Further Studies of Convective Initiation, Structure and Maintenance

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The Principal Investigator will continue research into the initiation, structure and behavior of atmospheric convection, with the objective of enhancing understanding of storm initiation and maintenance and improving the ability to simulate and forecast these convective systems. The project consists of complementary investigations of such phenomena as squall lines, convective rolls and sea-breeze circulations, made utilizing a hierarchy of models ranging from the highly idealized to regional-scale mesoscale models with complex initializations and realistic topography. Specifically, the Principal Investigator will study how existing storms influence their surrounding environments, leading to their maintenance and/or the excitation of new convection, and how convection should be initiated in models, for the purposes of testing and tuning microphysical schemes. The primary research tool is numerical simulation, but with a significant and increasing emphasis on calibrating and validating the model results with data from the field, including radar and satellite information, and surface and upper air observations. The fundamental objective of this research is to extend knowledge of convective storms, with special emphasis on the convective initiation (CI) process. The intellectual merit of the research resides in an enhanced understanding of how storms develop and are maintained. The project's broader impacts include the positive influence this research could have on the ability of forecasters to understand and anticipate storm development and also in improving the skill of operational models in capturing CI in a realistic manner.