The structure and energetics of Amazon squall lines
The role of the Amazon Basin as a global center of action for deep convection is quantified in the context of the planet's heat balance. Mesoscale heat and moisture budgets are presented for three synoptic-scale coastal originating systems (COS) over the Amazon Basin during the 1987 wet season. The budgets are obtained from volumetric analysis of mesoscale rawinsonde data from the April-May 1987 Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment (ABLE-2B). Classification of cloud and rainfall components is based on data from Portable Automated Mesonet (PAM) towers, GOES images, and radar. Satellite measurements of the total active cloud area, coupled with the mesoscale budge calculations, are used to determine the system-wide vertical transport of heat as a function of the COS life cycle. Maximum heat transport occurs in the COS mature stage when the system has its maximum spatial extent. The instantaneous heat transport for the 300-100 mb layer in a mature COS equals nearly 20% of the theoretical heat export requirements for the equatorial trough zone. A little more than half of the system-wide transport occurs in the dynamically active anvil cloud.
- Research Organization:
- Virginia Univ., Charlottesville, VA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 7164189
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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