An Investigation of the Local and Regional Environment of Intense Convective Systems in West Africa

西非强对流系统局地和区域环境调查

• 批准号: 0538164
• 负责人: Christopher Thorncroft
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: SUNY at Albany
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-15 至 2010-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0538164&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Investigation; Local; Regional; Environment; Intense

Convective systems of a range of sizes and intensities are responsible for the wet season precipitation in West Africa. However, the largest share of the precipitation is contributed by convective systems whose minimum 85GHz brightness temperatures are in the lowest 10th percentile ( 135K), indicating the presence of intense, mature deep convection. This research project seeks to learn more about the development of these intense convective systems, formulating a research goal of establishing how the regional circulation, topography, and land surface state create an environment favorable to the development of intense convective systems. To achieve this research goal, the Principal Investigator will use a combination of analysis of high-resolution microwave satellite imagery and hydrometeorological modeling on the cloud-resolving scale, supported by surface observations and model reanalysis. The research tasks are aimed at revealing the vertical equivalent potential temperature profiles correlated with a high probability of intense convection and learning how triggering mechanisms such as diurnal surface heating gradients and large-scale disturbances might release conditional instability. The broader impact of the project is its direct application to improving the prediction of weather and climate from daily to seasonal time scales in West Africa. The research should contribute to a better understanding and representation of the interaction of the regional monsoon with the land surface state in the development of intense convective systems.

各种大小和强度的对流系统是西非雨季降水的原因。然而，降水的最大份额是由对流系统贡献的，其最低85 GHz亮温在最低10%(135K)，表明存在强烈的、成熟的深对流。这一研究项目旨在更多地了解这些强对流系统的发展，制定一个研究目标，以确定区域环流、地形和陆面状态如何创造有利于强对流系统发展的环境。为实现这一研究目标，首席调查员将结合对高分辨率微波卫星图像的分析和云分辨率尺度上的水文气象建模，并辅之以地面观测和模型再分析。研究任务的目的是揭示与强对流高概率相关的垂直等效位温分布，并了解触发机制，如日表面加热梯度和大尺度扰动可能会释放条件不稳定。该项目的更广泛影响是，它直接应用于改进西非从每日到季节的天气和气候预报。这项研究应有助于更好地理解和表述区域季风与陆地表面状态在强对流系统发展过程中的相互作用。