Development of a Subcloud Layer over the Sea during a Cold Air Invasion

Abstract

Evaporation and vertical moisture and heat transfer from the underlying surface are the basis of cloud formation. The situation when the coming relatively cold stably stratified air moves over a warm ocean is a typical problem in the development of a turbulent convective layer. The problem of cloud formation is also of scientific and practical interest. This paper considers the problems of the formation of a turbulent convective layer over a warmer ocean and the vertical distribution of relative humidity. The results of the theoretical model are compared with the data of observations of the development of the turbulent convective layer at low latitudes (in the Indian Ocean) and at higher latitudes (in autumn over Lake Michigan). Approximate equations describe well the dynamics of temperature and humidity of the layer as a function of the difference between the temperatures of the approaching and near-surface air layers. The theoretical results are compared with the data on measurements of the condensation heights obtained at the Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport. Some discrepancy between them is due to the unsteadiness measurement and the approximations adopted in the theoretical model.