Characteristics and Momentum Flux Spectrum of Convectively Forced Internal Gravity Waves in Ensemble Numerical Simulations

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 3723-3734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Joo Choi ◽  
Hye-Yeong Chun ◽  
In-Sun Song

Abstract Characteristics of convectively forced gravity waves are investigated through ensemble numerical simulations for various ideal and real convective storms. For ideal storm cases, single-cell-, multicell-, and supercell-type storms are considered, and for real cases, convection events observed during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) and in Indonesia are used. For each storm case, wave perturbations and the momentum flux spectrum of convective gravity waves in a control simulation with nonlinearity and cloud microphysical processes are compared with those in quasi-linear dry simulations forced by either diabatic forcing or nonlinear forcing obtained from the control simulation. In any case, gravity waves in the control simulation cannot be represented well by wave perturbations induced by a single forcing. However, when both diabatic and nonlinear forcing terms are considered, the gravity waves and their momentum flux spectrum become comparable to those in the control simulation, because of cancellation between wave perturbations by two forcing terms. These results confirm that the two forcing mechanisms of convective gravity waves proposed by previous studies based on a single convective event can be applied generally to various types of convective storms. This suggests that nonlinear forcing, as well as diabatic forcing, should be considered appropriately in parameterizations of convectively forced gravity waves.

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 4113-4120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Yeong Chun ◽  
In-Sun Song ◽  
Takeshi Horinouchi

Abstract The momentum flux of convectively forced internal gravity waves is calculated using explicitly resolved model-simulated gravity wave data. The momentum flux in a control simulation with nonlinearity and cloud microphysical processes is compared with that in quasi-linear dry simulations with either diabatic forcing or nonlinear forcing. It is found that the momentum flux induced by either of these two sources is significantly different from each other and also from the momentum flux in the control simulation. This is because the spectral distribution and magnitude of each wave source are significantly different and the cancellation of the momentum flux by cross-correlation terms between the two sources cannot be included in the momentum flux by a single source. This suggests that a parameterization of convectively forced gravity waves must take into account nonlinear forcing as well as diabatic forcing in order to qualitatively and quantitatively represent the reference-level momentum flux spectrum.


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 557-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Yeong Chun ◽  
Hyun-Joo Choi ◽  
In-Sun Song

Abstract In the present study, the authors propose a way to include a nonlinear forcing effect on the momentum flux spectrum of convectively forced internal gravity waves using a nondimensional numerical model (NDM) in a two-dimensional framework. In NDM, the nonlinear forcing is represented by nonlinear advection terms multiplied by the nonlinearity factor (NF) of the thermally induced internal gravity waves for a given specified diabatic forcing. It was found that the magnitudes of the waves and resultant momentum flux above the specified forcing decrease with increasing NF due to cancellation between the two forcing mechanisms. Using the momentum flux spectrum obtained by the NDM simulations with various NFs, a scale factor for the momentum flux, normalized by the momentum flux induced by diabatic forcing alone, is formulated as a function of NF. Inclusion of the nonlinear forcing effect into current convective gravity wave drag (GWD) parameterizations, which consider diabatic forcing alone by multiplying the cloud-top momentum flux spectrum by the scale factor, is proposed. An updated convective GWD parameterization using the scale factor is implemented into the NCAR Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). The 10-yr simulation results, compared with those by the original convective GWD parameterization considering diabatic forcing alone, showed that the magnitude of the zonal-mean cloud-top momentum flux is reduced for wide range of phase speed spectrum by about 10%, except in the middle latitude storm-track regions where the cloud-top momentum flux is amplified. The zonal drag forcing is determined largely by the wave propagation condition under the reduced magnitude of the cloud-top momentum flux, and its magnitude decreases in many regions, but there are several areas of increasing drag forcing, especially in the tropical upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere.


2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 1929-1939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlton W. Ulbrich ◽  
David Atlas

Abstract Raindrop size distributions (DSDs) for tropical convective storms are used to examine the relationships between the parameters of a gamma DSD, with special emphasis on their variation with the stage of the storm. Such a distinction has rarely been made before. Several storms from a variety of tropical locations are divided into storm stages according to the temporal dependence of their reflectivity factor Z, rainfall rate R, and median volume diameter D0. In most cases it is found that the DSD parameter D0 is approximately constant in time during the convective, or C, stage, which leads to a Z–R relation of the form Z = AR, that is, a linear relationship between Z and R. This finding implies the existence of equilibrium DSDs during the C stage. The convective stage is sometimes marked by pulsations in draft strength so that D0, R, and Z and associated values of the shape parameter μ decrease in a quasi-transition stage before increasing once more. Theoretical relations between the differential reflectivity ZDR and the ratio Z/R as functions of the DSD parameter μ are derived by assuming a gamma DSD and an accurate raindrop fall speed law. It is found that data derived from disdrometer observations lie along a μ = 5 isopleth for tropical continental C stages (Puerto Rico and Brazil) and along a μ = 12 isopleth for tropical maritime C stages [Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE)]. Small values of μ that occur in the weak updraft intervals do not impact the rainfall measurements because they correspond to relatively small R. The latter features imply that the measurement of rainfall for the convective stages can be performed with standard polarimetry involving only two measurables rather than three, provided knowledge of μ is available a priori. A new rain parameter diagram is presented in which isopleths of the generalized number concentration and D0 are superimposed on the Z–R plot. It is proposed that it is possible to estimate D0 from climatological and observable storm structural features, which, with Z, provide estimates of R. Such an approach is necessary for use with conventional radars until polarimetric radars are more widely available.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
In-Sun Song ◽  
Hye-Yeong Chun

Abstract The phase-speed spectrum of momentum flux by convectively forced internal gravity waves is analytically formulated in two- and three-dimensional frameworks. For this, a three-layer atmosphere that has a constant vertical wind shear in the lowest layer, a uniform wind above, and piecewise constant buoyancy frequency in a forcing region and above is considered. The wave momentum flux at cloud top is determined by the spectral combination of a wave-filtering and resonance factor and diabatic forcing. The wave-filtering and resonance factor that is determined by the basic-state wind and stability and the vertical configuration of forcing restricts the effectiveness of the forcing, and thus only a part of the forcing spectrum can be used for generating gravity waves that propagate above cumulus clouds. The spectral distribution of the wave momentum flux is largely determined by the wave-filtering and resonance factor, but the magnitude of the momentum flux varies significantly according to spatial and time scales and moving speed of the forcing. The wave momentum flux formulation in the two-dimensional framework is extended to the three-dimensional framework. The three-dimensional momentum flux formulation is similar to the two-dimensional one except that the wave propagation in various horizontal directions and the three-dimensionality of forcing are allowed. The wave momentum flux spectrum formulated in this study is validated using mesoscale numerical model results and can reproduce the overall spectral structure and magnitude of the wave momentum flux spectra induced by numerically simulated mesoscale convective systems reasonably well.


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (11) ◽  
pp. 3753-3775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Jee Kang ◽  
Hye-Yeong Chun ◽  
Young-Ha Kim ◽  
Peter Preusse ◽  
Manfred Ern

Abstract The characteristics of small-scale convective gravity waves (CGWs; horizontal wavelengths <100 km) and their contributions to the large-scale flow in the stratosphere, including the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), are investigated using an offline calculation of a source-dependent, physically based CGW parameterization with global reanalysis data from 1979 to 2010. The CGW momentum flux (CGWMF) and CGW drag (CGWD) are calculated from the cloud top (source level) to the upper stratosphere using a Lindzen-type wave propagation scheme. The 32-yr-mean CGWD exhibits large magnitudes in the tropical upper stratosphere and near the stratospheric polar night jet (~60°). The maximum positive drag is 0.1 (1.5) m s−1 day−1, and the maximum negative drag is −0.9 (−0.7) m s−1 day−1 in January (July) between 3 and 1 hPa. In the tropics, the momentum forcing by CGWs at 30 hPa associated with the QBO in the westerly shear zone is 3.5–6 m s−1 month−1, which is smaller than that by Kelvin waves, while that by CGWs in the easterly shear zone (3.1–6 m s−1 month−1) is greater than that by any other equatorial planetary waves or inertio-gravity waves (inertio-GWs). Composite analyses of the easterly QBO (EQBO) and westerly QBO (WQBO) phases reveal that the zonal CGWMF is concentrated near 10°N and that the negative (positive) CGWD extends latitudinally to ±20° (±10°) at 30 hPa. The strongest (weakest) negative CGWD is in March–May (September–November) during the EQBO, and the strongest (weakest) positive CGWD is in June–August (March–May) during the WQBO. The CGWMF and CGWD are generally stronger during El Niño than during La Niña in the equatorial region.


2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Joo Choi ◽  
Hye-Yeong Chun

Abstract The convective source and momentum flux spectra of a parameterization of convective gravity wave drag (GWDC) are validated in a three-dimensional spectral space using mesoscale numerical simulations for various ideal and real convective storms. From this, two important free parameters included in the GWDC parameterization—the moving speed of the convective source and the wave propagation direction—are determined. In the numerical simulations, the convective source spectrum shows nearly isotropic features in terms of magnitude, and its primary peak in any azimuthal direction occurs at a phase speed that equals the moving speed of the convective source in the same direction. It is found that the moving speed of the convective source is closely correlated with the basic-state wind averaged below 700 hPa (u700 and υ700). When the analytic convective source spectrum of the parameterization is calculated using the moving speed of the convective source as determined by u700 and υ700, its shape in all storm cases agrees with that from the simulation. The momentum flux spectrum at launch level (cloud top) is also calculated using the basic-state conditions and the moving speed of the convective source as determined by u700 and υ700. A comparison between the parameterization and simulation results shows that the parameterization reproduces the momentum flux spectrum from the simulation reasonably well. In the parameterization, two wave propagation directions of 45° (northeast and southwest) and 135° (northwest and southeast) best represent the momentum flux spectra from the simulations integrated over all directions when the minimum number of wave propagation directions is required for computational efficiency.


2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 3167-3189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Jee Kang ◽  
Hye-Yeong Chun ◽  
Young-Ha Kim

Abstract Spatiotemporal variations in momentum flux spectra of convective gravity waves (CGWs) at the source level (cloud top), including nonlinear forcing effects, are examined based on calculations using an offline version of CGW parameterization and global reanalysis data for a period of 32 years (1979–2010). The cloud-top momentum flux (CTMF) is not solely proportional to the convective heating rate but is affected by the wave-filtering and resonance factor and background stability and temperature underlying the convection. Consequently, the primary peak of CTMF is in the winter hemisphere midlatitudes, associated with storm tracks, where a secondary peak of convective heating exists, whereas the secondary peak of CTMF appears in the summer hemisphere tropics and intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), where the primary peak of convective heating exists. The magnitude of CTMF fluctuates largely with 1-yr and 1-day periods in major CTMF regions. At low latitudes and Pacific storm-track regions, a 6-month period is also significant, and the decadal cycle appears in the southern Andes. The equatorial eastern Pacific region exhibits a substantial interannual to decadal scale of variabilities. The correlation between convective heating and the CTMF is relatively lower in the equatorial region than in other regions. The CTMF in 10°N–10°S during the period of the pre-Concordiasi campaign approximately follows a lognormal distribution but with a slight underestimation in the tail of the probability density function. In Part II, the momentum flux and drag of CGW in the stratosphere will be examined.


Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 205
Author(s):  
Dan Lucas ◽  
Marc Perlin ◽  
Dian-Yong Liu ◽  
Shane Walsh ◽  
Rossen Ivanov ◽  
...  

In this work we consider the problem of finding the simplest arrangement of resonant deep-water gravity waves in one-dimensional propagation, from three perspectives: Theoretical, numerical and experimental. Theoretically this requires using a normal-form Hamiltonian that focuses on 5-wave resonances. The simplest arrangement is based on a triad of wavevectors K1+K2=K3 (satisfying specific ratios) along with their negatives, corresponding to a scenario of encountering wavepackets, amenable to experiments and numerical simulations. The normal-form equations for these encountering waves in resonance are shown to be non-integrable, but they admit an integrable reduction in a symmetric configuration. Numerical simulations of the governing equations in natural variables using pseudospectral methods require the inclusion of up to 6-wave interactions, which imposes a strong dealiasing cut-off in order to properly resolve the evolving waves. We study the resonance numerically by looking at a target mode in the base triad and showing that the energy transfer to this mode is more efficient when the system is close to satisfying the resonant conditions. We first look at encountering plane waves with base frequencies in the range 1.32–2.35 Hz and steepnesses below 0.1, and show that the time evolution of the target mode’s energy is dramatically changed at the resonance. We then look at a scenario that is closer to experiments: Encountering wavepackets in a 400-m long numerical tank, where the interaction time is reduced with respect to the plane-wave case but the resonance is still observed; by mimicking a probe measurement of surface elevation we obtain efficiencies of up to 10% in frequency space after including near-resonant contributions. Finally, we perform preliminary experiments of encountering wavepackets in a 35-m long tank, which seem to show that the resonance exists physically. The measured efficiencies via probe measurements of surface elevation are relatively small, indicating that a finer search is needed along with longer wave flumes with much larger amplitudes and lower frequency waves. A further analysis of phases generated from probe data via the analytic signal approach (using the Hilbert transform) shows a strong triad phase synchronisation at the resonance, thus providing independent experimental evidence of the resonance.


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