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Some effects of convection on geostrophic flow
Author(s) -
Manton M. J.
Publication year - 1985
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.49711146707
Subject(s) - geostrophic wind , convection , troposphere , combined forced and natural convection , atmospheric sciences , mechanics , turbulence , geology , pressure gradient , mixed layer , flow (mathematics) , natural convection , climatology , physics
Convection in the lower troposphere produces a deficit in the local surface pressure caused by heating of the air in the well‐mixed convection layer. Variations in the surface heat flux can therefore induce horizontal pressure gradients in the convection layer. These pressure gradients can in turn lead to significant geostrophic flows, such as cyclonic ‘heat lows’ in the vicinity of local maxima in the surface heat flux. Turbulent mixing causes the motion in the convection layer to generate vertical velocities, which lead to some geostrophic flow being generated in the middle troposphere above the convection layer.