Toward a Further Understanding and Improved Forecasting of Coastal Quasi-linear Convective Systems

关于雷暴复合体以及它们是如何在美国大陆加强和维持自身的，已经有了大量的研究。关于这些复合体如何与沿海地区较冷、更稳定的海洋大气边界层空气相互作用的研究较少。这项研究将包括雷暴向近海移动时的数值模式模拟。这项研究的重要性在于，这些类型的雷暴复合体在美国大西洋中部和东北部人口稠密的沿海地区的恶劣天气报告中占了很大一部分。这个项目的主要成果将是了解导致海岸线附近雷暴衰减的因素，风暴在近海的存活，或者系统是否能够维持自己进入海洋。首席研究员将与国家气象局以及其他政府和私人实体互动，以确保将知识转移到决策者手中。该项目还将通过培训一名研究生为未来的科学工作者做出贡献。研究人员计划提高对演变中的准线性对流系统(QLCS)的理解和预测，因为它们从内陆地区向近海移动，并与沿海水域的海洋大气边界层(MABL)相互作用。该项目将通过使用云解析模式的理想化数值模拟来系统地研究风暴尺度的物理过程。在一套理想化的数值敏感性试验中，垂直风切变的大小和深度、与对流风暴相关的非绝热产生的冷池的强度以及海风-MABL边界的结构都将发生变化。激发这项研究的一些科学问题包括：低层切变或中层切变对QLCS演化的影响更大吗？吸入QLCS的空气的来源区域是什么？当系统与MABL边界相互作用并向近海移动时，QLCS特征如何变化？

There has been a considerable amount of study about thunderstorm complexes and how they intensify and sustain themselves over the continental United States. Less research has been conducted on how those complexes interact with the cooler, more stable air of the marine atmospheric boundary layer along coastal regions. This study will consist of numerical model simulations of thunderstorms as they move offshore. The importance of this research lies in the fact that these types of thunderstorm complexes contribute to a significant portion of severe weather reports in heavily populated coastal areas of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. The main outcome of this project will be an understanding of the factors that lead to the decay of the thunderstorms near the shoreline, survival of the storms until just offshore, or whether the systems can sustain themselves well out into the ocean. The lead researcher will interact with the National Weather Service and other government and private entities to ensure that the knowledge is transferred to decision-makers. This project will also contribute to the future scientific workforce through the training of a graduate student.The researcher plans to improve understanding and prediction of evolving quasi-linear convective systems (QLCS) as they move offshore from inland regions and interact with the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) over coastal waters. The project will systematically study the storm scale physical processes through idealized numerical modeling using a cloud resolving model. The magnitude and depth of the vertical wind shear, the strength of the diabatically generated cold pool associated with the convective storm, and the structure of the sea breeze-MABL boundary will be altered in the suite of idealized numerical sensitivity tests. Some of the scientific questions that motivate the study include: Is the low- or mid-level shear more influential on the evolution of the QLCS? What is the source region of the air being ingested into the QLCS? How do the QLCS characteristics change as the system interacts with the MABL boundary and as it moves offshore?