Isotopic profiles imply strong convective influence on water near the tropical tropopause

TL;DR

This study uses isotopic water vapor profiles and satellite data to demonstrate that deep convection significantly influences water vapor and cirrus cloud formation near the tropical tropopause, impacting climate models.

Contribution

It introduces a quantitative method using isotopic measurements to assess convective contributions to TTL moistening, highlighting convection's dominant role.

Findings

Convection is the primary source of water vapor in the TTL.

Isotopic profiles indicate convective ice dominates TTL moisture sources.

Deep convection increases TTL cirrus by several times compared to large-scale uplift alone.

Abstract

The influence of deep convection on water vapor in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL), the region just below the high ($\sim$18 km), cold tropical tropopause, remains an outstanding question in atmospheric science. Moisture transport to this region is important for climate projections because it drives the formation of local cirrus (ice) clouds, which have a disproportionate impact on the Earth's radiative balance. Deep cumulus towers carrying large volumes of ice are known to reach the TTL, but their importance to the water budget has been debated for several decades. We show here that profiles of the isotopic composition of water vapor can provide a quantitative estimate of the convective contribution to TTL moistening. Isotopic measurements from the ACE satellite instrument, in conjunction with ice loads inferred from CALIOP satellite measurements and simple mass-balance modeling, suggest that convection is the dominant source of water vapor in the TTL up to near-tropopause altitudes. The relatively large ice loads inferred from CALIOP satellite measurements can be produced only with significant water sources, and isotopic profiles imply that these sources are predominantly convective ice. Sublimating ice from deep convection appears to increase TTL cirrus by a factor of several over that expected if cirrus production were driven only by large-scale uplift; sensitivity analysis implies that these conclusions are robust for most physically reasonable assumptions. Changes in tropical deep convection in future warmer conditions may thus provide an important climate feedback.