Effective stability in a moist baroclinic wave. (15th August 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Booth, James F.; Polvani, Lorenzo; O'Gorman, Paul A.; Wang, Shuguang
• Is Part Of: Atmospheric science letters. Volume 16:Number 1(2015:Jan./Mar.)
• Page Start: 56
• Page End: 62
• Publication Date: 2014-08-15
• Subjects: Atmospheric physics -- Periodicals; 551
• DOI: 10.1002/asl2.520
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1530-261X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="asl2520-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p id="asl2520-para-0001">It has been proposed that the impact of moisture on atmospheric eddy circulations can be approximated using a reduced effective stratification defined in terms of a parameter <italic>λ</italic>, which quantifies the asymmetry between upward and downward motions. Here <italic>λ</italic> is analyzed for the midlatitude regime using baroclinic lifecycles computed with the Weather Research and Forecast model. Vertical velocities are compared for integrations with different moisture conditions, and the change in <italic>λ</italic> is quantified and interpreted. <italic>λ</italic> is shown to be largely insensitive to grid resolution, and the effective stratification captures the impact of moisture provided initial relative humidity is sufficiently high.</p> </abstract>