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On the sizes and lifetimes of cold pools

Journal Article · · Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2754· OSTI ID:1471012
 [1];  [2]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics
+ Show Author Affiliations
Cold pools of air, which are formed by evaporating precipitation, play a critical role in the triggering of new precipitation. Despite their recognized importance, little effort has been devoted to building simple models of their dynamics. Here, analytical equations are derived for the radius, height, and buoyancy of a cylindrical cold pool as a function of time, and a scale analysis reveals that entrainment is a dominant influence. These governing equations yield simple expressions for the maximum sizes and lifetimes of cold pools. The terminal radius of a cold pool is relatively insensitive to its initial conditions, with a typical maximum radius of about 14 times the initial radius, give or take a factor of 2. The terminal time of a cold pool, on the other hand, can vary over orders of magnitude depending on its initial potential and kinetic energies. Lastly, these predictions are validated against large-eddy simulations.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1471012
Journal Information:
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Journal Name: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society Journal Issue: 696 Vol. 142; ISSN 0035-9009
Publisher:
Royal Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (7)

On Cold Pool Collisions in Tropical Boundary Layers journal January 2019
Convective Self‐Aggregation As a Cold Pool‐Driven Critical Phenomenon journal April 2019
Circling in on Convective Organization journal June 2019
Tracking the Gust Fronts of Convective Cold Pools journal November 2019
Tracking the Gust Fronts of Convective Cold Pools text January 2020
Convective Self-Aggregation as a Cold-Pool Driven Critical Phenomenon text January 2020
Tropical continental downdraft characteristics: mesoscale systems versus unorganized convection journal January 2018

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES