Speaker
Description
Convective mass flux is crucial for understanding convective clouds and their impacts on the ambient environment. A large number of GCM cumulus parameterization schemes rely on this concept, but measuring convective mass flux remains challenging due to the difficulty of capturing vertical air motion within intense convective clouds. No current satellite can measure these motions directly (with the notable exception of EarthCARE, although w band signals attenuate quickly inside convective cores). To address this, Masunaga and Luo (2016, hereinafter ML16) developed a novel satellite-based method using plume model computations constrained by satellite observations. Initially applied to A-Train satellite data, this approach showed good agreement with collocated ground-based radar wind profiler observations. We have since adapted it to GEO observations, allowing us to capture convective life cycles and diurnal variations. Using this data, we revisited the “hot tower” hypothesis, comparing our mass flux estimates and hot tower counts with those of Riehl and Malkus (1958) and Riehl and Simpson (1979). Finally, we discuss the implications of convective mass flux data for water vapor studies, as it controls the amount of atmospheric heating and drying.
| You plan to attend | Online (MS Teams) |
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