Convective and stratiform components of a Winter Monsoon Cloud Cluster determined from geosynchronous infrared satellite data

The horizontal precipitation structure of cloud clusters observed over the South China Sea during the Winter Monsoon Experiment (WMONEX) is analyzed using a convective-stratiform technique (CST) developed by Adler and Negri (1988). The technique was modified by altering the method for identifying convective cells in the satellite data, accounting for the extremely cold cloud tops characteristic of the WMONEX region, and modifying the threshold infrared temperature for the boundary of the stratiform rain area. The precipitation analysis was extended to the entire history of the cloud cluster by applying the modified CST to IR imagery from geosynchronous-satellite observations. The ship and aircraft data from the later period of the cluster's lifetime make it possible to check the locations of convective and stratiform precipitation identified by the CST using in situ observations. The extended CST is considered to be effective for determining the climatology of the convective-stratiform structure of tropical cloud clusters.