This book treats atmospheric convection from different angles including the theoretical aspects of atmospheric deep convection and the weather phenomena related to convection. The problem of boundary conditions that result in severe convective weather patterns is explored within the framework of worldwide climatology. The book bridges the gap between theory and its operational application both within the fields of weather forecasting and that of risk management.
This graduate-level meteorology text and reference provides a scientifically rigorous description of the many types of convective circulations in the Earth's atmosphere. These range from small-scale, convectively driven turbulences in the boundary layer to precipitating systems covering many thousands of square kilometers. The text introduces the principal techniques used in understanding and predicting convective motion: theory, field experiment, and numerical modelling. Part I explores dry convection, including turbulent plumes and thermals from isolated buoyancy sources, Raleigh-Benard convection, and turbulent convection in the planetary boundary layer. Emphasis is placed on applying theoretical understanding and lessons from experiments. Part II offers a complete treatment of the thermodynamics of moist and cloudy air, including fundamental laws, conserved quantities, graphical techniques, and stability. Part III explores the characteristics of individual convective clouds, thunderstorms, squall lines, mesoscale convective systems, and slantwise convection. Part IV studies the ensemble effects of convective clouds, including stratocumulus at trade cumulus boundary layers and the representation of convective clouds in numerical models. Each chapter is followed by a set of exercises.
Precipitating atmospheric convection is fundamental to the Earth's weather and climate. It plays a leading role in the heat, moisture and momentum budgets. Appropriate modelling of convection is thus a prerequisite for reliable numerical weather prediction and climate modelling. The current standard approach is to represent it by subgrid-scale convection parameterization.Parameterization of Atmospheric Convection provides, for the first time, a comprehensive presentation of this important topic. The two-volume set equips readers with a firm grasp of the wide range of important issues, and thorough coverage is given of both the theoretical and practical aspects. This makes the parameterization problem accessible to a wider range of scientists than before. At the same time, by providing a solid bottom-up presentation of convection parameterization, this set is the definitive reference point for atmospheric scientists and modellers working on such problems.Volume 1 of this two-volume set focuses on the basic principles: introductions to atmospheric convection and tropical dynamics, explanations and discussions of key parameterization concepts, and a thorough and critical exploration of the mass-flux parameterization framework, which underlies the methods currently used in almost all operational models and at major climate modelling centres. Volume 2 focuses on the practice, which also leads to some more advanced fundamental issues. It includes: perspectives on operational implementations and model performance, tailored verification approaches, the role and representation of cloud microphysics, alternative parameterization approaches, stochasticity, criticality, and symmetry constraints.
An Introduction to Clouds provides a fundamental understanding of clouds, ranging from cloud microphysics to the large-scale impacts of clouds on climate. On the microscale, phase changes and ice nucleation are covered comprehensively, including aerosol particles and thermodynamics relevant for the formation of clouds and precipitation. At larger scales, cloud dynamics, mid-latitude storms and tropical cyclones are discussed leading to the role of clouds on the hydrological cycle and climate. Each chapter ends with problem sets and multiple-choice questions that can be completed online, and important equations are highlighted in boxes for ease of reference. Combining mathematical formulations with qualitative explanations of underlying concepts, this accessible book requires relatively little previous knowledge, making it ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in atmospheric science, environmental sciences and related disciplines.
An up-to-date summary of our understanding of the dynamics and thermodynamics of moist atmospheric convection, with a strong focus on recent developments in the field. The book also reviews ways in which moist convection may be parameterised in large-scale numerical models - a field in which there is still some controversy - and discusses the implications of convection for large-scale flow. Audience: The book is aimed at the graduate level and research meteorologists as well as scientists in other disciplines who need to know more about moist convection and its representation in numerical models.
A multidisciplinary perspective on the dynamic processes occurring in Earth's mantle The convective motion of material in Earth's mantle, powered by heat from the deep interior of our planet, drives plate tectonics at the surface, generating earthquakes and volcanic activity. It shapes our familiar surface landscapes, and also stabilizes the oceans and atmosphere on geologic timescales. Mantle Convection and Surface Expressions brings together perspectives from observational geophysics, numerical modelling, geochemistry, and mineral physics to build a holistic picture of the deep Earth. It explores the dynamic processes occurring in the mantle as well as the associated heat and material cycles. Volume highlights include: Perspectives from different scientific disciplines with an emphasis on exploring synergies Current state of the mantle, its physical properties, compositional structure, and dynamic evolution Transport of heat and material through the mantle as constrained by geophysical observations, geochemical data and geodynamic model predictions Surface expressions of mantle dynamics and its control on planetary evolution and habitability The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.
This book presents descriptions of numerical models for testing cumulus in cloud fields. It is divided into six parts. Part I provides an overview of the problem, including descriptions of cumulus clouds and the effects of ensembles of cumulus clouds on mass, momentum, and vorticity distributions. A review of closure assumptions is also provided. A review of "classical" convection schemes in widespread use is provided in Part II. The special problems associated with the representation of convection in mesoscale models are discussed in Part III, along with descriptions of some of the commonly used mesoscale schemes. Part IV covers some of the problems associated with the representation of convection in climate models, while the parameterization of slantwise convection is the subject of Part V.
Technology has propelled the atmospheric sciences from a fledgling discipline to a global enterprise. Findings in this field shape a broad spectrum of decisionsâ€"what to wear outdoors, whether aircraft should fly, how to deal with the issue of climate change, and more. This book presents a comprehensive assessment of the atmospheric sciences and offers a vision for the future and a range of recommendations for federal authorities, the scientific community, and education administrators. How does atmospheric science contribute to national well-being? In the context of this question, the panel identifies imperatives in scientific observation, recommends directions for modeling and forecasting research, and examines management issues, including the growing problem of weather data availability. Five subdisciplinesâ€"physics, chemistry, dynamics and weather forecasting, upper atmosphere and near-earth space physics, climate and climate changeâ€"and their status as the science enters the twenty-first century are examined in detail, including recommendations for research. This readable book will be of interest to public-sector policy framers and private-sector decisionmakers as well as researchers, educators, and students in the atmospheric sciences.
Studies of convection in geophysical flows constitute an advanced and rapidly developing area of research that is relevant to problems of the natural environment. During the last decade, significant progress has been achieved in the field as a result of both experimental studies and numerical modelling. This led to the principal revision of the widely held view on buoyancy-driven turbulent flows comprising an organised mean component with superimposed chaotic turbulence. An intermediate type of motion, represented by coherent structures, has been found to play a key role in geophysical boundary layers and in larger scale atmospheric and hydrospheric circulations driven by buoyant forcing. New aspects of the interaction between convective motions and rotation have recently been discovered and investigated. Extensive experimental data have also been collected on the role of convection in cloud dynamics and microphysics. New theoretical concepts and approaches have been outlined regarding scaling and parameterization of physical processes in buoyancy-driven geophysical flows. The book summarizes interdisciplinary studies of buoyancy effects in different media (atmosphere and hydrosphere) over a wide range of scales (small scale phenomena in unstably stratified and convectively mixed layers to deep convection in the atmosphere and ocean), by different research methods (field measurements, laboratory simulations, numerical modelling), and within a variety of application areas (dispersion of pollutants, weather forecasting, hazardous phenomena associated with buoyant forcing).
This volume presents a series of overview articles arising from a workshop exploring the links among shallow clouds, water vapor, circulation, and climate sensitivity. It provides a state-of-the art synthesis of understanding about the coupling of clouds and water vapor to the large-scale circulation. The emphasis is on two phenomena, namely the self-aggregation of deep convection and interactions between low clouds and the large-scale environment, with direct links to the sensitivity of climate to radiative perturbations. Each subject is approached using simulations, observations, and synthesizing theory; particular attention is paid to opportunities offered by new remote-sensing technologies, some still prospective. The collection provides a thorough grounding in topics representing one of the World Climate Research Program’s Grand Challenges. Previously published in Surveys in Geophysics, Volume 38, Issue 6, 2017 The aritcles “Observing Convective Aggregation”, “An Observational View of Relationships Between Moisture Aggregation, Cloud, and Radiative Heating Profiles”, “Implications of Warm Rain in Shallow Cumulus and Congestus Clouds for Large-Scale Circulations”, “A Survey of Precipitation-Induced Atmospheric Cold Pools over Oceans and Their Interactions with the Larger-Scale Environment”, “Low-Cloud Feedbacks from Cloud-Controlling Factors: A Review”, “Mechanisms and Model Diversity of Trade-Wind Shallow Cumulus Cloud Feedbacks: A Review”, “Structure and Dynamical Influence of Water Vapor in the Lower Tropical Troposphere”, “Emerging Technologies and Synergies for Airborne and Space-Based Measurements of Water Vapor Profiles”, “Observational Constraints on Cloud Feedbacks: The Role of Active Satellite Sensors”, and “EUREC4A: A Field Campaign to Elucidate the Couplings Between Clouds, Convection and Circulation” are available as open access articles under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.
