A phase analysis of vorticity vectors associated with tropical convection
Cui Xiao-Peng(崔晓鹏)†
Laboratory of Cloud-Precipitation Physics and Severe Storms (LACS), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Abstract Three new vorticity vectors have been proposed by Gao et al to study the two-dimensional tropical convection. In the present paper, phase relations between surface rain rate and the vorticity vectors are analysed with the calculations of lag correlation coefficients based on hourly zonally-averaged mass-integrated cloud-resolving simulation data. The cloud-resolving model is integrated with the vertical velocity, zonal wind, horizontal thermal and moisture advections, and sea surface temperature observed and derived from tropical ocean global atmosphere -- coupled ocean atmosphere response experiment (TOGA-COARE) for 10 days. Maximum local increase of the vertical component of the convective vorticity vector leads maximum surface rain rate by 2 hours mainly due to the interaction between vorticity and zonal gradient of ice heating. While maximum local increase of the vertical component of the moist vorticity vector leads maximum surface rain rate by 2 hours mainly because of the interaction between zonal specific humidity gradient and zonal buoyancy gradient. And the maximum local decrease of the zonal component of the dynamic vorticity vector leads maximum surface rain rate by 2 hours mainly due to the interactions between vorticity and vertical pressure gradient as well as vorticity and buoyancy.
Received: 20 June 2007
Revised: 29 January 2008
Accepted manuscript online:
Fund: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation
of China (Grant Nos 40433007 and 40505012), the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences (IAP07214) and ``Outstanding Oversea Scholars''
project (Grant No 2005-2-17).
Cite this article:
Cui Xiao-Peng(崔晓鹏) A phase analysis of vorticity vectors associated with tropical convection 2008 Chin. Phys. B 17 2304
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