LARGE-SCALE RESPONSE OF THE TROPICAL ATMOSPHERE TO CLOUD-MODULATED INFRARED HEATING.

Infrared heating rates determined from the Line Islands Experiment radiometersonde measurements vary from minus 4 to minus 0. 5 degree C day** minus **1 at 250 mb. Correspondingly, the heating rates at 500 mb vary from plus 0. 5 to minus 3 degree C day** minus **1. These variations result from high-middle cloudiness occurring every 6 to 8 days. The structure of waves forced by the observed differences in radiative heating is determined through the use of a large-scale diagnostic model. In this model, the diabatic heating is specified and the response of the atmosphere to this forcing is computed. When the radiative heating is combined with convective heating, the vertical structure of the forced motions is shown to be very sensitive to the phase difference between the convective and the radiative heating.