Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving Simulations
Abstract Recent observations and modeling increasingly reveal the key role of cold pools in organizing the convective cloud field. Several methods for detecting cold pools in simulations exist, but are usually based on buoyancy fields and fall short of reliably identifying the active gust front. The...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023MS003682 |
| _version_ | 1797299866722893824 |
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| author | Jannik Hoeller Romain Fiévet Jan O. Haerter |
| author_facet | Jannik Hoeller Romain Fiévet Jan O. Haerter |
| author_sort | Jannik Hoeller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Recent observations and modeling increasingly reveal the key role of cold pools in organizing the convective cloud field. Several methods for detecting cold pools in simulations exist, but are usually based on buoyancy fields and fall short of reliably identifying the active gust front. The current cold pool (CP) detection and tracking algorithm (CoolDeTA), aims to identify cold pools and follow them in time, thereby distinguishing their active gust fronts and the “offspring” rain cells generated nearby. To accomplish these tasks, CoolDeTA utilizes a combination of thermodynamic and dynamical variables and examines the spatial and temporal relationships between cold pools and rain events. We demonstrate that CoolDeTA can reconstruct CP family trees. Using CoolDeTA we can contrast radiative convective equilibrium (RCE) and diurnal cycle CP dynamics, as well as cases with vertical wind shear and without. We show that the results obtained are consistent with a conceptual model where CP triggering of children rain cells follows a simple birth rate, proportional to a CP's gust front length. The proportionality factor depends on the ambient atmospheric stability and is lower for RCE, in line with marginal stability as traditionally ascribed to the moist adiabat. In the diurnal case, where ambient stability is lower, the birth rate thus becomes substantially higher, in line with periodic insolation forcing—resulting in essentially run‐away mesoscale excitations generated by a single parent rain cell and its CP. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:57:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0f5cc91bcf9747d3933959b9ce153853 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1942-2466 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:57:52Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-0f5cc91bcf9747d3933959b9ce1538532024-02-22T16:54:51ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems1942-24662024-01-01161n/an/a10.1029/2023MS003682Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving SimulationsJannik Hoeller0Romain Fiévet1Jan O. Haerter2Integrated Modeling Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research Bremen GermanyNiels Bohr Institute Copenhagen University Copenhagen DenmarkIntegrated Modeling Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research Bremen GermanyAbstract Recent observations and modeling increasingly reveal the key role of cold pools in organizing the convective cloud field. Several methods for detecting cold pools in simulations exist, but are usually based on buoyancy fields and fall short of reliably identifying the active gust front. The current cold pool (CP) detection and tracking algorithm (CoolDeTA), aims to identify cold pools and follow them in time, thereby distinguishing their active gust fronts and the “offspring” rain cells generated nearby. To accomplish these tasks, CoolDeTA utilizes a combination of thermodynamic and dynamical variables and examines the spatial and temporal relationships between cold pools and rain events. We demonstrate that CoolDeTA can reconstruct CP family trees. Using CoolDeTA we can contrast radiative convective equilibrium (RCE) and diurnal cycle CP dynamics, as well as cases with vertical wind shear and without. We show that the results obtained are consistent with a conceptual model where CP triggering of children rain cells follows a simple birth rate, proportional to a CP's gust front length. The proportionality factor depends on the ambient atmospheric stability and is lower for RCE, in line with marginal stability as traditionally ascribed to the moist adiabat. In the diurnal case, where ambient stability is lower, the birth rate thus becomes substantially higher, in line with periodic insolation forcing—resulting in essentially run‐away mesoscale excitations generated by a single parent rain cell and its CP.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023MS003682cold poolsdetectiontrackingcloud resolving simulationconvective organization |
| spellingShingle | Jannik Hoeller Romain Fiévet Jan O. Haerter Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving Simulations Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems cold pools detection tracking cloud resolving simulation convective organization |
| title | Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving Simulations |
| title_full | Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving Simulations |
| title_fullStr | Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving Simulations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving Simulations |
| title_short | Detecting Cold Pool Family Trees in Convection Resolving Simulations |
| title_sort | detecting cold pool family trees in convection resolving simulations |
| topic | cold pools detection tracking cloud resolving simulation convective organization |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023MS003682 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jannikhoeller detectingcoldpoolfamilytreesinconvectionresolvingsimulations AT romainfievet detectingcoldpoolfamilytreesinconvectionresolvingsimulations AT janohaerter detectingcoldpoolfamilytreesinconvectionresolvingsimulations |