lower stratosphere. During the 2002 campaign, a packet of large-amplitude equatorial Kelvin waves was the primary control on the generation and disappearance of cirrus in the TTL. During the 2004–2005 campaign, a cold phase of large-scale waves resulted in cirrus generation in the TTL in late December of 2004, similar to that observed during the 2002 campaign. Outflow from the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) caused optically thick cirrus in the TTL, particularly during early January 2005, when we also observed regular diurnal variations in cirrus development within the TTL, that is, apparent sedimentation during the nighttime. We investigated two possible controlling processes, namely, horizontal advection together with diurnal variations in convective activity within the SPCZ and diurnal variations in local temperature due to tides and gravity waves. In the equatorial western Pacific, equatorial Kelvin waves are the important dynamical process that controls cirrus variations in the TTL. Dry-air horizontal transport from the midlatitude lower stratosphere and wet-air vertical transport near the tropical convergence regions should also be considered in fully explaining the cirrus observations in the TTL.