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Simulated Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves Over Terrain and Their Microphysical Implications

Simulated Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves Over Terrain and Their Microphysical Implications AbstractTwo Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) wave events over western Washington State were simulated and evaluated using observations from the OLYMPEX field campaign. The events, December 12 and December 17, 2015, were simulated realistically by the WRF-ARW model, duplicating the mesoscale environment, location, and structure of embedded KH waves, which had observed wavelengths of approximately 5 km. In simulations of both cases, waves developed from instability within an intense shear layer, caused by low-level easterly flow surmounted by westerly winds aloft. The low-level easterlies resulted from blocking by the Olympic Mountains in the December 12th case, while in the December 17th event the easterly flow was produced by the synoptic environment.Simulated microphysics were evaluated for both cases using OLYMPEX observations. When the KH waves were within the melting level, simulated microphysical fields, such as hydrometeor mixing ratios, evinced considerable oscillatory behavior. In contrast, when waves were located below the melting level, the microphysical response was attenuated. Turning off the model’s microphysics scheme and latent heating resulted in weakened KH wave activity, while removing the Olympic Mountains eliminated KH waves in the December 12th event, but not the December 17th case. Finally, the impact of several microphysics parameterizations on KH activity was evaluated for both events. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences American Meteorological Society

Simulated Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves Over Terrain and Their Microphysical Implications

Conrick, Robert; Mass, Clifford F.; Zhong, Qi
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences , Volume preprint (2018): 1 – Jul 2, 2018
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Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Copyright
Copyright © American Meteorological Society
ISSN
1520-0469
eISSN
1520-0469
DOI
10.1175/JAS-D-18-0073.1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractTwo Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) wave events over western Washington State were simulated and evaluated using observations from the OLYMPEX field campaign. The events, December 12 and December 17, 2015, were simulated realistically by the WRF-ARW model, duplicating the mesoscale environment, location, and structure of embedded KH waves, which had observed wavelengths of approximately 5 km. In simulations of both cases, waves developed from instability within an intense shear layer, caused by low-level easterly flow surmounted by westerly winds aloft. The low-level easterlies resulted from blocking by the Olympic Mountains in the December 12th case, while in the December 17th event the easterly flow was produced by the synoptic environment.Simulated microphysics were evaluated for both cases using OLYMPEX observations. When the KH waves were within the melting level, simulated microphysical fields, such as hydrometeor mixing ratios, evinced considerable oscillatory behavior. In contrast, when waves were located below the melting level, the microphysical response was attenuated. Turning off the model’s microphysics scheme and latent heating resulted in weakened KH wave activity, while removing the Olympic Mountains eliminated KH waves in the December 12th event, but not the December 17th case. Finally, the impact of several microphysics parameterizations on KH activity was evaluated for both events.

Journal

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences – American Meteorological Society

Published: Jul 2, 2018

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