Identification

Title

How does LCL height influence deep convective updraft width?

Abstract

Previous studies have hypothesized that the width of deep convection should positively scale with lifting condensation level (LCL) height. To evaluate this hypothesis, we analyzed idealized large-eddy simulations with varying LCL heights and initial warm bubble widths in unsheared environments with comparable convective available potential energy. For a given initial warm bubble width, simulations with higher LCLs result in wider, deeper, and stronger cloudy updrafts compared to simulations with lower LCLs. Rising dry thermals in higher LCL simulations experience longer residence times within the sub-cloud layer, and consequently entrain more conditionally unstable air and grow wider before reaching the LCL. The resulting cloudy updrafts are wider, deeper, and have faster vertical velocities because of a reduction in entrainment-driven dilution of buoyancy, relative to lower LCL simulations. These results confirm the hypothesized positive relationship between LCL height and deep convective updraft width, and provide a physical explanation for this relationship.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7q81hj5

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

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keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

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Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2021-07-16T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

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Conformity

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version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact