Organization of Clouds and Precipitation in Extratropical Cyclones

Browning, K. A.

doi:10.1007/978-1-944970-33-8_8

Cited by 234 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…An important fraction of large-scale precipitation in extratropical cyclones occurs in the warm sector ahead of the cold front where air ascends poleward along the sloped isentropes within so-called warm conveyor belts (WCBs, Browning et al, 1973;Browning, 1990;Madonna et al, 2014). For central Europe, Pfahl et al (2014) quantified that 20-40 % of all extreme precipitation events during 1979-2010 were linked to WCBs and even 40-60 % either to a WCB or a cyclone.…”

Section: M Grams Et Al: Central European Floods In June 2013mentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric processes triggering the central European floods in June 2013

Grams

Binder

Pfahl

et al. 2014

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

135

107

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Abstract. In June 2013, central Europe was hit by a century flood affecting the Danube and Elbe catchments after a 4 day period of heavy precipitation and causing severe human and economic loss. In this study model analysis and observational data are investigated to reveal the key atmospheric processes that caused the heavy precipitation event. The period preceding the flood was characterised by a weather regime associated with cool and unusual wet conditions resulting from repeated Rossby wave breaking (RWB). During the event a single RWB established a reversed baroclinicity in the low to mid-troposphere in central Europe with cool air trapped over the Alps and warmer air to the north. The upperlevel cut-off resulting from the RWB instigated three consecutive cyclones in eastern Europe that unusually tracked westward during the days of heavy precipitation. Continuous large-scale slantwise ascent in so-called "equatorward ascending" warm conveyor belts (WCBs) associated with these cyclones is found as the key process that caused the 4 day heavy precipitation period. Fed by moisture sources from continental evapotranspiration, these WCBs unusually ascended equatorward along the southward sloping moist isentropes. Although "equatorward ascending" WCBs are climatologically rare events, they have great potential for causing high impact weather.

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Section: M Grams Et Al: Central European Floods In June 2013mentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric processes triggering the central European floods in June 2013

Grams

Binder

Pfahl

et al. 2014

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

135

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Stohl [2001] and Wernli and Bourqui [2002] emphasized the role of warm conveyor belts, i.e. airstreams ahead of cold fronts associated with extratropical cyclones in which strong diabatic heating by latent heat release occurs [Browning, 1990;Wernli and Davies, 1997], for rapid transfer of lower tropospheric air into the lower stratosphere. However, this midlatitude transport into the stratosphere must be seen against the background of the large-scale descent from the overworld and the high stability of the lowermost stratosphere, which requires a large increase in potential temperature for further deep penetration into the stratosphere, which cannot be accomplished by radiative heating.…”

Section: Ste In the Extratropicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratosphere‐troposphere exchange: A review, and what we have learned from STACCATO

et al. 2003

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[1] This paper provides a review of stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE), with a focus on processes in the extratropics. It also addresses the relevance of STE for tropospheric chemistry, particularly its influence on the oxidative capacity of the troposphere. After summarizing the current state of knowledge, the objectives of the project Influence of Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange in a Changing Climate on Atmospheric Transport and Oxidation Capacity (STACCATO), recently funded by the European Union, are outlined. Several papers in this Journal of Geophysical ResearchAtmospheres special section present the results of this project, of which this paper gives an overview. STACCATO developed a new concept of STE in the extratropics, explored the capacities of different types of methods and models to diagnose STE, and identified their various strengths and shortcomings. Extensive measurements were made in central Europe, including the first monitoring over an extended period of time of beryllium-10 ( 10 Be), to provide a suitable database for case studies of stratospheric intrusions and for model validation. Photochemical models were used to examine the impact of STE on tropospheric ozone and the oxidizing capacity of the troposphere. Studies of the present interannual variability of STE and projections into the future were made using reanalysis data and climate models.

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“…As the cyclone intensified over Newfoundland and moved offshore on 17 November (Figure 3c), its cold front pushed the (formerly) warm sector air out into the North Atlantic (Figure 3h). The CO tracer was contained in the cold frontal cloud band (the WCB) [Browning, 1990], which transported it into the middle and upper troposphere. This is exactly the type of continental outflow situation studied extensively during the NARE campaigns [e.g., Fehsenfeld et al, 1996;Cooper et al, 2001Cooper et al, , 2002.…”

Section: Flights On 19 November 2001mentioning

confidence: 99%

A backward modeling study of intercontinental pollution transport using aircraft measurements

Stohl¹,

Forster²,

Eckhardt³

et al. 2003

J. Geophys. Res.

326

350

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[1] In this paper we present simulations with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model to study the intercontinental transport of pollution from North America during an aircraft measurement campaign over Europe. The model was used for both the flight planning and a detailed source analysis after the campaign, which is described here with examples from two episodes. Forward calculations of emission tracers from North America, Europe, and Asia were made in order to understand the transport processes. Both episodes were preceded by stagnant conditions over North America, leading to the accumulation of pollutants in the North American boundary layer. Both anthropogenic sources and, to a lesser extent, forest fire emissions contributed to this pollution, which was then exported by warm conveyor belts to the middle and upper troposphere, where it was transported rapidly to Europe. Concentrations of many trace gases (CO, NO y , CO 2 , acetone, and several volatile organic compounds; O 3 in one case) and of ambient atmospheric ions measured aboard the research aircraft were clearly enhanced in the pollution plumes compared to the conditions outside the plumes. Backward simulations with the particle model were introduced as an indispensable tool for a more detailed analysis of the plume's source region. They make trajectory analyses (which, to date, were mainly used to interpret aircraft measurement data) obsolete. Using an emission inventory, we could decompose the tracer mixing ratios at the receptors (i.e., along the flight tracks) into contributions from every grid cell of the inventory. For both plumes we found that emission sources contributing to the tracer concentrations over Europe were distributed over large areas in North America. In one case, sources in California, Texas, and Florida contributed almost equally, and smaller contributions were also made by other sources located between the Yucatan Peninsula and Canada. In the other case, sources in eastern North America, including moderate contributions from forest fires, were most important. The plume's maximum was mainly caused by anthropogenic emissions from the New York area. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported where a pollution plume from a megacity was reliably detected over another continent.

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Organization of Clouds and Precipitation in Extratropical Cyclones

Cited by 234 publications

References 65 publications

Atmospheric processes triggering the central European floods in June 2013

Atmospheric processes triggering the central European floods in June 2013

Stratosphere‐troposphere exchange: A review, and what we have learned from STACCATO

A backward modeling study of intercontinental pollution transport using aircraft measurements

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