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Title: Rain evaporation and moist patches in tropical boundary layers

Abstract

Moist patches are areas in the subcloud layer characterized by a positive water vapor anomaly compared to the environment and are considered important in triggering new convective cells. A correct understanding of the origin of the water vapor in these patches is, thus, essential to improving existing convective parameterizations. Recent studies have addressed this problem and have shown that contrary to what was previously thought, the main source of water vapor in moist patches are surface latent heat fluxes, instead of rain evaporation. This paper offers a different perspective to the topic, focusing on the origin only of the water vapor that makes moist patches anomalously moist when compared to the environment. Finally, it is found that near the surface, rain evaporation contributes half as much as latent heat fluxes, implying that a parameterization of the thermodynamic forcing should be more sensitive to environmental variables, like relative humidity, than recently suggested.

Authors:
 [1];  [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences
  2. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1469334
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0008679; AGS-1062016; AGS-1260380
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Geophysical Research Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 43; Journal Issue: 18; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; cold pools; thermodynamic forcing; moist patches; tropical meteorology; deep convection; Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model

Citation Formats

Torri, Giuseppe, and Kuang, Zhiming. Rain evaporation and moist patches in tropical boundary layers. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1002/2016GL070893.
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Torri, Giuseppe, & Kuang, Zhiming. Rain evaporation and moist patches in tropical boundary layers. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070893
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Torri, Giuseppe, and Kuang, Zhiming. Wed . "Rain evaporation and moist patches in tropical boundary layers". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070893. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1469334.
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@article{osti_1469334,
title = {Rain evaporation and moist patches in tropical boundary layers},
author = {Torri, Giuseppe and Kuang, Zhiming},
abstractNote = {Moist patches are areas in the subcloud layer characterized by a positive water vapor anomaly compared to the environment and are considered important in triggering new convective cells. A correct understanding of the origin of the water vapor in these patches is, thus, essential to improving existing convective parameterizations. Recent studies have addressed this problem and have shown that contrary to what was previously thought, the main source of water vapor in moist patches are surface latent heat fluxes, instead of rain evaporation. This paper offers a different perspective to the topic, focusing on the origin only of the water vapor that makes moist patches anomalously moist when compared to the environment. Finally, it is found that near the surface, rain evaporation contributes half as much as latent heat fluxes, implying that a parameterization of the thermodynamic forcing should be more sensitive to environmental variables, like relative humidity, than recently suggested.},
doi = {10.1002/2016GL070893},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
number = 18,
volume = 43,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Wed Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070893
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Cited by: 21 works
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Works referenced in this record:

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  • Torri, Giuseppe; Kuang, Zhiming; Tian, Yang
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The origin of water vapor rings in tropical oceanic cold pools
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journal, November 1984

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journal, November 1985

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journal, August 2015

Cloud Resolving Modeling of the ARM Summer 1997 IOP: Model Formulation, Results, Uncertainties, and Sensitivities
journal, February 2003

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journal, July 2014

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journal, February 1985

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journal, February 1988

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journal, January 2013

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journal, March 2001

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journal, February 2016

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journal, July 1982

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journal, February 2004

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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Moisture Distributions in Tropical Cold Pools From Equatorial Indian Ocean Observations and Cloud-Resolving Simulations
    journal, October 2018

    • Chandra, Arunchandra S.; Zuidema, Paquita; Krueger, Steven
    • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 123, Issue 20
    • DOI: 10.1029/2018jd028634

    On Cold Pool Collisions in Tropical Boundary Layers
    journal, January 2019

    • Torri, Giuseppe; Kuang, Zhiming
    • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 1
    • DOI: 10.1029/2018gl080501

    Tracking the Gust Fronts of Convective Cold Pools
    journal, November 2019

    • Fournier, Marielle B.; Haerter, Jan O.
    • Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 124, Issue 21
    • DOI: 10.1029/2019jd030980

    A Survey of Precipitation-Induced Atmospheric Cold Pools over Oceans and Their Interactions with the Larger-Scale Environment
    journal, November 2017

    Tracking the Gust Fronts of Convective Cold Pools
    text, January 2020

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