Characterization of the processes that lead to the destabilization and onset of deep tropical convection
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Departmental Seminar Series
presents
Characterization of the processes that lead to the destabilization and onset of deep tropical convection
a talk by
Ángel F. Adames-Corraliza
Assistant Professor,
Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan
Tropical convection is highly sensitive by fluctuations in temperature and moisture in the lower-free troposphere as well as processes that occur in the planetary boundary layer (BL, 850-1000 hPa). It is shown that a semi-empirical framework precipitation-buoyancy relation can capture many of the processes that lead to convective onset and evolution in association with tropical motion systems. Through simplified equations it is shown that steady-state convection evolves towards a state of moisture quasi-equilibrium: moist convective instability is consumed while the free troposphere is moistened by convection in such a way that the mean free-tropospheric buoyancy is unchanged.