Relationship between clouds and sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Pacific

Analysis of four years of earth radiation budget, cloud, and sea surface temperature data confirms that cloud parameters change dramatically when and where sea surface temperatures increase above ~300K. These results are based upon monthly mean values within 2.5°×2.5° grid points over the "warm pool' region of the western tropical Pacific. The question of whether sea surface temperatures are influenced, in turn, by the radiative effects of these clouds (Ramanathan and Collins) is less clear. Such a feedback, if it exists, is weak. -from Authors