Vertical Shear Instability Research Articles

Hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic simulations of dense waters cascading off a shelf: The East Greenland case

The cascade of dense waters of the Southeast Greenland shelf during summer 2003 is investigated with two very high-resolution (0.5-km) simulations. The first simulation is non-hydrostatic. The second simulation is hydrostatic and about 3.75 times less expensive. Both simulations are compared to a 2-km hydrostatic run, about 31 times less expensive than the 0.5km non-hydrostatic case.Time-averaged volume transport values for deep waters are insensitive to the changes in horizontal resolution and vertical momentum dynamics. By this metric, both lateral stirring and vertical shear instabilities associated with the cascading process are accurately parameterized by the turbulent schemes used at 2-km horizontal resolution. All runs compare well with observations and confirm that the cascade is mainly driven by cyclones which are linked to dense overflow boluses at depth. The passage of the cyclones is also associated with the generation of internal gravity waves (IGWs) near the shelf.Surface fields and kinetic energy spectra do not differ significantly between the runs for horizontal scales L>30km. Complex structures emerge and the spectra flatten at scales L<30km in the 0.5-km runs. In the non-hydrostatic case, additional energy is found in the vertical kinetic energy spectra at depth in the 2km<L<10km range and with frequencies around 7 times the inertial frequency. This enhancement is missing in both hydrostatic runs and is here argued to be due to the different IGW evolution and propagation offshore. The different IGW behavior in the non-hydrostatic case has strong implications for the energetics: compared to the 2-km case, the baroclinic conversion term and vertical kinetic energy are about 1.4 and at least 34 times larger, respectively. This indicates that the energy transfer from the geostrophic eddy field to IGWs and their propagation away from the continental slope is not properly represented in the hydrostatic runs.

Radar-based severe storm climatology for Austrian complex orography related to vertical wind shear and atmospheric instability

The paper examines the temporal and spatial distribution of intense convective cores as a function of CAPE and vertical wind shear. C band weather radar data are exploited over the complex orography of Austria. Further ERA-Interim data are used for the classification of synoptic flow and instability. A 5-year period of convective seasons shows the presence of severe thunderstorms over Austria. The spatial distribution of high radar reflectivity differs from the radar derived precipitation field due to the contribution of stratiform rain, weak convective events, and radar related measurement errors. Westerly and southerly flow classes are associated with more widespread thunderstorm development. One of the key results is that the strong deep-layer shear environment leads to organized, line oriented pattern over wide areas of Austria, except the observed minima over the Alpine crest. These preferred areas for severe storm occurrence can be well used for nowcasting. Especially during low CAPE conditions the magnitude of deep-layer shear is very important for the spatial arrangement, maximum size of the convective system, and time of occurrence. For the eastern part of Austria and the Alps, high deep-layer shear tends to produce larger cell cores in terms of high radar reflectivity. For the Alps during low CAPE conditions and for the eastern part of Austria for all CAPE classifications, the strong deep-layer shear increases the frequency of severe storms and shifts the peak of occurrence from afternoon toward the evening.

A Squall-Line-Like Principal Rainband in Typhoon Hagupit (2008) Observed by Airborne Doppler Radar

Abstract This study examines the structure and dynamics of Typhoon Hagupit’s (2008) principal rainband using airborne radar and dropsonde observations. The convection in Hagupit’s principal rainband was organized into a well-defined line with trailing stratiform precipitation on the inner side. Individual convective cells had intense updrafts and downdrafts and were aligned in a wavelike pattern along the line. The line-averaged vertical cross section possessed a slightly inward-tilting convective core and two branches of low-level inflow feeding the convection. The result of a thermodynamic retrieval showed a pronounced cold pool behind the convective line. The horizontal and vertical structures of this principal rainband show characteristics that are different than the existing conceptual model and are more similar to squall lines and outer rainbands. The unique convective structure of Hagupit’s principal rainband was associated with veering low-level vertical wind shear and large convective instability in the environment. A quantitative assessment of the cold pool strength showed that it was quasi balanced with that of the low-level vertical wind shear. The balanced state and the structural characteristics of convection in Hagupit’s principal rainband were dynamically consistent with the theory of cold pool dynamics widely applied to strong and long-lived squall lines. The analyses suggest that cold pool dynamics played a role in determining the principal rainband structure in addition to storm-scale vortex dynamics.

Non-axisymmetric vertical shear and convective instabilities as a mechanism of angular momentum transport

Discs with a rotation profile depending on radius and height are subject to an axisymmetric linear instability, the vertical shear instability. Here we show that non-axisymmetric perturbations, while eventually stabilized, can sustain huge exponential amplifications with growth rate close to the axisymmetric one. Transient growths are therefore to all effects genuine instabilities. The ensuing angular momentum transport is positive. These growths occur when the product of the radial times the vertical wavenumbers (both evolving with time) is positive for a positive local vertical shear, or negative for a negative local vertical shear. We studied, as well, the interaction of these vertical shear induced growths with a convective instability. The asymptotic behaviour depends on the relative strength of the axisymmetric vertical shear (s_v) and convective (s_c) growth rates. For s_v > s_c we observed the same type of behaviour described above - large growths occur with asymptotic stabilization. When s_c > s_v the system is asymptotically unstable, with a growth rate which can be slightly enhanced with respect to s_c. The most interesting feature is the sign of the angular momentum transport. This is always positive in the phase in which the vertical shear driven transients growths occur, even in the case s_c > s_v . Thermal diffusion has a stabilizing influence on the convective instability, specially for short wavelengths.

Instability Characteristics of Radar-Derived Mesoscale Organization Modes within Cool-Season Precipitation near Portland, Oregon*

Abstract The instability characteristics associated with different radar-derived mesoscale organization modes are examined using six cool seasons of operational scanning radar data near Portland, Oregon, and operational sounding data from Salem, Oregon. Additionally, several years of Microwave Rain Radar Ka-band vertically pointing radar data from Portland and Merwin, Washington, are used to characterize the nature and occurrence of generating cells and fall streaks. The combination of a new metric, convective-stratiform intermittency, with the classification of radar reflectivity maps into convective and stratiform precipitation types was applied to periods when the freezing level was &amp;gt;1.4-km altitude. This method distinguishes periods with embedded convective within stratiform mesoscale organization from those that were mostly convective or mostly stratiform. Mesoscale organization occurs in a continuum of states with predominantly stratiform structure occurring most frequently. Generating cells in the snow layer are common in cool-season storms and are primarily associated with potential instability aloft. For mostly stratiform and embedded convective within stratiform 3-h periods, the vertically pointing radar data showed nearly ubiquitous fall streaks in the snow layer originating above 3-km altitude. Stronger generating cells enhanced reflectivity in the rain layer consistent with a seeder mechanism. Stronger generating cells were more common during embedded convection within stratiform than in mostly stratiform periods. Nearly all embedded periods have active or latent (potential) instability. Hydrostatic instability more typically occurred at higher altitudes for embedded convective within stratiform periods compared to mostly convective periods. The occurrence of vertical wind shear instability was primary below 2-km altitude and was not typically associated with levels with generating cells.

Linear and non-linear evolution of the vertical shear instability in accretion discs

We analyse the stability and non-linear dynamics of power-law accretion disc models. These have mid-plane densities that follow radial power laws and have either temperature or entropy distributions that are strict power-law functions of cylindrical radius, R. We employ two different hydrodynamic codes to perform high-resolution 2D axisymmetric and 3D simulations that examine the long-term evolution of the disc models as a function of the power-law indices of the temperature or entropy, the disc scaleheight, the thermal relaxation time of the fluid and the disc viscosity. We present an accompanying stability analysis of the problem, based on asymptotic methods, that we use to guide our interpretation of the simulation results. We find that axisymmetric disc models whose temperature or entropy profiles cause the equilibrium angular velocity to vary with height are unstable to the growth of perturbations whose most obvious character is modes with horizontal and vertical wavenumbers that satisfy |kR/kZ| ≫ 1. Instability occurs only when the thermodynamic response of the fluid is isothermal, or the thermal evolution time is comparable to or shorter than the local dynamical time-scale. These discs appear to exhibit the Goldreich–Schubert–Fricke or ‘vertical shear’ linear instability. Closer inspection of the simulation results uncovers the growth of two distinct modes. The first are characterized by very short radial wavelength perturbations that grow rapidly at high latitudes in the disc, and descend down towards the mid-plane on longer time-scales. We refer to these as ‘finger modes’ because they display kR/kZ ≫ 1. The second appear at slightly later times in the main body of the disc, including near the mid-plane. These ‘body modes’ have somewhat longer radial wavelengths. Early on they manifest themselves as fundamental breathing modes, but quickly become corrugation modes as symmetry about the mid-plane is broken. The corrugation modes are a prominent feature of the non-linear saturated state, leading to strong vertical oscillation of the disc mid-plane. In a viscous disc with aspect ratio H/r = 0.05, instability is found to operate when the viscosity parameter α < 4 × 10−4. In three dimensions the instability generates a quasi-turbulent flow, and the associated Reynolds stress produces a fluctuating effective viscosity coefficient whose mean value reaches α ∼ 10−3 by the end of the simulation. The evolution and saturation of the vertical shear instability in astrophysical disc models which include realistic treatments of the thermal physics has yet to be examined. Should it occur on either global or local scales, however, our results suggest that it will have significant consequences for their internal dynamics, transport properties and observational appearance.

Rapid Mixed Layer Deepening by the Combination of Langmuir and Shear Instabilities: A Case Study

Abstract Langmuir circulation (LC) is a turbulent upper-ocean process driven by wind and surface waves that contributes significantly to the transport of momentum, heat, and mass in the oceanic surface layer. The authors have previously performed a direct comparison of large-eddy simulations and observations of the upper-ocean response to a wind event with rapid mixed layer deepening. The evolution of simulated crosswind velocity variance and spatial scales, as well as mixed layer deepening, was only consistent with observations if LC effects are included in the model. Based on an analysis of these validated simulations, in this study the fundamental differences in mixing between purely shear-driven turbulence and turbulence with LC are identified. In the former case, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) production due to shear instabilities is largest near the surface, gradually decreasing to zero near the base of the mixed layer. This stands in contrast to the LC case in which at middepth range TKE production can be dominated by Stokes drift shear. Furthermore, the Eulerian mean vertical shear peaks near the base of the mixed layer so that TKE production by mean shear flow is elevated there. LC transports horizontal momentum efficiently downward leading to an along-wind velocity jet below LC downwelling regions at the base of the mixed layer. Locally enhanced vertical shear instabilities as a result of this jet efficiently erode the thermocline. In turn, enhanced breaking internal waves inject cold deep water into the mixed layer, where LC currents transport temperature perturbation advectively. Thus, LC and locally generated shear instabilities work intimately together to facilitate strongly the mixed layer deepening process.

Co‐variability of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and the eastern North Pacific

In the Western Hemisphere, tropical cyclones (TCs) can form and develop in both the tropical North Atlantic (NA) and eastern North Pacific (ENP) Oceans, which are separated by the narrow landmass of Central America. Here it is shown that TC activity in the NA varies out‐of‐phase with that in the ENP on both interannual and multidecadal timescales. That is, when TC activity in the NA increases (decreases), TC activity in the ENP decreases (increases). Our analyses show that both vertical wind shear and convective instability contribute to the out‐of‐phase relationship, whereas relative humidity and vorticity variations at the lower troposphere do not seem to cause the relationship. The paper also discusses its association with the Pacific and Atlantic sea surface temperatures. An implication is that seasonal hurricane outlook can be improved by considering the NA and ENP together. It is hoped that this article will stimulate more research regarding TC activity in both the NA and ENP.

A generalized Osborn–Cox relation

The generalized temporal residual mean (TRM-G) framework is reviewed and illustrated using a numerical simulation of vertical shear instability. It is shown how TRM-G reveals the physically relevant amount of diapycnal eddy fluxes and implied diapycnal mixing, and how TRM-G relates to the Osborn–Cox relation, which is often used to obtain observational estimates of the diapycnal diffusivity. An exact expression for the diapycnal diffusivity in the TRM-G is given in the presence of molecular diffusion, based on acknowledging and summing up an entire hierarchy of eddy buoyancy moments. In this revised form of the Osborn–Cox relation, diapycnal diffusivity is related only to irreversible mixing of buoyancy, since all advective and molecular flux terms are converted to dissipation of variance and higher order moments. An approximate but closed analytical expression can be given for the revised Osborn–Cox relation with the caveat that this closed expression implies unphysical cross-boundary rotational fluxes.It is demonstrated that the original Osborn–Cox relation, in which advective and molecular flux terms are simply neglected, is an approximation to the full form valid to first order. In the numerical simulation the original Osborn–Cox relation holds to a surprisingly good approximation despite large advective fluxes of variance and large lateral inhomogeneity in the turbulent mixing.

The Initiation and Evolution of Multiple Modes of Convection within a Meso-Alpha-Scale Region

Abstract On 30 March 2006, a convective episode occurred featuring isolated supercells, a mesoscale convective system (MCS) with parallel stratiform (PS) precipitation, and an MCS with leading stratiform (LS) precipitation. These three distinct convective modes occurred simultaneously across the same region in eastern Kansas. To better understand the mechanisms that govern such events, this study examined the 30 March 2006 episode through a combination of an observation-based case study and numerical simulations. The convective mode was found to be very sensitive to both the environmental thermodynamic and wind shear profiles, with variations in either leading to different convective modes within the numerical simulations. Strong vertical shear and moderate instability led to the development of supercells in western Oklahoma. Strong shear oriented parallel to a surface dryline, coupled with dry air in the middle and upper levels, led to the development of the PS linear MCS in central Kansas. Meanwhile, moderate wind shear coupled with high instability and strong linear forcing led to the development of the LS MCS in eastern Kansas. Absent linear forcing, the moderate shear environment in eastern Kansas was supportive of isolated supercells in the numerical experiments. This suggests that the linear initiation mechanism was key to the development of the LS linear MCS. From the results of this study it is concuded that, for this event, localized environmental variations were largely responsible for the eventual convective mode, with the method of storm initiation having an impact only within the weaker shear environment of eastern Kansas.

Climate Response to Anomalously Large and Small Atlantic Warm Pools during the Summer

Abstract This paper uses the NCAR Community Atmospheric Model to show the influence of Atlantic warm pool (AWP) variability on the summer climate and Atlantic hurricane activity. The model runs show that the climate response to the AWP’s heating extends beyond the AWP region to other regions such as the eastern North Pacific. Both the sea level pressure and precipitation display a significant response of low (high) pressure and increased (decreased) rainfall to an anomalously large (small) AWP, in areas with two centers located in the western tropical North Atlantic and in the eastern North Pacific. The rainfall response suggests that an anomalously large (small) AWP suppresses (enhances) the midsummer drought, a phenomenon with a diminution in rainfall during July and August in the region around Central America. In response to the pressure changes, the easterly Caribbean low-level jet is weakened (strengthened), as is its westward moisture transport. An anomalously large (small) AWP weakens (strengthens) the southerly Great Plains low-level jet, which results in reduced (enhanced) northward moisture transport from the Gulf of Mexico to the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and thus decreases (increases) the summer rainfall over the central United States, in agreement with observations. An anomalously large (small) AWP also reduces (enhances) the tropospheric vertical wind shear in the main hurricane development region and increases (decreases) the moist static instability of the troposphere, both of which favor (disfavor) the intensification of tropical storms into major hurricanes. Since the climate response to the North Atlantic SST anomalies is primarily forced at low latitudes, this study implies that reduced (enhanced) rainfall over North America and increased (decreased) hurricane activity due to the warm (cool) phase of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation may be partly due to the AWP-induced changes of the northward moisture transport and the vertical wind shear and moist static instability associated with more frequent large (small) summer warm pools.

Distribution of water masses and diapycnal mixing in the Cape Verde Frontal Zone

The Cape Verde Frontal Zone separates North and South Atlantic Central Waters in the eastern North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. CTD‐O2 and shipboard ADCP data from three hydrographic sections carried out in September 2003 are used to study the structure of the front. Results show the relation between spatial variations of water masses and currents, demonstrating the importance of advection in the distribution of water masses. Diapycnal diffusivities due to double diffusion and vertical shear instabilities are also estimated. Existence of competition between the two processes through the water column is shown. Depth‐averaged diffusivities suggest that salt fingering dominates diapycnal mixing, except areas of purest South Atlantic Central Water. Here, double diffusion processes are weak and, consequently, shear of the flow is the main process. Results also show that strong mixing induced by vertical shear is associated with a large intrusion found near the front.

The impact of freshwater discharges on the ocean circulation in the Skagerrak/northern North Sea area. Part II: energy analysis

We perform eddy-permitting to eddy-resolving simulations of the Skagerrak/northern North Sea with a terrain-following numerical ocean model. We demonstrate that realistic representations of freshwater input are not required when the focus is on modelling mesoscale structures such as meanders and eddies. To arrive at this conclusion, we analyze the results using a recently developed energy diagnostic scheme to study the sensitivity to realistic representations of the lateral freshwater flux provided to the area from the Baltic Sea and by the major rivers. The scheme is suitable for analysis of growth of instabilities, and it has four basic instability processes prominent. We recognize both horizontal and vertical shear instabilities. There are two processes where average potential energy is converted to eddy kinetic energy, and they are related to the mean gradient in surface elevation and the mean lateral density gradient, respectively. The latter process is known as frontal instability. We demonstrate that the change in the eddy kinetic energy field is small, despite the large variations in the hydrographic properties from experiment to experiment. Moreover, generation of eddy activity appears at the same locations and with approximately the same strength regardless of actual representations of freshwater input. Furthermore, we find that vertical shear instability dominates the energy conversion processes in the Norwegian Coastal Current. Finally, we find that the areas off the northwest coast of Denmark recognized with enhanced eddy kinetic energy level is not caused by instability processes but eddy–eddy interaction rooted in variations in the sea level.

Cross-shelf transport of pink shrimp larvae: interactions of tidal currents, larval vertical migrations and internal tides

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 345:167-184 (2007) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps06916 Cross-shelf transport of pink shrimp larvae: interactions of tidal currents, larval vertical migrations and internal tides Maria M. Criales1,*, Joan A. Browder2, Christopher N. K. Mooers1, Michael B. Robblee3, Hernando Cardenas1, Thomas L. Jackson2 1Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149, USA 2NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149, USA 3US Geological Survey, Center for Water and Restoration Studies, 3110 SW 9th Avenue, Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33315, USA *Email: mcriales@rsmas.miami.edu ABSTRACT: Transport and behavior of pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum larvae were investigated on the southwestern Florida (SWF) shelf of the Gulf of Mexico between the Dry Tortugas spawning grounds and Florida Bay nursery grounds. Stratified plankton samples and hydrographic data were collected at 2 h intervals at 3 stations located on a cross-shelf transect. At the Marquesas station, midway between Dry Tortugas and Florida Bay, internal tides were recognized by anomalously cool water, a shallow thermocline with strong density gradients, strong current shear, and a high concentration of pink shrimp larvae at the shallow thermocline. Low Richardson numbers occurred at the pycnocline depth, indicating vertical shear instability and possible turbulent transport from the lower to the upper layer where myses and postlarvae were concentrated. Analysis of vertically stratified plankton suggested that larvae perform vertical migrations and the specific behavior changes ontogenetically; protozoeae were found deeper than myses, and myses deeper than postlarvae. Relative concentrations of protozoea in the upper, middle and bottom layers were consistent with a diel vertical migration, whereas that of postlarvae and myses were consistent with the semidiurnal tides in phase with the flood tide. Postlarvae, the shallowest dwellers that migrate with a semidiurnal periodicity, experienced the largest net onshore flux and larval concentrations were highly correlated with the cross-shelf current. These results provide the first evidence of an onshore tidal transport (a type of selective tidal stream transport, STST), in decapod larvae migrating in continental shelf waters offshore, ca. 100 km from the coast and at a depth of 20 m, while approaching the coastal nursery grounds. Longer time series would be necessary to establish whether internal tides play any role in the larval onshore transport of this species and determine if the STST is the dominant onshore transport mechanism. KEY WORDS: Selective tidal transport · Pink shrimp larval behavior · Internal tides · Farfantepenaeus duorarum Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Criales MM, Browder JA, Mooers CNK, Robblee MB, Cardenas H, Jackson TL (2007) Cross-shelf transport of pink shrimp larvae: interactions of tidal currents, larval vertical migrations and internal tides. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 345:167-184. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps06916 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 345. Online publication date: September 13, 2007 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research.

Kelvin–Helmholtz Billows in the Eyewall of Hurricane Erin

Abstract A photograph of vertically aligned Kelvin–Helmholtz billows in the eastern eyewall of Hurricane Erin on 10 September 2001 is presented. The vertical shear instability in the horizontal winds necessary to produce the billows is confirmed with a high-altitude dropwindsonde observation. This shear instability is not known to be common in tropical cyclone eyewalls and is likely only in cases with a very large eyewall tilt. However, research and reconnaissance aircraft pilots need to be aware of the possibility of their existence, along with other types of hazardous conditions, in such rare circumstances.

Simulations of vertical shear instability in accretion discs

The nonlinear evolution of the vertical shear instability in accretion discs is investigated using three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. A vertical dependence of the angular velocity destabilizes the disc and leads to the generation of velocity fluctuations enhancing the angular momentum transport. The instability emerges in the numerical models for large radial perturbation wave numbers. The growth time is a few tens of orbital revolutions.

A comparison study of the vertical and magnetic shear instabilities in accretion discs

We consider the stability properties of discs rotating with the angular velocity dependent on both the radial and vertical coordinates. A vertical dependence of Ω destabilizes the disc at any particular form of this dependence. The growth rate of the vertical shear instability is calculated and compared with that of the magnetic shear instability. We find that the vertical shear instability grows faster for a wide range of parameters.

Instabilidade linear de cisalhamento vertical em jatos geofísicos meridionais

The study of linear vertical shear instability of meridional (north-south) jets is conducted via an unidimensional hydrodynamic model, based on quasi-geostrophic potential vorticity conservation. The shape of the vertical jet profiles are motivated by the Brazil Current-Intermediate Western Boundary Current System that flows off the Brazilian Southeast coast and are built with the aim to satisfy necessary conditions for occuring baroclinic instability. The hydrodynamic model is based on Johns (1988) and its formulation is presented without the omission of algebraic details. Its physics is explored through numerically-solved examples and comparison with the analytical part of the model. The purpose is to subsidize the diagnosis of forms in which instability occur: at the ocean surface and in the interior of the water column. Additionally, the effect of the continental slope on the instability properties is investigated and discussed, through its effects on the propagation of unstable waves generated by instability process.

Analysis and Aladin prediction of a heavy precipitation event on the Eastern side of the Alps during Map IOP 5

During the Mesoscale Alpine Program - Intensive Observing Period 5 (MAP IOP 5) heavy precipitation occurred in the early morning of 4 October 1999 along the border between Slovenia and western Croatia. Orographic influence on convectively unstable air advected by the warm and humid current from the Mediterranean caused a large amount of rain. The existing frontal zone was modified by the convergence between the southerly winds associated with the Alpine lee cyclogenesis, and the northerly flow around the eastern flank of the Alps after a splitting process in the north Alpine orographic blocking. For special MAP IOP5 soundings, observations were made at 3- or 6-hourly time intervals, while prognostic temps on the direct ALADIN/LACE mesoscale model output at every 3 hour were taken for Ljubljana, Udine and Zagreb. These datasets were used as the input data for objectively derived vertical time cross-sections indicating both, the observed and the predicted atmospheric structure and its temporal changes at the locations considered. The diagnostic procedure was based on the High Resolution Isentropic Diagnosis (HRID) model. The analysis of the low tropospheric structure offers an explanation of this extraordinary case with a rapid frontal and orogenic development. The basic features are: 1. the strong vertical wind shear and pronounced convective instability ahead of the front; 2. the very high humidity concentration inside the frontal zone; 3. a typical bora layer covered by a temperature inversion after the frontal passage, and 4. a layer characterized by a weakening wind system above the temperature inversion. The latter process inhibits the vertical growth of convective clouds. Consequently, the observations of hourly precipitation amount in Zagreb and its surroundings show gradual decrease and, finally, cessation of rainfall. It is shown that the ALADIN/LACE model and its application by HRID were able to predict the essential features of these phenomena with high reliability as well as their usefulness and applicability in making local forecasts and nowcasting.

On the parameterization of interleaving and turbulent mixing using CTD data from the Azores Frontal Zone

CTD-data obtained in the Azores Frontal Zone using a towed undulating vehicle are analyzed to study the relationship between characteristics of intrusions and mean parameters of the thermohaline field. A self-similar dependence between intrusion intensity and hydrological parameters is obtained. The most well-founded interpretation of the empirical dependence is as follows: (a) the main source supporting intrusive layering is the salt finger convection; (b) the abrupt decrease of intrusion intensity with the reduction of geostrophic Richardson number obtained from the analysis is explained by the beginning of turbulence when salt fingers do not work any longer, so the “driving force” for intrusive motion disappears. These results are consistent with the conclusions of the paper [Kuzmina N.P., Rodionov V.B., 1992. About the influence of baroclinicity upon generation of the thermohaline intrusions in the oceanic frontal zones. Izvestiya Akad. Nauk SSSR, Atmosperic and Oceanic Physics 28 (10–11), 1077–1086]. These conclusions imply that there are three main mechanisms of intrusive layering at oceanic fronts, namely the 2D baroclinic instability of geostrophic flow, the vertical shear instability and the thermohaline instability where the driving source of intrusive motion is double diffusive convection. The baroclinic and thermohaline instabilities can generate intrusions of large vertical scale, while vertical shear instability usually gives rise to thin turbulent layers. Turbulence in these thin layers can prevent salt finger convection and thus destroy the energy source of the intrusive motion conditioned by thermoclinicity. Therefore, the baroclinicity plays two parts in the processes of the intrusive layering: (1) it prevents double-diffusion interleaving by means of turbulence, and (2) it generates intrusions due to the 2D baroclinic instability of geostrophic current. Using features of thermohaline interleaving as a specific tracer of turbulent mixing, we have estimated turbulent mixing coefficient as k t ∼ Ri −0.8 ( Ri>1), where Ri is the geostrophic Richardson number. Application of the proposed approach to other frontal zones is discussed.