The atmospheric structure during episodes of open cellular convection observed in KonTur 1981

Abstract

The KonTur (Konvektion und Turbulenz) 1981 experiment was primarily dedicated to the study of organized boundary layer convection. While two research aircraft were used for detailed boundary layer measurements, an aerological network of four stations in the North Sea yielded information on the mean atmospheric structure in organized convective situations. During the second experiment phase in October 1981, cold air advection caused intense convective activity. Four periods of well‐organized open convection cells could be determined from NOAA satellite images. The present paper contains the results from the aerological data set, which allowed the derivation of mean profiles of the dynamic and thermodynamic quantities with acceptable accuracy, but also of the horizontal gradients of thermodynamic quantities. Finally, the evolution of the most pronounced cellular episode is presented in a case study. Cellular episodes appeared during rather cold and dry periods in which potential temperature, specific humidity, and equivalent potential temperature in the convection layer reached a relative minimum. However, none of the mean atmospheric profiles differ considerably from those found under convective conditions without cellular organization. During the cellular episodes, horizontal gradients show generally small values throughout the convection layer.