West Coast Precipitation Processes as Modulated by Storm Structure and Terrain

当大风暴经过时，山区地形对降水量和降水量分布有很大影响。2015-2016年冬季，在华盛顿州奥林匹克半岛开展了一项实地活动，以研究沿海地形附近的降水。这一后续项目将利用这些数据回答有关山区增加降水的可能机制的问题。这些事件具有很高的社会影响，进一步了解其发展的具体情况将有助于未来的预测。该项目还包括学生培训、面向公众的宣传，并由两名女性领导，这一群体在大气科学界的代表性不足。研究小组计划提高对冬季中纬度登陆气旋降水过程的了解，并确定这些过程如何受到天气条件和地形的调制。研究人员将使用2015-16年奥林匹亚山脉实验(OLYMPEX)期间收集的观测数据。OLYMPEX行动由许多地面降雨点、多部雷达和两架研究飞机组成。研究人员计划使用这些数据来回答两个主要的科学问题：1)当风暴的每个部分经过奥林匹克山脉的迎风坡、高地和背风面时，山脉对中纬度气旋降水的影响如何变化？以及2)在这些变化过程中运行的关键微物理和动力学过程是什么？

Mountainous terrain has a significant impact on the amount and distribution of precipitation when large storms pass through. In the winter of 2015-2016, a field campaign was conducted in the Olympic peninsula of Washington state to study precipitation near coastal terrain. This follow-up project will use that data to answer questions about possible mechanisms involved in the enhancement of precipitation by mountains. These events have high societal impact and further understanding of the specifics of their development will aid future forecasts. The project also includes student training, outreach to the public, and is led by two females, a group that is underrepresented in the atmospheric science community. The research team plans to improve the understanding of precipitation processes in wintertime mid-latitude landfalling cyclones and determine how these processes are modulated by synoptic conditions and terrain. The researchers would use observational data collected during the 2015-16 Olympia Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX). The OLYMPEX campaign consisted of a host of ground-based precipitation sites, multiple radars, and two research aircraft. The researchers plan to use that data to answer two main scientific questions: 1) How do the effects of mountains on mid-latitude cyclone precipitation vary as each sector of a storm passes over the windward slope, high terrain, and leeside of the Olympic Mountains?, and 2) What are the key microphysical and dynamical processes operating during these variations?