Tropical convective outflow and near surface equivalent potential temperatures

We use clear sky heating rates to show that convective outflow in the tropi cs decreases rapidly with height between the 350 K and 360 K potential temp erature surfaces (or between roughly 13 and 15 km). There is also a rapid f all-off in the pseudoequivalent potential temperature probability distribut ion of near surface air parcels between 350 K and 360 K. This suggests that the vertical variation of convective outflow in the upper tropical troposp here is to a large degree determined by the distribution of sub cloud layer entropy.