Graphical Abstract

Masunaga, H., 2015: Assessment of a satellite-based atmospheric budget analysis method using CINDY2011/DYNAMO/AMIE and TOGA COARE sounding array data. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 93A, 21-40.
https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.2015-032 Graphical Abstract with highlights

A satellite-based method of moisture and thermal budget analysis is examined in comparison with sounding array observations from CINDY2011/DYNAMO/ AMIE and TOGA COARE.
The satellite analysis is found to quantitatively reproduce the statistical behaviors of large-scale mean vertical motion, moisture convergence, and moist static energy (MSE) convergence as observed from the sounding arrays (Fig. 1), although individual convective events are heavily spread around the ensemble mean of moisture and MSE convergences in composite space.
The convective events are broken down into “developing”, “off-centered”, and “passing-by” classes using geostationary infrared measurements in attempt to sort out irrelevant samples that are not representative of convective dynamics. All the three composite classes show qualitatively similar evolutions except for the amplitude of variability, with genuine developing events being greatest in amplitude and passing-by disturbances being weakest.