Air Mass Boundaries Research Articles

Improving surface-based precipitation phase determination through air mass boundary identification

Most hydrological models apply one empirical formula based on surface air temperature for precipitation phase determination. This approach is flawed as surface precipitation phase results from energy exchanges between falling precipitation and air in the lower atmosphere. Different lower atmospheric conditions cause different precipitation phase probabilities for near-freezing temperatures. Often directly measured lower atmospheric conditions are not available for remote areas. However, meteorological observations occurring before/after similar air mass boundaries have similar atmospheric conditions that vary from most other observations. Therefore, hydrological models can indirectly account for lower atmospheric conditions. Twenty years of manual observations from eight United States weather stations were used to compare misclassified precipitation proportions when analyzing (a) all precipitation observations together and (b) identified cold air mass boundary observations (CAB) and non-CAB observations separately. The CAB observations were identified by a rapid surface air temperature decrease. A two-surface air temperature threshold method with one threshold all snow (TS°C) and one all rain (TR°C) having a linear snow fraction decrease between the thresholds was used. The TS (0 °C), and TR (4 °C) values for CAB were 1 °C warmer than for non-CAB (−1 °C, 3 °C). Analyzing CAB and non-CAB separately reduced misclassified precipitation 23%, from 7.0 to 5.4%.

Measurements of 35S in the marine boundary layer at La Jolla, California: A new technique for tracing air mass mixing during Santa Ana events

35S (t1/2 = ∼87 days) is a radioactive isotope that is naturally produced in the upper atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays with 40Ar. In the atmosphere, 35S oxidizes to 35SO2, which further oxidizes to 35SO42− depending on the oxidative rates. Here, we report measurements of 35S activity in both 35SO2 (gas) and 35SO42− (aerosol) (coarse, >1.5 μm; and fine, <1.5 μm size fraction) collected during 2009–2010 at La Jolla, California, and we demonstrate that 35S is a unique tracer for understanding air mass mixing and boundary layer dynamics. The annual mean 35SO2 concentration is 71 ± 61 (mean ± 1σ) atoms/m3. The annual mean 35SO42− abundance in the fine fraction (455 ± 157 atoms/m3) is higher than in the coarse fraction (136 ± 59 atoms/m3). This is most probably a consequence of the fine sulfate aerosol fraction being produced by gas phase oxidation of 35SO2, whereas the coarse fraction is mainly derived from oceanic sea salt sulfate. 35S activity in coarse sulfate is mainly due to uptake of 35SO2 and subsequent oxidation on sea salt aerosols. 35SO2 and 35SO42−activities were observed to be higher during stratospheric‐tropospheric mixing and Santa Ana wind events that provide high‐altitude air mass mixing into the marine boundary layer. A model calculation shows that a maximum of 41% of total air sampled in the marine boundary layer recently originated from the free troposphere and mixed into the marine boundary layer during Santa Ana wind events. This work is the first to quantify and explain air mass mixing during Santa Ana events using35S activity.

The Impact of Airmass Boundaries on the Propagation of Deep Convection: A Modeling-Based Study in a High-CAPE, Low-Shear Environment

Abstract A suite of experiments conducted using a cloud-resolving model is examined to assess the role that preexisting airmass boundaries can play in regulating storm propagation. The 27 May 1997 central Texas tornadic event is used to guide these experiments. The environment of this event was characterized by multiple preexisting airmass boundaries, large CAPE, and weak vertical shear. Only the experiments with preexisting airmass boundaries produce back-building storm propagation (storm motion in opposition to the mean wind). When both the cold front and dryline are present, storm maintenance occurs through the quasi-continuous maintenance of a set of long-lived updrafts and not through discrete updraft redevelopment. Since the cold front is not required for back building, it is clear that back building in this environment does not require quasi-continuous updraft maintenance. The back-building storm simulated with both the cold front and dryline is found to be anchored to the boundary zipper (the intersection of the cold front and dryline). However, multiple preexisting airmass boundaries are not required for back building since experiments with only a dryline also support back building. A conceptual model of back building and boundary zippering is developed that highlights the important role that preexisting boundaries can play in back-building propagation.

The Collaborative Colorado–Nebraska Unmanned Aircraft System Experiment

The Collaborative Colorado–Nebraska Unmanned Aircraft System Experiment (CoCoNUE) was executed on 1 March and 30 September 2009. The principal objective of this project was to examine the feasibility of using a small unmanned aircraft operating semi-autonomously with an onboard autopilot to observe atmospheric phenomena within the terrestrial boundary layer covered by the United States National Airspace System. The application of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS; the aircraft along with the communications and logistics infrastructure required for operation) is beset by a number of engineering and regulatory challenges. This article discusses the strategies implemented to meet these challenges. Airmass boundaries served as the target of the flights conducted. These atmospheric phenomena have the fortuitous combination of an across-boundary scale that yields a coherent signal in the in situ meteorological data that can be collected by a UAS and an along-boundary scale that can be easily tracked via the exis...

Aircraft study of the impact of lake-breeze circulations on trace gases and particles during BAQS-Met 2007

Abstract. High time-resolved aircraft data, concurrent surface measurements and air quality model simulations were explored to diagnose the processes influencing aerosol chemistry under the influence of lake-breeze circulations in a polluted region of southwestern Ontario, Canada. The analysis was based upon horizontal aircraft transects conducted at multiple altitudes across an entire lake-breeze circulation. Air mass boundaries due to lake-breeze fronts were identified in the aircraft meteorological and chemical data, which were consistent with the frontal locations determined from surface analyses. Observations and modelling support the interpretation of a lake-breeze circulation where pollutants were lofted at a lake-breeze front, transported in the synoptic flow, caught in a downdraft over the lake, and then confined by onshore flow. The detailed analysis led to the development of conceptual models that summarize the complex 3-D circulation patterns and their interaction with the synoptic flow. The identified air mass boundaries, the interpretation of the lake-breeze circulation, and the air parcel circulation time in the lake-breeze circulation (3.0 to 5.0 h) enabled formation rates of organic aerosol (OA/ΔCO) and SO42− to be determined. The formation rate for OA (relative to excess CO in ppmv) was found to be 11.6–19.4 μg m−3 ppmv−1 h−1 and the SO42− formation rate was 5.0–8.8% h−1. The formation rates are enhanced relative to regional background rates implying that lake-breeze circulations are an important dynamic in the formation of SO42− and secondary organic aerosol. The presence of cumulus clouds associated with the lake-breeze fronts suggests that these enhancements could be due to cloud processes. Additionally, the effective confinement of pollutants along the shoreline may have limited pollutant dilution leading to elevated oxidant concentrations.

The Dependence of Storm Longevity on the Pattern of Deep Convection Initiation in a Low-Shear Environment

Abstract The sensitivity of storm longevity to the pattern of deep convection initiation (e.g., multiple, quasi-linearly arranged initial deep convective cells versus an isolated deep convective cell) is examined using idealized cloud-resolving simulations conducted with a low-shear initial environment. When multiple deep convective cells are initialized in close proximity to one another using either a line of thermals or a shallow airmass boundary, long-lived storms are produced. However, when isolated deep convection is initiated, the resultant storm steadily decays following initiation. These results illustrate that a quasi-linear mechanism, such as a preexisting airmass boundary, that initiates multiple deep convective cells in close proximity can lead to longer-lived storms than a mechanism that initiates isolated deep convection. The essential difference between the experiments conducted is that an isolated initial storm produces a shallower cold pool than when a quasi-linear initiation is used. It is argued that the deep cold pools promote deep forced ascent, systematic convective cell redevelopment, and thus long-lived storms, even in environments with small values of vertical shear. The difference in cold pool depth between the simulations is attributed to differences in the horizontal flux of cold air to the gust front. With a single initial storm, the few convective cells that subsequently form provide only a limited source of cold air, leading to a cold pool that is shallow and incapable of fostering continued updraft redevelopment.

HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO): fine-grained, global-scale measurements of climatically important atmospheric gases and aerosols

The HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) programme has completed three of five planned aircraft transects spanning the Pacific from 85 ° N to 67 ° S, with vertical profiles every approximately 2.2 ° of latitude. Measurements include greenhouse gases, long-lived tracers, reactive species, O(2)/N(2) ratio, black carbon (BC), aerosols and CO(2) isotopes. Our goals are to address the problem of determining surface emissions, transport strength and patterns, and removal rates of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols at global scales and to provide strong tests of satellite data and global models. HIPPO data show dense pollution and BC at high altitudes over the Arctic, imprints of large N(2)O sources from tropical lands and convective storms, sources of pollution and biogenic CH(4) in the Arctic, and summertime uptake of CO(2) and sources for O(2) at high southern latitudes. Global chemical signatures of atmospheric transport are imaged, showing remarkably sharp horizontal gradients at air mass boundaries, weak vertical gradients and inverted profiles (maxima aloft) in both hemispheres. These features challenge satellite algorithms, global models and inversion analyses to derive surface fluxes. HIPPO data can play a crucial role in identifying and resolving questions of global sources, sinks and transport of atmospheric gases and aerosols.

Atmospheric circulation is reflected in precipitation isotope gradients over the conterminous United States

The stable isotopic (δ18O and δ2H) composition of meteoric precipitation integrates information on the history of water fluxes to, from, and between air masses as they traverse the continents. The development of new methods relating isotopic data to water cycle processes will increase our ability to understand this system and its response to natural and anthropogenic forcing. Here we present an analysis of 2 years (1992–1993) of precipitation isotope data from 73 sites across the conterminous United States. We focus on patterns in the spatial precipitation isotope gradients (rate and direction of isotopic change in space), a metric which we suggest reflects two factors: (1) variation in the balance of rainout and land‐surface recycling for air masses moving across the continent and (2) the spatial juxtaposition of air masses carrying moisture of differing origin and rainout history (e.g., Pacific versus Gulf of Mexico moisture). We demonstrate that the position of zones of particularly high precipitation isotope slopes correspond to the time‐averaged position of air mass boundaries and to regions where prevailing moisture transport trajectories interact with orographic barriers. Differences in the location of high‐slope zones between winter and summer seasons and between the same seasons in 1992 and 1993 can be related to differences in circulation and weather patterns. These results suggest new opportunities for the interpretation of precipitation, vapor, and paleoclimate water isotope data in the context of regional climate dynamics through spatial analysis.

Evaluation of WRF Model Output for Severe Weather Forecasting from the 2008 NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed Spring Experiment

Abstract This study assesses forecasts of the preconvective and near-storm environments from the convection-allowing models run for the 2008 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) spring experiment. Evaluating the performance of convection-allowing models (CAMs) is important for encouraging their appropriate use and development for both research and operations. Systematic errors in the CAM forecasts included a cold bias in mean 2-m and 850-hPa temperatures over most of the United States and smaller than observed vertical wind shear and 850-hPa moisture over the high plains. The placement of airmass boundaries was similar in forecasts from the CAMs and the operational North American Mesoscale (NAM) model that provided the initial and boundary conditions. This correspondence contributed to similar characteristics for spatial and temporal mean error patterns. However, substantial errors were found in the CAM forecasts away from airmass boundaries. The result is that the deterministic CAMs do not predict the environment as well as the NAM. It is suggested that parameterized processes used at convection-allowing grid lengths, particularly in the boundary layer, may be contributing to these errors. It is also shown that mean forecasts from an ensemble of CAMs were substantially more accurate than forecasts from deterministic CAMs. If the improvement seen in the CAM forecasts when going from a deterministic framework to an ensemble framework is comparable to improvements in mesoscale model forecasts when going from a deterministic to an ensemble framework, then an ensemble of mesoscale model forecasts could predict the environment even better than an ensemble of CAMs. Therefore, it is suggested that the combination of mesoscale (convection parameterizing) and CAM configurations is an appropriate avenue to explore for optimizing the use of limited computer resources for severe weather forecasting applications.

Instantaneous fluctuations of temperature and moisture in the upper troposphere and tropopause region. Part 2: Structure functions and intermittency

Probability density functions (p.d.f.s) in MOZAIC instantaneous fluctuations of temperature, relative and absolute humidity with various spatial resolutions had shown signs of intermittency. This appears to have originated either from turbulence or certain physical processes (e.g. gravity waves, deep convection) that bring air masses of different origin close together or from air mass boundaries within the averaging volumes, at which the thermodynamical properties show a discontinuity and are nearly independent on both sides of the boundary. In the present paper, we derive a stochastic model for the observed p.d.f.s in the tropopause region and compare the p.d.f.s of the fluctuations in the atmosphere to small-scale Rayleigh-Benard convection p.d.f.s with similar shapes. In both cases, intermittency originates from rare events of large amplitude superposed unto a Gaussian background. The peculiar ogival shape of some of the distributions results from the sampling procedure, and the ogival character becomes more pronounced with increasing spatial resolution. Analysis of structure functions up to order three reveals that theMOZAIC data represent an intermediate state between large-scale two-dimensional and small-scale three-dimensional inertial range turbulence. This can be visualised by the scale interaction of the typical length of MOZAIC flight legs and the sampling rate (and hence also spacing). While flight legs belong to and exceed the synoptic scale, the events causing intermittency have a scale roughly corresponding to the sampling scale which is clearly sub-synoptic. Our results are directly relevant for the development of stochastic cloud-microphysical schemes in general circulation and weather forecast models.

Variations in Lake Levels during the Holocene in North America: An Indicator of Changes in Atmospheric Circulation Patterns

Fluctuations in the extent of closed lakes provide a detailed record of regional and continental variations in mean annual water budget. The temporal sequence of hydrological fluctuations during the Holocene in North America has been reconstructed using information from the Oxford Lake-Level Data Bank. This data base includes 67 basins from the Americas north of the equator. Maps of lake status, an index of relative depth, are presented for the period 10,000 to 0 yr BP. The early Holocene was characterised by increasingly arid conditions, which led to widespread low lake levels in the mid-latitudes by 9,000 yr BP. By 6,000 yr BP this zone of low lakes extended from 32oto 51oN. Many of the features of the present day lake-level pattern, particularly high lake levels north of 46oN and along the eastern seaboard, were established by 3.000 yr BP. Four distinctive regional patterns of lake behaviour through time are apparent. Histograms of lake status from 20,000 to 0 yr BP are presented for each of these regions. They illustrate the temporal patterns of lake-level fluctuations on a time scale of 103 — 104yr. Changes in lake status over North America are interpreted as indicating displacements in major features of the general circulation, specifically the zonal Westerlies and the Equatorial Trough, as reflected by changes in air mass trajectories and hence the position of air mass boundaries over the continent.

Evaluation of ECMWF water vapour fields by airborne differential absorption lidar measurements: a case study between Brazil and Europe

Abstract. Three extended airborne Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) sections of tropospheric water vapour across the tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic in March 2004 are compared to short-term forecasts of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The humidity fields between 28° S and 36° N exhibit large inter air-mass gradients and reflect typical transport patterns of low- and mid-latitudes like convection (e.g. Hadley circulation), subsidence and baroclinic development with stratospheric intrusion. These processes re-distribute water vapour vertically such that locations with extraordinary dry/moist air-masses are observed in the lower/upper troposphere, respectively. The mixing ratios range over 3 orders of magnitude. Back-trajectories are used to trace and characterize the observed air-masses. Overall, the observed water vapour distributions are largely reproduced by the short-term forecasts at 0.25° resolution (T799/L91), the correlation ranges from 0.69 to 0.92. Locally, large differences occur due to comparably small spatial shifts in presence of strong gradients. Systematic deviations are found associated with specific atmospheric domains. The planetary boundary layer in the forecast is too moist and to shallow. Convective transport of humidity to the middle and upper troposphere tends to be overestimated. Potential impacts arising from data assimilation and model physics are considered. The matching of air-mass boundaries (transport) is discussed with repect to scales and the representativity of the 2-D sections for the 3-D humidity field. The normalized bias of the model with respect to the observations is 6%, 11% and 0% (moist model biases) for the three along-flight sections, whereby however the lowest levels are excluded.

The Sensitivity of Convective Initiation to the Lapse Rate of the Active Cloud-Bearing Layer

Abstract Numerical experiments are conducted using an idealized cloud-resolving model to explore the sensitivity of deep convective initiation (DCI) to the lapse rate of the active cloud-bearing layer [ACBL; the atmospheric layer above the level of free convection (LFC)]. Clouds are initiated using a new technique that involves a preexisting airmass boundary initialized such that the (unrealistic) adjustment of the model state variables to the imposed boundary is disassociated from the simulation of convection. Reference state environments used in the experiment suite have identical mixed layer values of convective inhibition, CAPE, and LFC as well as identical profiles of relative humidity and wind. Of the six simulations conducted for the experiment set, only the three environments with the largest ACBL lapse rates support DCI. The simulated deep convection is initiated from elevated sources (parcels in the convective clouds originate near 1300 m) despite the presence of a surface-based boundary. Thermal instability release is found to be more likely in the experiments with larger ACBL lapse rates because the forced ascent at the preexisting boundary is stronger (despite nearly identical boundary depths) and because the parcels’ LFCs are lower, irrespective of parcel dilution. In one experiment without deep convection, DCI failure occurs even though thermal instability is released. Results from this experiment along with the results from a heuristic Lagrangian model reveal the existence of two convective regimes dependent on the environmental lapse rate: a supercritical state capable of supporting DCI and a subcritical state that is unlikely to support DCI. Under supercritical conditions the rate of increase in buoyancy due to parcel ascent exceeds the reduction in buoyancy due to dilution. Under subcritical conditions, the rate of increase in buoyancy due to parcel ascent is outpaced by the rate of reduction in buoyancy from dilution. Overall, results demonstrate that the lapse rate of the ACBL is useful in diagnosing and/or predicting DCI.

The Diurnal and Seasonal Variation of the Northern Australian Dryline

Abstract The diurnal and seasonal variations of the northern Australian dryline are examined by constructing climatologies of low-level dynamic and thermodynamic variables taken from the high-resolution Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Limited Area Prediction Scheme (LAPS) forecasts from 2000 to 2003. The development of the dryline is analyzed within the framework of the frontogenesis function applied to the mixing ratio and the airstream diagnostics of Cohen and Schultz. A case study of 12–13 October 2002 illustrating the airmass boundaries over the Australian region is also examined. Daytime surface heating produces sea-breeze circulations around the coast and a large inland heat trough that extends east–west along northern Australia. At night, air parcels accelerate toward low pressure, increasing convergence and deformation within the heat trough. This sharpens the moisture gradient across the tropical and continental airmass boundary into a dryline. This is different than the dryline of the Great Plains in the United States, which generally weakens overnight. The Australian dryline is strongest in spring just poleward of the Gulf of Carpentaria, where the moisture gradient across the heat trough is enhanced by the coast, and the axis of dilatation is closely aligned with mixing ratio isopleths. The dryline is weakest in winter, when the heat trough is weak. The LAPS 3-h forecasts are in good agreement with observations obtained from the Automatic Weather Station network. The 3-h forecasts capture the observed diurnal and seasonal cycle of the airmass boundaries. However, the sea-breeze circulation and ageostrophic flow into the surface heat trough is limited by the model resolution. The LAPS 3-h forecasts may therefore underestimate the nocturnal intensification of the dryline, especially since the inland moisture content is overestimated.

Kinematic Observations of Misocyclones along Boundaries during IHOP

Abstract During the International H2O Project, mobile radars collected high-resolution data of several 0.5–2-km-wide vertically oriented vortices (or misocyclones) along at least five mesoscale airmass boundaries. This study analyzes the properties of the misocyclones in three of these datasets—3, 10, and 19 June 2002—to verify findings from finescale numerical models and other past observations of misocyclones and to further the understanding of the role that they play in the initiation of deep moist convection and nonsupercell tornadoes. Misocyclones inflect or disjoint the swath of low-level convergence along each boundary to varying degrees depending on the size of their circulations. When several relatively large misocyclones are next to each other, the shape of low-level convergence along each boundary is arranged into a staircase pattern. Mergers of misocyclones are an important process in the evolution of the vorticity field, as a population of small vortices consolidates into a smaller number of larger ones. Additionally, merging misocyclones may affect the mixing of thermodynamic fields in their vicinity when the merger axis is perpendicular to the boundary. Misocyclones interact with linear and cellular structures in the planetary boundary layers (PBLs) of the air masses adjacent to each boundary. Cyclonic low-level vertical vorticity generated by both types of structures makes contact with each boundary and sometimes is incorporated into preexisting misocyclones. Intersections of either type of PBL structure with the boundary result in strengthened pockets of low-level convergence and, typically, strengthened misocyclones.

Tropopause folding at satellite‐observed spatial gradients: 1. Verification of an empirical relationship

Tropopause folding, a mechanism for stratosphere/troposphere exchange (STE), can be detected indirectly from strong spatial gradients in two satellite‐derived products that are primarily sensitive to tropopause height: the altered water vapor product, developed from the GOES water vapor channel; and the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer level 2 total ozone product. The images were preprocessed with an optimized smoothing algorithm that filtered out gradients at spatial scales of less than ∼30 km. This removed jagged, fine‐scale edges in the moisture fields and helped emphasize upper tropospheric air mass boundaries and dry air “streamers,” which are both associated with STE. In the verification data set, 13 out of 14 tropopause folds identified by an airborne lidar were correctly distinguished by the technique with no false positives. These results have been applied in an empirical model over the midlatitudes to predict spatial and temporal patterns in tropopause folding.

Signatures of tropopause folding in satellite imagery

A satellite‐based conceptual picture of the stratospheric contribution to the spring ozone peak is presented through a survey of flight measurements and satellite imagery from the Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox (TOPSE) program. We address the stratospheric contribution through the process of tropopause folding across air mass boundaries (the arctic and polar tropopause break) in the polar and midlatitude upper troposphere. These boundaries and the boundaries of their related outgrowing streamers are easily identifiable as sharp gradients in the altered water vapor (AWV) imagery, a linear modification of the GOES water vapor channel that represents upper tropospheric specific humidity. The close relationship between altered brightness temperature and total ozone (from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and the GOES sounder) along this gradient confirms the utility of AWV imagery in detecting the tropopause break. Transects constructed from aircraft lidar and in situ observations of ozone illustrate the existence of tropopause folding along the AWV gradient. Ten out of ten available transects during the February to May study period show tropopause folding where indicated by the satellite imagery. This is strong evidence that folding is ubiquitous across the polar/stratospheric air mass boundary during the study period, and that the associated intrusions of stratospheric air into the troposphere can be located continuously using AWV imagery.

The Atmospheric Boundary Layer In An Arctic Wintertime On-Ice Air Flow

A warm on-ice air flow from the open water over the Arctic sea ice in the Fram Straitwas, for the first time, systematically measured on 12 March 1998 by aircraft in thelowest 3 km over a 300-km long distance. The air mass modification and the processesinvolved are discussed. Over the water, air temperature was lower than water temperature so that a convectiveboundary layer (CBL) was present as initial condition. As soon as the CBL passed theice edge, a shallow stable internal boundary layer (IBL) was formed. In the residual CBL, turbulence and pre-existing convective clouds dissolved within about 20 km. Within about the same distance, due to the transition from unstable to stable stratification, the influence of surface friction increased in the IBL and decreased above the IBL with consequent generation of a low-level jet at IBL top. The IBL was strongly stratified with respect to both temperature and wind. The wind shear was around 0.1 s-1 so that the Richardson number in the IBL was subcritical and turbulence was generated. The IBL top grew to about 145 m over 230 km distance. The growth of the IBL was not monotonic and was influenced by (a) inhomogeneous ice surface temperatures causedby both different ice thickness and changes in the cloud conditions, and (b) leads in theice deck. At the front side of the on-ice flow, the air mass boundary between the warmair and the cold Arctic air was sharp (12 K over 10 km) at low levels and tilted withheight. Observations suggest that the stratified IBL was lifted as a slab on top of thecold air.

Comparison of marine and terrestrial Holocene climatic reconstructions from northeastern North America

Quantitative climate reconstructions based on marine dinocysts and terrestrial pollen sequences are consistent through the Holocene in northeastern North America. Principal components analysis (PCA) indicates a large-scale climate signal in the dinocysts and pollen. The combined and separate analyses of marine and nearby terrestrial pollen sequences from Hudson Bay, Labrador and the St Lawrence estuary differentiate tun dra, boreal forest and deciduous forest assemblages in time and space. These analyses indicate that the marine pollen record reflects vegetation changes of the regional terrestrial environment and allows direct correlations between the marine and terrestrial stratigraphies. Sea-surface temperatures estimated from dinocysts and terres trial air temperatures from pollen using the method of modern analogs show that the three regions had differing climate histories associated with their location with respect to deglaciation and air mass boundaries. High frequency climatic changes reconstructed for the St Lawrence estuary and Gulf, and a cooling reconstructed for the period prior to 8000 yr BP, are less reliable due to the larger values of the dissimilarity coefficients. Prior to 6000 yr BP, cool temperatures reconstructed along the Labrador margins, both in the marine and terrestrial environments, are in agreement with climate simulations indicating the persistence of an anticyclone over the Québec-Labrador ice sheet. In both Labrador and northwestern Québec, a late-Holocene cooling affects sites in the forest-tundra, but is not evident in Boreal forest sites, suggesting movements in the mean position of the polar front.

Mesoanalysis of Summertime Convergence Zones in Central and Eastern North Carolina

Abstract It is demonstrated that it is possible to perform informative mesoanalysis of summertime convergence boundaries in the southeastern United States by combining capabilities of the new WSR-88D Doppler radar with Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite imagery and conventional surface data. Observed phenomena are identified as thunderstorm outflow boundaries, sea-breeze fronts, horizontal convective rolls, deep synoptic-scale fronts, prefrontal troughs, shallow fronts (airmass boundaries lacking upper-level support), stationary and propagating boundaries of unknown origin, and the “Piedmont trough,” which is apparently a new feature discovered in the course of this research. The transition zone between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain was found to be a preferred location for convergence boundaries. An unexpectedly far inland advance of the sea breeze to central North Carolina occurred in some instances. The very sensitive “clear air mode” of the WSR-88D radar, when used in combination wi...