Moist Atmospheric Convection

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Meteorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2021) | Viewed by 13179

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico D.F., Mexico
Interests: atmospheric convection; atmospheric thermo dynamics; gps/gnss meteorology; tropical meteorology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Atmosphere, which focuses on moist atmospheric convection in the Tropics and monsoonal regimes. The weather and climate of these regions are dominated by moist convection, which is responsible for numerous phenomena ranging from severe weather to the global circulation. Understanding the physical processes of moist convection is particularly challenging given the vast range of scales involved as well as complex feedbacks and interactions between water vapor and convective precipitation. Exacerbating this challenge is that long-term data sources are oftentimes lacking in the Tropics.

We invite the submission of original research articles and reviews on any aspect of tropical moist convection, including convective cloud microphysics, convective interactions with large-scale forcing, and intraseasonal modes of variability (e.g., the MJO). We encourage studies resulting from experimental campaigns, long-term observations, or innovative uses of satellite platforms that focus on large-scale/deep convection interactions, mesoscale convective organization, or the shallow-to-deep convective transition. Likewise, we encourage numerical modeling studies that also focus on these themes, particularly those employing observation-based, process-oriented diagnostics.

Prof. Dr. David K. Adams
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Tropical and monsoon
  • Moist convection
  • Mesoscale convective organization
  • Shallow-to-deep transition
  • Experimental campaigns
  • Process-oriented diagnostics

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 4753 KiB  
Article
A Climatology of Mesoscale Convective Systems in Northwest Mexico during the North American Monsoon
by Omar Ramos-Pérez, David K. Adams, Carlos A. Ochoa-Moya and Arturo I. Quintanar
Atmosphere 2022, 13(5), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13050665 - 22 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3134
Abstract
Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS) may vary greatly with respect to their morphology, propagation mechanism, intensity, and under which synoptic-scale conditions as a function of topographic complexity. In this study, we develop a long-term climatology of MCS during the North American Monsoon focusing on [...] Read more.
Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS) may vary greatly with respect to their morphology, propagation mechanism, intensity, and under which synoptic-scale conditions as a function of topographic complexity. In this study, we develop a long-term climatology of MCS during the North American Monsoon focusing on MCS morphology, lifecycle, and intensity as well as possible propagation mechanisms. We employ an MCS tracking and classification technique based on 23 years (1995 to 2017) of GOES IR satellite data. MCS intensity is also gauged with 7 years (2011 to 2017) of Vaisala GLD360 lightning data and, finally, monthly and interannual variability in synoptic conditions are examined with ERA5 reanalysis data. Our results based on 1594 identified MCS reveal that 98% are morphologically classified as Persistent Elongated Convective Systems. During the 23 summers (June through September) observed, the number of MCS varied considerably, averaging 70 MCS with minimum of 41 and maximum of 94. MCS typically have an average duration of around 8 h ± with a 2 h standard deviation. Propagation speeds, estimated with Hovmöller diagrams in addition to MCS centroid initial and final position, vary slightly depending on the trajectory. A notable result suggests that MCS propagation speeds are more consistent density currents or cold pools and not gravity waves nor steering-level winds. The results of this study could also provide a dataset for examining larger-scale controls on MCS frequency in addition to assesing convective parameterization and convective-resolving models in regions of complex topography. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Moist Atmospheric Convection)
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18 pages, 12661 KiB  
Article
Observational Analysis of a Wind Gust Event during the Merging of a Bow Echo and Mini-Supercell in Southeastern China
by Hui Zheng, Yuchun Zhao, Yipeng Huang, Wei Zhang, Changrong Luo, Ming Wei and Xinfa Qiu
Atmosphere 2021, 12(11), 1511; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12111511 - 16 Nov 2021
Viewed by 2045
Abstract
The merging of a fast-moving bow echo with a convective cell of a hook-echo signature was studied by using polarimetric radar detections. Gusts with wind speeds near 35 m s−1 were recorded by the surface station, which caused significant damage. A convective [...] Read more.
The merging of a fast-moving bow echo with a convective cell of a hook-echo signature was studied by using polarimetric radar detections. Gusts with wind speeds near 35 m s−1 were recorded by the surface station, which caused significant damage. A convective cell with a mesovortex signature, which is hereafter referred to as a mini-supercell, was observed over the northeast of the bow echo before the convective merging. It was found that the mesovortex possessed cyclonic circulation and resembled a supercell-like feature. The merging of the bow echo and the mini-supercell strengthened the updraft near the apex of the bow echo. The enhanced updraft was also demonstrated by the appearance of a differential reflectivity (ZDR) column with a topmost height of 4 km above the melting layer (~4 km). The bow was separated into northern and southern sectors after merging with the mini-supercell, leading to the gusty wind over the surface of the south sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Moist Atmospheric Convection)
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18 pages, 31565 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Characteristics of the Circulation and Diurnal Spatial Cycle of Outgoing Longwave Radiation in the Different Phases of the Madden–Julian Oscillation during the Formation of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone
by Liviany P. Viana, Jhonatan A. A. Manco and Dirceu Luis Herdies
Atmosphere 2021, 12(11), 1399; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12111399 - 25 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1913
Abstract
In this work, we verified the formation of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) during the active, unfavorable, and transition phases of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), as well as the diurnal spatial variability in the estimated Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) data. The real-time [...] Read more.
In this work, we verified the formation of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) during the active, unfavorable, and transition phases of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), as well as the diurnal spatial variability in the estimated Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) data. The real-time multivariate index (RMM) and the composites of meteorological variables were used, along with the temporal average of the estimated OLR data. All the different patterns for the average period of SACZ showed classic behavior: well-organized and with meteorological variables in phases throughout the troposphere. However, some differences were evident in the organization of each phase of the MJO: at 200 hPa, the Bolivian High (BH) was more flattened during the active phase pattern than in the unfavorable and transition phases, being wider and with a wavier trough embedded in the western flow; at medium levels, the subtropical highs appeared more defined and with a very wide trough; the trough supported the frontal systems on the surface and, together with the subtropical highs, concentrated all the moisture in this layer. In the OLR dataset, the formation of the Coast Squall Line (CSL) occurred during SACZ events in the active phase and MJO transition, whereas in the unfavorable phase, this system was not observed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Moist Atmospheric Convection)
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14 pages, 52524 KiB  
Article
Suppressing Grid-Point Storms in a Numerical Forecasting Model
by Seung-Bu Park and Ji-Young Han
Atmosphere 2021, 12(9), 1194; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12091194 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2163
Abstract
The convective parameterization scheme of the Korean Integrated Model (KIM) is tentatively modified to suppress grid-point storms in the Western Pacific Ocean. The KIM v3.2.11 suffers from the numerical problem that grid-point storms degrade forecasts in the tropical oceans and around the Korean [...] Read more.
The convective parameterization scheme of the Korean Integrated Model (KIM) is tentatively modified to suppress grid-point storms in the Western Pacific Ocean. The KIM v3.2.11 suffers from the numerical problem that grid-point storms degrade forecasts in the tropical oceans and around the Korean Peninsula. Another convective parameterization scheme, the new Tiedtke scheme, is implemented in the KIM. The artificial storms are suppressed in the test version because the heating and drying tendencies of the new Tiedtke scheme are stronger than those of the default KIM Simplified Arakawa-Schubert (KSAS) scheme. Based on this comparison, the KSAS scheme is modified to strengthen its heating and drying tendencies by reducing the entrainment and detrainment rates. The modified KSAS scheme suppresses grid-point storms and thus decreases grid-scale precipitation in a summertime case simulation. Twenty 10-day forecasts with the default convection scheme (KSAS) and twenty forecasts with the modified scheme are conducted and compared with each other, confirming that the modified KSAS scheme successfully suppresses grid-point storms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Moist Atmospheric Convection)
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16 pages, 4657 KiB  
Article
Near-Surface Atmospheric Turbulence in the Presence of a Squall Line above a Forested and Deforested Region in the Central Amazon
by Valéria L. Bezerra, Cléo Q. Dias-Júnior, Roseilson S. Vale, Raoni A. Santana, Santiago Botía, Antônio O. Manzi, Julia C. P. Cohen, Hardiney S. Martins, Marcelo Chamecki and Jose D. Fuentes
Atmosphere 2021, 12(4), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12040461 - 6 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2821
Abstract
Squall lines (SLs) are convective systems that cause heavy precipitation and consequently modify the atmospheric thermodynamic structure near the surface. SLs generated along the northern coast of Brazil and their effect upon atmospheric structure during their westward displacement into the Amazon are studied. [...] Read more.
Squall lines (SLs) are convective systems that cause heavy precipitation and consequently modify the atmospheric thermodynamic structure near the surface. SLs generated along the northern coast of Brazil and their effect upon atmospheric structure during their westward displacement into the Amazon are studied. Satellite imagery was employed to identify an SL above two experimental sites in the central Amazon and to characterize differences in the near-surface turbulent and ozone exchange during the passage of the SLs. The two sites, which are separated by about 100 km, feature contrasting vegetation. One site is tall canopy rainforest and the other is deforested. From our case study, it is noted that: equivalent potential temperature significantly drops, principally in the forested region; the average near-surface wind speed increases 5 fold; the skewness of vertical wind velocity becomes considerably negative; significant increases in turbulence intensity are observed. These changes suggest the presence of strong downdrafts generated by the SL. Shear production and dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy are considerably larger during the SL when compared to periods with absence of SL. In this study, we show that SLs are capable of modifying the vertical organization of the turbulence over forested and deforested areas, leading to changes in certain chemical processes that occur near the surface. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents a first in demonstrating that near-surface turbulent flow in the Amazon region is modified by the presence of SLs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Moist Atmospheric Convection)
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