Search

The relationship between n = 0 mixed Rossby-gravity waves (MRGs) and eastward inertio-gravity waves (EIGs) from Matsuno's shallow-water theory on an equatorial beta plane is studied using statistics of satellite brightness temperature T b and dynamical fields from ERA-Interim data. Unlike other observed convectively coupled equatorial waves, which have spectral signals well separated into eastward and westward modes, there is a continuum of MRG-EIG power standing above the background that peaks near wavenumber 0. This continuum is also present in the signals of dry stratospheric MRGs. While hundreds of papers have been written on MRGs, very little work on EIGs has appeared in the literature to date. The authors attribute this to the fact that EIG circulations are much weaker than those of MRGs for a given amount of divergence, making them more difficult to observe even though they strongly modulate convection. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and cross-spectral analysis of 2-6-day-filtered T b isolate zonally standing modes of synoptic-scale convection originally identified by Wallace in 1971. These display antisymmetric T b signals about the equator that propagate poleward with a period of around 4 days, along with westward-propagating MRG-like circulations that move through the T b patterns. Further analysis here and in Part II shows that these signatures are not artifacts of the EOF approach but result from a mixture of MRG or EIG modes occurring either in isolation or at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric superrotation with prograde equatorial winds and an equatorial angular momentum maximum is ubiquitous in planetary atmospheres. It is clear that eddy fluxes of angular momentum toward the equator are necessary to generate it. But under what conditions superrotation arises has remained unclear. This paper presents simulations and a scaling theory that establish conditions under which superrotation occurs in terrestrial atmospheres. Whether superrotation arises depends on the relative importance of factors that favor or disfavor superrotation. Convection preferentially generates Rossby waves near the equator, where the Rossby number is O(1). Since the Rossby waves transport angular momentum toward their source regions, this favors superrotation. Meridional temperature gradients preferentially lead to baroclinic instability and wave generation away from the equator. Eddy transport of angular momentum toward the baroclinic source region implies transport out of low latitudes, which disfavors superrotation. Simulations with an idealized GCM show that superrotation tends to arise when the equatorial convective generation of wave activity and its associated eddy angular momentum flux convergence exceed the baroclinic eddy angular momentum flux divergence. Convective and baroclinic wave activity generation is related through scaling arguments to mean-flow properties, such as planetary rotation rates and meridional temperature gradients. The scaling arguments show, for example, that superrotation is favored when the off-equatorial baroclinicity and planetary rotation rates are low, as they are, for example, on Venus. Similarly, superrotation is favored when the convective heating strengthens, which may account for the superrotation seen in extreme global warming simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the response of the tropical hydrologic cycle to surface warming through the lens of large-domain cloud-system-resolving model experiments run in a radiative-convective equilibrium framework. Simulations are run for 55 days and are driven with fixed insolation and constant sea surface temparatures (SSTs) of 298 K, 300 K, and 302 K. In each experiment, convection organizes into coherent regions of large-scale ascent separated by areas with relatively clear air and troposphere-deep descent. Aspects of the simulations correspond to observed features of the tropical climate system, including the transition to large precipitation rates above a critical value of total column water vapor, and an increase in convective intensity with SST amidst weakening of the large-scale overturning circulation. However, the authors also find notable changes to the interaction between convection and the environment as the surface warms. In particular, organized convection in simulations with SSTs of 298 and 300 K is inhibited by the presence of a strong midtropospheric stable layer and dry upper troposphere. As a result, there is a decrease in the vigor of deep convection and an increase in stratiform precipitation fraction with an increase in SST from 298 to 300 K. With an increase in SST to 302 K, moistening of the middletroposphere and increase in lower-tropospheric buoyancy serve to overcome these limitations, leading to an overall increase in convective intensity and larger increase in upper-tropospheric relative humidity. The authors conclude that, while convective intensity increases with SST, the aggregate nature of deep convection is strongly affected by the details of the thermodynamic environment in which it develops. In particular, the positive feedback between increasing SST and a moistening upper troposphere found in the simulations, operates as a nonmonotonic function of SST and is modulated by a complex interaction between deep convection and the environmental relative humidity and static stability profile. The results suggest that projected changes in convection that assume a monotonic dependence on SST may constitute an oversimplification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gross moist stability (GMS), a measure of how efficiently divergent flow exports column-integrated moist static energy (MSE), is a widely used quantity in current simplified models of the tropical mean circulation and intraseasonal variabilities such as the Madden--Julian oscillation (MJO), where it is often assumed to be constant. In this paper, it is shown, with cloud-system-resolving model experiments that incorporate feedback from the large-scale flow, that the GMS is smaller at longer wavelengths. The reason for this wavelength dependence is that temperature anomalies required to maintain a given divergent flow increase with wavelength. At long wavelengths, the required temperature anomalies become sufficiently strong to affect the shape of convective heating. As a consequence, the divergent flow is forced to be less top heavy in order to maintain the balance of momentum, heat, and moisture, as well as consistency with the behavior of cumulus convection. A simple model is constructed to illustrate this behavior. Given the ongoing theoretical efforts that view the MJO as resulting from instability in column-integrated MSE, the results presented here provide a planetary-scale selection for such instability, which is absent in current theoretical models that assume a constant GMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Boundary Layer Evolution (BLE) missions of the International H2O Project (IHOP_2002) were designed to provide comprehensive observations of the distribution of water vapor in the quiescent boundary layer and its evolution during the early morning. The case study discussed in this paper presents detailed observations of the development of the boundary layer from before sunrise through to the period of growth of the mature convective boundary layer (CBL) during the 14 June 2002 BLE mission. The large number of remote sensing platforms, including the multiple instruments collocated at the Homestead Profiling Site, provided a detailed set of measurements of the growth and structure of the CBL. The observations describe the classic evolution of a daytime CBL, beginning with a shallow nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) below the remnants of the previous day’s mixed layer, or residual layer. The vertical distribution of humidity in these layers during the early morning was affected by advection of dry air and by gravity waves. About an hour after sunrise a CBL developed, and gradually deepened with time as it mixed out the NBL and residual layer. The growth of the top of the CBL was particularly well observed because of the strong vertical gradients in temperature, humidity, and aerosol concentration. As the CBL deepened and the average CBL wind speed decreased, the mode of convective organization evolved from horizontal convective rolls to open-celled convection. A unique set of detailed measurements of the structure of the open cells was obtained from multiple instruments including the Doppler-on-Wheels radar, the Mobile Integrated Profiling System wind profiler, and the Scanning Raman lidar. They showed the relationship between open cells, thermals, mantle echoes, and the CBL top. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent satellite determinations of global distributions of absolute gravity wave (GW) momentum fluxes in the lower stratosphere show maxima over the summer subtropical continents and little evidence of GW momentum fluxes associated with the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). This seems to be at odds with parameterizations for GW momentum fluxes, where the source is a function of latent heating rates, which are largest in the region of the ITCZ in terms of monthly averages. The authors have examined global distributions of atmospheric latent heating, cloud-top-pressure altitudes, and lower-stratosphere absolute GW momentum fluxes and have found that monthly averages of the lower-stratosphere GW momentum fluxes more closely resemble the monthly mean cloud-top altitudes rather than the monthly mean rates of latent heating. These regions of highest cloud-top altitudes occur when rates of latent heating are largest on the time scale of cloud growth. This, plus previously published studies, suggests that convective sources for stratospheric GW momentum fluxes, being a function of the rate of latent heating, will require either a climate model to correctly model this rate of latent heating or some ad hoc adjustments to account for shortcomings in a climate model's land-sea differences in convective latent heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idealized simulations are conducted using the Cloud Model version 1 (CM1) to explore the mechanism of tropical cyclone (TC) genesis from a preexisting midtropospheric vortex that forms in radiative–convective equilibrium. With lower-tropospheric air approaching near saturation during TC genesis, convective cells become stronger, along with the intensifying updrafts and downdrafts and the larger area coverage of updrafts relative to downdrafts. Consequently, the low-level vertical mass flux increases, inducing vorticity amplification above the boundary layer. Of interest is that while surface cold pools help organize lower-tropospheric updrafts, genesis still proceeds, only slightly delayed, if subcloud evaporation cooling and cold pool intensity are drastically reduced. More detrimental is the disruption of near saturation through the introduction of weak vertical wind shear. The lower-tropospheric dry air suppresses the strengthening of convection, leading to weaker upward mass flux and much slower near-surface vortex spinup. We also find that surface spinup is similarly inhibited by decreasing surface drag despite the existence of a nearly saturated column, whereas larger drag accelerates spinup. Increased vorticity above the boundary layer is followed by the emergence of a horizontal pressure gradient through the depth of the boundary layer. Then the corresponding convergence resulting from the gradient imbalance in the frictional boundary layer causes vorticity amplification near the surface. It is suggested that near saturation in the lower troposphere is critical for increasing the mass flux and vorticity just above the boundary layer, but it is necessary yet insufficient because the spinup is strongly governed by boundary layer dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passage of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) over the Indian Ocean and the Maritime Continent is investigated during the episode of 23–30 November 2011. A Meso-NH convection-permitting simulation with a horizontal grid spacing of 4 km is examined. The simulation reproduces the MJO signal correctly, showing the eastward propagation of the primary rain activity. The atmospheric overturning is analyzed using the isentropic method, which separates the ascending air with high equivalent potential temperature from the subsiding air with low equivalent potential temperature. Three key circulations are found. The first two circulations are a tropospheric deep circulation spanning from the surface to an altitude of 14 km and an overshoot circulation within the tropical tropopause layer. As expected for circulations associated with deep convection, their intensities, as well as their diabatic tendencies, increase during the active phase of the MJO, while their entrainment rates decrease. The third circulation is characterized by a rising of air with low equivalent potential temperature in the lower free troposphere. The intensity of the circulation, as well as its depth, varies with the MJO activity. During the suppressed phase, this circulation is associated with a dry air intrusion from the subtropical region into the tropical band and shows a strong drying of the lower to middle troposphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Westward-propagating 2-day waves with embedded mesoscale disturbances contribute a large portion of synoptic variability of tropical convection over the western Pacific. It is of crucial importance to assess the upscale impact on 2-day waves of these mesoscale disturbances that propagate at various tilt angles. Also, it will be informative to consider the upscale impact on both symmetric and asymmetric 2-day waves in terms of convection, morphology of circulation, and tropical cyclogenesis. A simple multiscale asymptotic model is used to simulate the two-scale structure of 2-day waves. The synoptic-scale circulation response is driven by westward-propagating mean heating and eddy transfer of momentum and temperature. The latter is interpreted as the upscale impact of mesoscale fluctuations. The upscale impact of mesoscale disturbances that propagate at a tilt angle between 315° and 45° induces low-level negative potential temperature anomalies and westerly inflow. Shallow congestus convection triggered in a moist environment at the leading edge of the 2-day waves supports the westward propagation. For asymmetric 2-day waves in the Northern Hemisphere, the upscale impact of mesoscale disturbances propagating at a tilt angle between 315° and 0° induces lower-tropospheric cyclonic flows and negative pressure perturbation. This provides a new mechanism to precondition tropical cyclogenesis. A comparison of the upscale impact on symmetric westward-propagating 2-day waves and eastward-propagating convectively coupled Kelvin waves shows that their tilt angle ranges with favorable conditions for convection and enhanced inflow are simply opposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 2011 special observing period of the Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) field experiment, two sounding arrays were established over the central Indian Ocean, one north and one south of the equator, referred to here as the NSA and SSA, respectively. Three-hourly soundings from these arrays augmented by observations of radiation and rainfall are used to investigate the diurnal cycle of ITCZ convection during the MJO suppressed phase. During the first half of October, when convection was suppressed over the NSA but prominent over the SSA, the circulation over the sounding arrays could be characterized as a local Hadley cell. Strong rising motion was present within the ITCZ extending across the SSA with compensating subsidence over the NSA.Aprominent diurnal pulsing of this cell was observed, impacting conditions on both sides of the equator, with the cell running strongest in the early morning hours (0500-0800 LT) and notably weakening later in the day (1700-2000 LT). The declining daytime subsidence over the NSA may have assisted the moistening of the low to midtroposphere there during the pre-onset stage of the MJO. Apparent heating Q1 within the ITCZ exhibited a diurnal evolution from early morning bottom-heavy profiles to weaker daytime top-heavy profiles, indicating a progression from convective to stratiform precipitation. Making use of the weak temperature gradient approximation, results suggest that both horizontal radiative heating gradients and direct cloud radiative forcing have an important influence on diurnal variations of vertical motion and convection within the ITCZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approximate analytic expression is derived for the ratio λ of the ascent rate of moist deep convective thermals and the maximum vertical velocity within them; λ is characterized as a function of two nondimensional buoyancy-dependent parameters y and h and is used to express the thermal ascent rate as a function of the buoyancy field. The parameter y characterizes the vertical distribution of buoyancy within the thermal, and h is the ratio of the vertically integrated buoyancy from the surface to the thermal top and the vertical integral of buoyancy within the thermal. Theoretical λ values are calculated using values of y and h obtained from idealized numerical simulations of ascending moist updrafts and compared to λ computed directly from the simulations. The theoretical values of 0.4–0.8 are in reasonable agreement with the simulated λ (correlation coefficient of 0.86). These values are notably larger than the from Hill’s (nonbuoyant) analytic spherical vortex, which has been used previously as a framework for understanding the dynamics of moist convective thermals. The relatively large values of λ are a result of net positive buoyancy within the upper part of thermals that opposes the downward-directed dynamic pressure gradient force below the thermal top. These results suggest that nonzero buoyancy within moist convective thermals, relative to their environment, fundamentally alters the relationship between the maximum vertical velocity and the thermal-top ascent rate compared to nonbuoyant vortices. Implications for convection parameterizations and interpretation of the forces contributing to thermal drag are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convection-permitting simulations at 3-km resolution using a regional climate model are analyzed to improve the understanding of the diurnal cycle of rainfall over West Africa and its underlying physical processes. The warm season of 2006 is used for the model simulations. The model produces an accurate representation of the observed seasonal mean rainfall and lower-troposphere circulation and captures the observed westward propagation of rainfall systems. Most of West Africa has a single diurnal peak of rainfall in the simulations, either in the afternoon or at night, in agreement with observations. However, the number of simulated rainfall systems is greater than observed in association with an overestimation of the initiation of afternoon rainfall over topography. The longevity of the simulated propagating systems is about 30% shorter than is observed, and their propagation speed is nearly 20% faster. The model captures the observed afternoon rainfall peaks associated with elevated topography (e.g., the Jos Plateau). Nocturnal rainfall peaks downstream of the topographic afternoon rainfall are also well simulated. However, these nocturnal rainfall peaks are too widespread, and the model fails to reproduce the observed afternoon rainfall peaks over regions removed from topographic influence. This deficiency is related to a planetary boundary layer that is deeper than observed, elevating unstable profiles and inhibiting afternoon convection. This study concludes that increasing model resolution to convection-permitting space scales significantly improves the diurnal cycle of rainfall compared with the models that parameterize convection, but this is not sufficient to fully resolve the issue, perhaps because other parameterizations remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daily averaged TOGA COARE data are analyzed to investigate the convective amplification/decay mechanisms. The gross moist stability (GMS), which represents moist static energy (MSE) export efficiency by large-scale circulations associated with the convection, is studied together with two quantities, called the critical GMS (a ratio of diabatic forcing to the convective intensity) and the drying efficiency [a version of the effective GMS (GMS minus critical GMS)]. The analyses reveal that convection intensifies (decays) via negative (positive) drying efficiency. The authors illustrate that variability of the drying efficiency during the convective amplifying phase is predominantly explained by the vertical MSE advection (or vertical GMS), which imports MSE via bottom-heavy vertical velocity profiles (associated with negative vertical GMS) and eventually starts exporting MSE via top-heavy profiles (associated with positive vertical GMS). The variability of the drying efficiency during the decaying phase is, in contrast, explained by the horizontal MSE advection. The critical GMS, which is moistening efficiency due to the diabatic forcing, is broadly constant throughout the convective life cycle, indicating that the diabatic forcing always tends to destabilize the convective system in a constant manner. The authors propose various ways of computing quasi-time-independent 'characteristic GMS' and demonstrate that all of them are equivalent and can be interpreted as (i) the critical GMS, (ii) the GMS at the maximum precipitation, and (iii) a combination of feedback constants between the radiation, evaporation, and convection. Those interpretations indicate that each convective life cycle is a fluctuation of rapidly changing GMS around slowly changing characteristic GMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "A Unified Representation of Deep Moist Convection in Numerical Modeling of the Atmosphere, Part I," by A. Arakawa and colleagues published in an issue the journal.

Numerical simulations are performed to assess the influence of the large-scale circulation on the transition from suppressed to active convection. As a model tool, the authors used a coupled-column model. It consists of two cloud-resolving models that are fully coupled via a large-scale circulation that is derived from the requirement that the instantaneous domain-mean potential temperature profiles of the two columns remain close to each other. This is known as the weak temperature gradient approach. The simulations of the transition are initialized from coupled-column simulations over nonuniform surface forcing, and the transition is forced in the dry column by changing the local and/or remote surface forcings to uniform surface forcing across the columns. As the strength of the circulation is reduced to zero, moisture is recharged into the dry column and a transition to active convection occurs once the column is sufficiently moistened to sustain deep convection. Direct effects of changing surface forcing occur over the first few days only. Afterward, it is the evolution of the large-scale circulation that systematically modulates the transition. Its contributions are approximately equally divided between the heating and moistening effects. A transition time is defined to summarize the evolution from suppressed to active convection. It is the time when the rain rate in the dry column is halfway to the mean value obtained at equilibrium over uniform surface forcing. The transition time is around twice as long for a transition that is forced remotely compared to a transition that is forced locally. Simulations in which both local and remote surface forcings are changed produce intermediate transition times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work studies the significance of north-south asymmetry in convection associated with the 20-90-day Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) propagating across the equatorial Indo-Pacific warm pool region. Satellite infrared brightness temperature data in the tropical belt for the period 1983-2006 were decomposed into components symmetric and antisymmetric about the equator. Using a recent nonlinear objective method called nonlinear Laplacian spectral analysis, modes of variability were extracted representing symmetric and antisymmetric features of MJO convection signals, along with a plethora of other modes of tropical convective variability spanning diurnal to interannual time scales. The space-time reconstruction of these modes during the 1992/93 Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) period is described in detail. In particular, the boreal winter MJO emerges as a single pair of modes in both symmetric and antisymmetric convection signals. Both signals originate in the Indian Ocean around 60°E. They coexist for all significant MJO events with a varying degree of relative importance, which is affected by ENSO. The symmetric signals tend to be suppressed when crossing the Maritime Continent, while the antisymmetric signals are not as inhibited. Their differences in peak phase and propagation speed suggest fundamental differences in the underlying mechanisms. The multiscale interactions between the diurnal, MJO, and ENSO modes of convection were studied. It was found that the symmetric component of MJO convection appears out of phase with the symmetric component of the diurnal cycle, while the antisymmetric component of MJO convection is in phase with the antisymmetric diurnal cycle. The former relationship likely breaks down during strong El Niño events, and both relationships likely break down during prolonged La Niña events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method based on parcel theory is developed to quantify mesoscale physical processes responsible for the removal of inhibition energy for convection initiation (CI). Convection-permitting simulations of three mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) initiating in differing environments are then used to demonstrate the method and gain insights on different ways that mesoscale thermodynamic destabilization can occur. Central to the method is a thermodynamic quantity Bmin, which is the buoyancy minimum experienced by an air parcel lifted from a specified height. For the cases studied, vertical profiles of Bmin using air parcels originating at different heights are qualitatively similar to corresponding profiles of convective inhibition (CIN). Though it provides less complete information than CIN, an advantage of using Bmin is that it does not require vertical integration, which simplifies budget calculations that enable attribution of the thermodynamic destabilization to specific physical processes. For a specified air parcel, Bmin budgets require knowledge of atmospheric forcing at only the parcel origination level and some approximate level where Bmin occurs. In a case of simulated daytime surface-based CI, destabilization in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) results from a combination of surface fluxes and upward motion above the PBL. Upward motion effects dominate the destabilizing effects of horizontal advections in two different simulated elevated CI cases, where the destabilizing layer occurs from 1 to 2.5 km AGL. In an elevated case with strong warm advection, changes to the parcel at its origination level dominate the reduction of negative buoyancy, whereas for a case lacking warm advection, adiabatic temperature changes to the environment near the location of Bmin dominate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim for a more accurate representation of tropical convection in global circulation models is a long-standing issue. Here, the relationships between large and convective scales in observations and a stochastic multicloud model (SMCM) to ultimately support the design of a novel convection parameterization with stochastic elements are investigated. Observations of tropical convection obtained at Darwin and Kwajalein are used here. It is found that the variability of observed tropical convection generally decreases with increasing large-scale forcing, implying a transition from stochastic to more deterministic behavior with increasing forcing. Convection shows a more systematic relationship with measures related to large-scale convergence compared to measures related to energetics (e.g., CAPE). Using the observations, the parameters in the SMCM are adjusted. Then, the SMCM is forced with the time series of the observed large-scale state and the simulated convective behavior is compared to that observed. It is found that the SMCM cloud fields compare better with observations when using predictors related to convergence rather than energetics. Furthermore, the underlying framework of the SMCM is able to reproduce the observed functional dependencies of convective variability on the imposed large-scale state-an encouraging result on the road toward a novel convection parameterization approach. However, establishing sound cause-and-effect relationships between tropical convection and the large-scale environment remains problematic and warrants further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like any fluid heated from below, the atmosphere is subject to vertical instability that triggers convection. Convection occurs on small time and space scales, which makes it a challenging feature to include in climate models. Usually subgrid parameterizations are required. Here, an alternative view based on a global thermodynamic variational principle is developed. Convective flux profiles and temperature profiles at steady state are computed in an implicit way by maximizing the associated entropy production rate. Two settings are examined, corresponding respectively to an idealized case of a gray atmosphere and a realistic case based on a net exchange formulation radiative scheme. In the second case, the effect of variations of the atmospheric composition, such as a doubling of the carbon dioxide concentration, is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall characteristics and convective properties of monsoon precipitation systems over South China (SC) and the Yangtze and Huai River basin (YHRB) are investigated using multiple satellite products, surface rainfall observations, NCEP reanalysis, and weather maps. Comparisons between SC and YHRB are made for their monsoon active periods and their subseasonal variations from the premonsoon to monsoon and further to postmonsoon periods. The principal findings are as follows. (i) During the monsoon active period, region-averaged rain accumulation is greater in SC due to more frequent occurrence of precipitation systems; however, heavy rainfall contribution is greater in YHRB. These differences are related to more intense convective motion over the YHRB in association with the flatter land and more concurrent presence and stronger intensity of the low-level vortices and surface fronts. (ii) Largely in agreement with the subseasonal variations of the atmospheric thermodynamic conditions, convective intensity is enhanced progressively from the premonsoon to the monsoon and further to the postmonsoon period in both regions, as suggested by most convection proxies, except for lightning flash rate, which decreases substantially over SC but increases slightly over the YHRB from the premonsoon to the monsoon period. (iii) Compared to the monsoon active period, precipitation storms in both regions during the postmonsoon and monsoon break periods are more controlled by local instability due to solar heating but less controlled by larger-scale weather systems. This scale difference in the driving mechanisms leads to the smaller horizontal extent of the precipitation systems during the postmonsoon and monsoon break periods and also to the more pronounced afternoon peaks in precipitation system occurrence in the postmonsoon period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric gravity waves have a major effect on atmospheric circulation, structure, and stability on a global scale. Gravity waves can be generated by convection, but in many cases it is difficult to link convection directly to a specific wave event. In this research, the authors examine an event on 12 January 2003 when convective waves were clearly generated by a period of extremely intense rainfall in the region of Darwin, Australia, during the early morning. The waves were observed by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on board the Aqua satellite, and a dry version of a nonlinear, three-dimensional mesoscale cloud-resolving model is used to generate a comparable wave field. The model is forced by a spatially and temporally varying heating field obtained from a scanning radar located north of Darwin at Gunn Point. With typical cloud-resolving model studies it is generally not possible to compare the model results feature-for-feature with observations since although the model precipitation and small-scale heating may be similar to observations, they will occur at different locations and times. In this case the comparison is possible since the model is forced by the observed heating pattern. It is shown that the model output wave pattern corresponds well to the wave pattern observed by the AIRS instrument at the time of the AIRS overpass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire lines are complex phenomena with a broad range of scales of cross-line dimension, undulations, and along-line variation in heating rates. While some earlier studies have examined parcel processes in two-dimensional simulations, the complexity of fire lines in nature motivates a study in which the impact of three-dimensional fire line details on parcel processes is examined systematically. This numerical modeling study aims to understand how fundamental processes identified in 2D simulations operate in 3D simulations where the fire line is neither straight nor uniform in intensity. The first step is to perform simulations in a 3D model, with no fire line undulations or inhomogeneity. In general, convective modes simulated in the 2D model are reproduced in the 3D model. In one particular case with strong vertical wind shear, new convection develops separate from the main line of convection as a result of local changes to parcel speed and heating. However, in general the processes in the 2D and 3D simulations are identical. The second step is to examine 3D experiments wherein fire line shape and along-line inhomogeneity are varied. Parcel heating, as well as convective mode, is shown to exhibit sensitivity to fire line shape and along-line inhomogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]