Premium
Initiation of deep convection through deepening of a well‐mixed boundary layer
Author(s) -
Yano JunIchi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.4117
Subject(s) - boundary layer , mixed layer , convection , troposphere , convergence (economics) , deep convection , boundary (topology) , tropopause , combined forced and natural convection , atmospheric sciences , geology , mechanics , mathematics , climatology , physics , natural convection , mathematical analysis , economic growth , economics
The present study examines mechanisms by which deep moist convection may be initiated through deepening of a well‐mixed convective boundary layer under large‐scale low‐level convergence. The process is examined using a standard formulation for the well‐mixed boundary layer, in which the depth increases exponentially with time under a constant convergence with height. Consideration is also given to a case with a more realistic mean vertical velocity profile which has a maximum in the middle troposphere and attenuates to zero at the tropopause. In the latter case, the unstable well‐mixed layer under convergence grows to a troposphere‐deep mixed layer. Importantly, under these scenarios, the so‐called convective inhibition (CIN) does not inhibit deepening of a well‐mixed convective boundary layer, nor does deep moist convection need to overcome CIN to initiate.