Evolution of the Vertical Thermodynamic Profile during the Transition from Shallow to Deep Convection during CuPIDO 2006*

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 937-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Zehnder ◽  
Jiuxiang Hu ◽  
Anshuman Radzan
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Shallow Convection ◽  
Stable Layer ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Orographic Convection ◽  
Santa Catalina Mountains

Abstract The evolution of the vertical thermodynamic profile associated with two cases of deep orographic convection were studied with data from an instrumented aircraft, mobile surface based radiosondes, and stereo photogrammetric analyses. The data were collected during a field experiment [i.e., the Cumulus Photogrammetric, In Situ, and Doppler Observations (CuPIDO) experiment in 2006] performed over the Santa Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona. In both cases the vertical thermodynamic profile was modified in a way that supported subsequent deep convection. In one case, a midtropospheric stable layer was eroded through low-level warming and cooling at the cloud-top level that was likely due to an adiabatic adjustment of the profile through the action of gravity waves. In the second case, dry air aloft was moistened through the action of the shallow convection thus preventing the erosion of the convective turrets through entrainment of dry air. These cases illustrate mechanisms for convective conditioning of the atmosphere that may organize deep convection in general.

The Cumulus, Photogrammetric, In Situ, and Doppler Observations Experiment of 2006

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Damiani ◽  
J. Zehnder ◽  
B. Geerts ◽  
J. Demko ◽  
S. Haimov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Boundary Layer Processes ◽  
Orographic Convection ◽  
Layer Flow ◽  
Santa Catalina Mountains ◽  
Experimental Strategies ◽  
Natural Laboratory

The finescale structure and dynamics of cumulus, evolving from shallow to deep convection, and the accompanying changes in the environment and boundary layer over mountainous terrain were the subjects of a field campaign in July–August 2006. Few measurements exist of the transport of boundary layer air into the deep troposphere by the orographic toroidal circulation and orographic convection. The campaign was conducted over the Santa Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona, a natural laboratory to study convection, given the spatially and temporally regular development of cumulus driven by elevated heating and convergent boundary layer flow. Cumuli and their environment were sampled via coordinated observations from the surface, radiosonde balloons, and aircraft, along with airborne radar data and stereophotogrammetry from two angles. The collected dataset is expected to yield new insights in the boundary layer processes leading to orographic convection, in the cumulus-induced transport of boundary layer air into the troposphere, and in fundamental cumulus dynamics. This article summarizes the motivations, objectives, experimental strategies, preliminary findings, and the potential research paths stirred by the project.

A Stereo Photogrammetric Technique Applied to Orographic Convection

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 2265-2277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Zehnder ◽  
Jiuxiang Hu ◽  
Anshuman Razdan
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Focal Length ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Shallow Convection ◽  
Orographic Convection ◽  
Santa Catalina Mountains

Abstract This paper describes a technique for photogrammetric analysis of stereo pairs of images that is applied to the study of orographic convection. The technique is designed for use with digital images and assumes detailed knowledge of the camera properties (focal length and imaging chip) and that the position and orientation are known as a first guess. An iterative scheme using known landmarks on the frame is used to determine the camera orientation. The scheme is accurate to 10–100 m at a distance of 15 km from the camera pair. The transition from shallow to deep convection over the Santa Catalina Mountains in southern Arizona on 26 July 2005 is presented. The three-dimensional structure of the visible portion of the cloud is determined and compared with the composite reflectivity from the National Weather Service Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler radar and the tropopause height from the 1200 UTC sounding in Tucson, Arizona, providing additional validation of the scheme. The shallow to deep transition is characterized by tracking individual turrets and determining the maximum height of the cloud top. The cloud tops were limited to beneath 6000 m MSL for the first 1.5 h followed by the development of deep convection. The motion of the turrets and location of the eventual deep convection were consistent with the idea that moistening by shallow convection conditions the atmosphere for further development.

A Numerical Study of the Evolving Convective Boundary Layer and Orographic Circulation around the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona. Part II: Interaction with Deep Convection

2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (9) ◽  
pp. 3603-3622 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cory Demko ◽  
Bart Geerts
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Convergence Line ◽  
Orographic Convection ◽  
Present Part ◽  
Santa Catalina Mountains

Abstract This is the second part of a study that examines the daytime evolution of the thermally forced boundary layer (BL) circulation over a relatively isolated mountain, about 30 km in diameter and 2 km high, and its interaction with locally initiated deep convection by means of numerical simulations validated with data collected in the 2006 Cumulus Photogrammetric, In Situ, and Doppler Observations (CuPIDO) field campaign in southeastern Arizona. Part I examined the BL circulation in cases with, at most, rather shallow orographic cumulus (Cu) convection; the present part addresses deep convection. The results are based on output from version 3 of the Weather Research and Forecasting model run at a horizontal resolution of 1 km. The model output verifies well against CuPIDO observations. In the absence of Cu convection, the thermally forced (solenoidal) circulation is largely contained within the BL over the mountain. Thunderstorm development deepens this BL circulation with inflow over the depth of the BL and outflow in the free troposphere aloft. Primary deep convection results from destabilization over elevated terrain and tends to be triggered along a convergence line, which arises from the solenoidal circulation but may drift downwind of the terrain crest. While the solenoidal anabatic flow converges moisture over the mountain, it also cools the air. Thus, a period of suppressed anabatic flow following a convective episode, at a time when surface heating is still intense, can trigger new and possibly deeper convection. The growth of deep convection may require enhanced convergent flow in the BL, but this is less apparent in the mountain-scale surface flow signal than the decay of orographic convection. A budget study over the mountain suggests that the precipitation efficiency of the afternoon convection is quite low, ~10% in this case.

A Numerical Study of the Evolving Convective Boundary Layer and Orographic Circulation around the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona. Part I: Circulation without Deep Convection

2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (5) ◽  
pp. 1902-1922 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cory Demko ◽  
Bart Geerts
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Warm Anomaly ◽  
Orographic Convection ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Santa Catalina Mountains

Abstract The daytime evolution of the thermally forced boundary layer (BL) circulation over an isolated mountain, about 30 km in diameter and 2 km high, is examined by means of numerical simulations validated with data collected in the Cumulus Photogrammetric, In Situ, and Doppler Observations (CuPIDO) field campaign. Two cases are presented, one remains cloud free in the simulations, and the second produces orographic convection just deep enough to yield a trace of precipitation. The Weather Research and Forecasting version 3 simulations, at a resolution of 1 km, compare well with CuPIDO observations. The simulations reveal a solenoidal circulation mostly contained within the convective BL, but this circulation and especially its upper-level return flow branch are not immediately apparent since they are overwhelmed by BL thermals. A warm anomaly forms over the high terrain during the day, but it is rather shallow and does not extend over the depth of the convective BL, which bulges over the mountain. Low-level mountain-scale convergence (MSC), driven by an anabatic pressure gradient, deepens during the day. Even relatively shallow and relatively small cumulus convection can temporarily overwhelm surface MSC by cloud shading and convective downdraft dynamics. In the evening drainage flow develops near the surface before the anabatic forcing ceases, and anabatic flow is still present in the residual mixed layer, decoupled from the surface. The interaction of the boundary layer circulation with deep orographic convection is examined in Part II of this study.

Multiscale Convective Wave Disturbances in the Tropics: Insights from a Two-Dimensional Cloud-Resolving Model

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan N. Tulich ◽  
Brian E. Mapes
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Model ◽  
Wave Packets ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Convective Cloud ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Shallow Convection ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Wave Disturbances ◽  
Mesoscale Convective

Abstract Multiscale convective wave disturbances with structures broadly resembling observed tropical waves are found to emerge spontaneously in a nonrotating, two-dimensional cloud model forced by uniform cooling. To articulate the dynamics of these waves, model outputs are objectively analyzed in a discrete truncated space consisting of three cloud types (shallow convective, deep convective, and stratiform) and three dynamical vertical wavelength bands. Model experiments confirm that diabatic processes in deep convective and stratiform regions are essential to the formation of multiscale convective wave patterns. Specifically, upper-level heating (together with low-level cooling) serves to preferentially excite discrete horizontally propagating wave packets with roughly a full-wavelength structure in troposphere and “dry” phase speeds cn in the range 16–18 m s−1. These wave packets enhance the triggering of new deep convective cloud systems, via low-level destabilization. The new convection in turn causes additional heating over cooling, through delayed development of high-based deep convective cells with persistent stratiform anvils. This delayed forcing leads to an intensification and then widening of the low-level cold phases of wave packets as they move through convecting regions. Additional widening occurs when slower-moving (∼8 m s−1) “gust front” wave packets excited by cooling just above the boundary layer trigger additional deep convection in the vicinity of earlier convection. Shallow convection, meanwhile, provides positive forcing that reduces convective wave speeds and destroys relatively small-amplitude-sized waves. Experiments with prescribed modal wind damping establish the critical role of short vertical wavelengths in setting the equivalent depth of the waves. However, damping of deep vertical wavelengths prevents the clustering of mesoscale convective wave disturbances into larger-scale envelopes, so these circulations are important as well.

The Impact of a Midlevel Dry Air Flow Layer on Deep Convection in the pre-Gabrielle (2013) Tropical Disturbance on 4–5 September

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles N. Helms ◽  
Lance F. Bosart
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Air Flow ◽  
Air Entrainment ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Core ◽  
Shallow Layer ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Relative Flow

AbstractOn 4–5 September 2013, a relatively shallow layer of northerly dry air flow was observed just west of the core deep convection associated with the low-level center of the pre-Gabrielle (2013) tropical disturbance. Shortly thereafter, the core deep convection of the disturbance collapsed after having persisted for well over 24 hours. The present study provides an in-depth analysis of the interaction between this dry air flow layer and the pre-Gabrielle disturbance core deep convection using a combination of observations, reanalysis fields, and idealized simulations. Based on the analysis, we conclude that the dry air flow layer played an important role in the collapse of the core deep convection in the pre-Gabrielle disturbance. Furthermore, we found that the presence of storm-relative flow was critical to the inhibitive effects of the dry air flow layer on deep convection. The mechanism by which the dry air flow layer inhibited deep convection was found to be enhanced dry air entrainment.

scholarly journals Aircraft measurements of gravity waves in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere during the START08 field experiment

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 7667-7684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuqing Zhang ◽  
Junhong Wei ◽  
Meng Zhang ◽  
K. P. Bowman ◽  
L. L. Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Aircraft Measurements ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Airborne Measurements ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. This study analyzes in situ airborne measurements from the 2008 Stratosphere–Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport (START08) experiment to characterize gravity waves in the extratropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (ExUTLS). The focus is on the second research flight (RF02), which took place on 21–22 April 2008. This was the first airborne mission dedicated to probing gravity waves associated with strong upper-tropospheric jet–front systems. Based on spectral and wavelet analyses of the in situ observations, along with a diagnosis of the polarization relationships, clear signals of mesoscale variations with wavelengths ~ 50–500 km are found in almost every segment of the 8 h flight, which took place mostly in the lower stratosphere. The aircraft sampled a wide range of background conditions including the region near the jet core, the jet exit and over the Rocky Mountains with clear evidence of vertically propagating gravity waves of along-track wavelength between 100 and 120 km. The power spectra of the horizontal velocity components and potential temperature for the scale approximately between ~ 8 and ~ 256 km display an approximate −5/3 power law in agreement with past studies on aircraft measurements, while the fluctuations roll over to a −3 power law for the scale approximately between ~ 0.5 and ~ 8 km (except when this part of the spectrum is activated, as recorded clearly by one of the flight segments). However, at least part of the high-frequency signals with sampled periods of ~ 20–~ 60 s and wavelengths of ~ 5–~ 15 km might be due to intrinsic observational errors in the aircraft measurements, even though the possibilities that these fluctuations may be due to other physical phenomena (e.g., nonlinear dynamics, shear instability and/or turbulence) cannot be completely ruled out.

scholarly journals Convective formation of pileus cloud near the tropopause

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1185-1200 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Garrett ◽  
J. Dean-Day ◽  
C. Liu ◽  
B. Barnett ◽  
G. Mace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
In Situ Measurements ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Wave Analysis ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Face Experiment

Abstract. Pileus clouds form where humid, vertically stratified air is mechanically displaced ahead of rising convection. This paper describes convective formation of pileus cloud in the tropopause transition layer (TTL), and explores a possible link to the formation of long-lasting cirrus at cold temperatures. The study examines in detail in-situ measurements from off the coast of Honduras during the July 2002 CRYSTAL-FACE experiment that showed an example of TTL cirrus associated with, and penetrated by, deep convection. The TTL cirrus was enriched with total water compared to its surroundings, but was composed of extremely small ice crystals with effective radii between 2 and 4 μm. Through gravity wave analysis, and intercomparison of measured and simulated cloud microphysics, it is argued that the TTL cirrus originated neither from convectively-forced gravity wave motions nor environmental mixing alone. Rather, it is hypothesized that a combination of these two processes was involved in which, first, a pulse of convection forced pileus cloud to form from TTL air; second, the pileus layer was punctured by the convective pulse and received larger ice crystals through interfacial mixing; third, the addition of this condensate inhibited evaporation of the original pileus ice crystals where a convectively forced gravity wave entered its warm phase; fourth, through successive pulses of convection, a sheet of TTL cirrus formed. While the general incidence and longevity of pileus cloud remains unknown, in-situ measurements, and satellite-based Microwave Limb Sounder retrievals, suggest that much of the tropical TTL is sufficiently humid to be susceptible to its formation. Where these clouds form and persist, there is potential for an irreversible repartition from water vapor to ice at cold temperatures.

scholarly journals Theoretical Studies of Convectively Forced Mesoscale Flows in Three Dimensions. Part II: Shear Flow with a Critical Level

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 694-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Young Han ◽  
Jong-Jin Baik
Keyword(s):  
Shear Flow ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Wind Direction ◽  
Critical Level ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Finite Depth ◽  
Vertical Displacement ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Three Dimensions

Abstract Convectively forced mesoscale flows in a shear flow with a critical level are theoretically investigated by obtaining analytic solutions for a hydrostatic, nonrotating, inviscid, Boussinesq airflow system. The response to surface pulse heating shows that near the center of the moving mode, the magnitude of the vertical velocity becomes constant after some time, whereas the magnitudes of the vertical displacement and perturbation horizontal velocity increase linearly with time. It is confirmed from the solutions obtained in present and previous studies that this result is valid regardless of the basic-state wind profile and dimension. The response to 3D finite-depth steady heating representing latent heating due to cumulus convection shows that, unlike in two dimensions, a low-level updraft that is necessary to sustain deep convection always occurs at the heating center regardless of the intensity of vertical wind shear and the heating depth. For deep heating across a critical level, little change occurs in the perturbation field below the critical level, although the heating top height increases. This is because downward-propagating gravity waves induced by the heating above, but not near, the critical level can hardly affect the flow response field below the critical level. When the basic-state wind backs with height, the vertex of V-shaped perturbations above the heating top points to a direction rotated a little clockwise from the basic-state wind direction. This is because the V-shaped perturbations above the heating top is induced by upward-propagating gravity waves that have passed through the layer below where the basic-state wind direction is clockwise relative to that above.

Untersuchungen zur Ableitung von Windböen aus Doppler-Lidar-Messungen

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola Detring ◽  
Eileen Päschke ◽  
Julian Steinheuer ◽  
Ronny Leinweber ◽  
Markus Kayser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Doppler Lidar ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Observation Volume ◽  
Wind Gusts ◽  
Die Profile ◽  
Spatio Temporal

<p>Mit Hilfe von Doppler-Lidar-Systemen, lassen sich die Profile von Windgeschwindigkeit und -richtung in der Atmosphärischen Grenzschicht (AGS) auf der Basis klassischer Messstrategien wie einem VAD-24 Scan (Velocity Azimuth Display mit 24 Strahlrichtungen) zuverlässig bestimmen (Päschke et al., 2015). Für praktische Anwendungen von großem Interesse sind jedoch neben dem mittleren Windprofil auch kurzzeitige Fluktuationen des Windes, wie sie zum Beispiel in Verbindung mit Windböen auftreten. Untersuchungen zu Windböen waren ein wesentlicher Aspekt der Messkampagne FESSTVaL (Field Experiment on Sub-Mesoscale Spatio-Temporal Variability in Lindenberg, www.fesstval.de).</p><p>Eine Studie von Suomi et al. (2017) hat gezeigt, dass eine Ableitung von Windböen aus Doppler Lidar Messungen prinzipiell möglich ist. Allerdings wird mit üblichen Messstrategien die hierfür erforderliche hohe zeitliche Auflösung in der Ermittlung des Windvektors nicht erreicht, so dass mit Skalierungsansätzen unter Verwendung von in-situ Windmessungen eine Korrektur der aus den Lidar-Daten abgeleiteten Böenwerte erfolgen muss.</p><p>Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde eine alternative Messstrategie für Doppler-Lidar-Systeme vom Typ „Streamline“ (Halo Photonics) entwickelt und über mehrere Monate in den Jahren 2020/21 auf dem Grenzschichtmessfeld Falkenberg des DWD erprobt. Die Böenableitung basiert auf einem sog. Continous Scan Mode (CSM); dabei werden die während einer vollständigen Rotation des Lidar-Scan-Kopfes kontinuierlich durchgeführten Messungen 10-11 Strahlrichtungen zugeordnet und die Radialwindgeschwindigkeiten wiederum mit dem VAD-Verfahren ermittelt. Die Dauer eines Scans beträgt etwa 3.4s, damit kann eine Zeitauflösung erreicht werden, die der heute weit verbreiteten Definition einer Windbö entspricht (3s gleitendes Mittel; WMO (2018)).</p><p>Diese neue Konfiguration bringt Herausforderungen an die Datenverarbeitung mit sich. Im CSM muss mit vergleichsweise wenigen Lidar-Pulsen pro Messstrahl gearbeitet werden, so dass klassische Ansätze der Datenfilterung (Signal-to-Noise Schwellwert, Consensus Filterung) nicht verwendet werden können. Es wird ein alternatives Verfahren für die Prozessierung der Lidar-Rohdaten vorgeschlagen. Die Ergebnisse der Ableitung sowohl des mittleren Windvektors als auch der jeweiligen maximalen Windbö in einem 10-Minuten-Mittelungsintervall werden mit Sonic-Messungen in 90m Höhe verglichen. </p><p>Im Rahmen des FESSTVaL Experimentes wurde diese neue Messkonfiguration an drei Standorten, die ein annähernd gleichseitiges Dreieck mit einer Kantenlänge von etwa 5 km bildeten, genutzt. Es werden Fallbeispiele aus der FESSTVaL Kampagne für die Variabilität im Auftreten von Windböen gezeigt.</p><p><strong>Referenzen</strong></p><p>Päschke, E., Leinweber, R., and Lehmann, V. (2015): An assessment of the performance of a 1.5 μm Doppler lidar for operational vertical wind profiling based on a 1-year trial, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 2251–2266, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-2251-2015</p><p>Suomi, I., Gryning, S.‐E., O'Connor, E.J. and Vihma, T. (2017): Methodology for obtaining wind gusts using Doppler lidar. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 143: 2061-2072. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3059</p><p>World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2018): Measurement of surface wind. In Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation, Volume I -Measurement of Meteorological Variables, No.8: 196–213, URL: https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=10616 (accessed November 2021)</p>

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