Open AccessEffective stability in a moist baroclinic wave
Author(s) -
Booth James F.,
Polvani Lorenzo,
O'Gorman Paul A.,
Wang Shuguang
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
atmospheric science letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 45
ISSN - 1530-261X
DOI - 10.1002/asl2.520
Subject(s) - baroclinity , middle latitudes , stratification (seeds) , moisture , environmental science , climatology , atmospheric sciences , asymmetry , meteorology , relative humidity , stability (learning theory) , geology , physics , computer science , seed dormancy , botany , germination , quantum mechanics , machine learning , dormancy , biology
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 λ , which quantifies the asymmetry between upward and downward motions. Here λ 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 λ is quantified and interpreted. λ 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.