Deep Convection in the Tropics

该奖项旨在增加对热带海洋深层对流与天气扰动（如热带低气压、东风波、各种对流耦合的赤道波模式和马登-朱利安涛动）的相互作用的理解。这是开展这类项目的一个特别好的时机，原因有二：1)最近的实地项目，包括两个关于热带气旋形成的项目（TPARC/TCS08和PREDICT）和一个研究马登-朱利安振荡的项目（DYNAMO），已经提供了大量关于热带深层对流的新的定量数据。这些观测（特别是关于热带气旋形成的观测）提供了对流质量通量的详细测量，以及对流所包含的热力学和风环境。2)利用弱温度梯度（WTG）近似为对流的云分辨模式提供横向边界条件已经发展到这样的程度，由此产生的计算可以与观测进行有用的比较。初步结果表明，考虑到对流周围的热力学环境，该模型在复制观测到的对流的垂直质量通量剖面方面表现出显著的技巧。将在各种气旋前情况下观测到的质量通量与WTG计算进行比较，仍有工作要做。还将探讨切变中的动量通量。此外，pi刚刚开始与DYNAMO等大型热带实验的结果进行比较。除了DYNAMO之外，还有大量早期的观测结果有待探索。在提案中概述了两种改进WTG技术的方法。其中一个涉及在云分辨模型中添加更现实的热力学，而另一个包括改进WTG？S瞬态行为。这些改进的目的是使模式中热带对流的表现更加逼真。该奖项有可能改善对流在全球模式中的参数化。对流在全球大气模式中的代表性不足是阻碍热带天气预报取得进展的主要障碍之一。热带地区更好的天气预报会反馈给美国大陆的天气预报。气候模型也存在这个问题。继续与克罗地亚斯普利特大学合作，有助于增进两国之间的科学交流。新墨西哥理工学院是一所为西班牙裔服务的机构。

This award aims to increase the understanding of the interaction of deep convection over tropical oceans with weather disturbances such as tropical depressions, easterly waves, various convectively coupled equatorial wave modes, and the Madden-Julian oscillation. This is a particularly good time to undertake such a project for two reasons:1) Recent field programs, including two on tropical cyclogenesis (TPARC/TCS08 and PREDICT and one studying the Madden-Julian oscillation (DYNAMO), have provided a wealth of new, quantitative data on tropical deep convection. These observations (especially those on tropical cyclone formation) provide detailed measurements of convective mass fluxes as well as the thermodynamic and wind environments in which the convection is embedded.2) The use of the weak temperature gradient (WTG) approximation to provide lateral boundary conditions for cloud-resolving models of convection has developed to the point where the resulting calculations provide useful comparisons with observation. Preliminary results show that the model exhibits significant skill in replicating vertical mass flux profiles of observed convection, given the thermodynamic environment surrounding the convection. Work remains to be done on the comparison of mass fluxes observed in various pre-cyclone cases with WTG computations. Momentum fluxes in shear will also be explored. In addition, the PIs are just beginning our comparisons with results from large-scale tropical experiments such as DYNAMO. In addition to DYNAMO, there exists a large set of earlier observations begging to be explored.In the proposal outlines two ways that the WTG technique can be improved. One involves adding more realistic thermodynamics to the cloud-resolving model while the other consists of improving WTG?s transient behavior. These improvements are designed to result in greater fidelity in the representation of tropical convection in the model.This award has the potential to improve parameterization of convection in global models. Inadequate representation of convection in global atmospheric models is one of the main obstacles preventing progress in the forecast of tropical weather. Better weather forecasts in the tropics feed back on weather predictions over the continental United States. Climate models also suffer from this problem. Continuation of a collaboration with the University of Split, Croatia serves the goal of increased the scientific interchange between the two countries. New Mexico Tech is an hispanic-serving institution.