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Convective available potential energy

About: Convective available potential energy is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 936 publications have been published within this topic receiving 43773 citations. The topic is also known as: CAPE.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the statistical features of the convection (structure, intensity, and environmental parameters) in various disturbances simulated by a global simulation with a sub-kilometre grid spacing were clarified.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The integrated nowcasting through comprehensive analysis (INCA) system developed at the Austrian National Weather Service provides three-dimensional fields of temperature, humidity, and wind on an hourly basis, and two-dimensional field of precipitation rate in 15 min intervals as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: . The high-resolution analysis and nowcasting system INCA (Integrated Nowcasting through Comprehensive Analysis) developed at the Austrian national weather service provides three-dimensional fields of temperature, humidity, and wind on an hourly basis, and two-dimensional fields of precipitation rate in 15 min intervals. The system operates on a horizontal resolution of 1 km and a vertical resolution of 100–200 m. It combines surface station data, remote sensing data (radar, satellite), forecast fields of the numerical weather prediction model ALADIN, and high-resolution topographic data. An important application of the INCA system is nowcasting of convective precipitation. Based on fine-scale temperature, humidity, and wind analyses a number of convective analysis fields are routinely generated. These fields include convective boundary layer (CBL) flow convergence and specific humidity, lifted condensation level (LCL), convective available potential energy (CAPE), convective inhibition (CIN), and various convective stability indices. Based on the verification of areal precipitation nowcasts it is shown that the pure translational forecast of convective cells can be improved by using a decision algorithm which is based on a subset of the above fields, combined with satellite products.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the surface rainfall processes and diurnal variations associated with tropical oceanic convection are examined by analyzing a surface rainfall equation and thermal budget based on hourly zonal-mean data from a series of two-dimensional cloud-resolving simulations.
Abstract: The surface rainfall processes and diurnal variations associated with tropical oceanic convection are examined by analyzing a surface rainfall equation and thermal budget based on hourly zonal-mean data from a series of two-dimensional cloud-resolving simulations. The model is integrated for 21 days with imposed large-scale vertical velocity, zonal wind, and horizontal advection obtained from the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) in the control experiment. Diurnal analysis shows that the infrared radiative cooling after sunset, as well as the advective cooling associated with imposed large-scale ascending motion, destabilize the atmosphere and release convective available potential energy to energize nocturnal convective development. Substantial local atmospheric drying is associated with the nocturnal rainfall peak in early morning, which is a result of the large condensation and deposition rates in the vapor budget. Sensitivity experiments show that diurnal variations of radiation and large-scale forcing can produce a nocturnal rainfall peak through infrared and advective cooling, respectively.

18 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of convective available potential energy (CAPE) and wind shear on storms in a Titan-like environment is explored through numerical simulation, and it is shown that Titan storms should respond to changes in the Richardson Number in a manner similar to storms on Earth.
Abstract: Titan has deep convective clouds driven by the release of latent from methane condensation. As on Earth, the presence of convective available potential energy (CAPE), which quantifies the amount of energy available through condensation, is required for storms to develop. While CAPE is a requirement for storms, the dynamics, morphology, and longevity of storms on Earth is controlled by both CAPE and wind shear, often expressed as a ratio in the form of the bulk Richardson Number. The impact of CAPE and wind shear on storms in a Titan-like environment are explored through numerical simulation. Model results indicate that Titan storms should respond to changes in the Richardson Number in a manner similar to storms on Earth. Very long-lived storms (>24 h) propagating for 1000 km or more might be possible on Titan when CAPE and wind shear are properly balanced. Some of the simulated storms exhibit dynamics similar to squall lines. Varying amounts of shear in the Titan environment might explain the variety of convective cloud expressions—varying from short-lived single cell storms to longer-lived linear features and large cloud bursts—identified in Cassini orbiter and ground-based observations. The varying amounts and spatial distribution of precipitation, as well as surface winds associated with storms, should have implications on the formation of fluvial and aeolian features and on the exchange of methane with the surface and lakes.

18 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of surface fluxes on tropical oceanic squall line development and associated precipitation processes was examined using a three-dimensional cloud-resolving model, and it was shown that the high-energy air from the boundary layer in the clear area is what feeds the convection, while the convective available potential energy (CAPE) is removed by convection.
Abstract: Two tropical oceanic squall lines, from the Tropical Ocean–Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) and the Global Atmospheric Research Program Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE), that developed over the west Pacific and east Atlantic, respectively, are simulated using a three-dimensional cloud-resolving model to examine the impact of surface fluxes on tropical squall line development and associated precipitation processes. The important question of how convective available potential energy (CAPE) is maintained in clear and cloudy areas in the tropics is investigated. The boundary-layer structure and evolution in the clear inflow area are also discussed. Although the cloud structure and precipitation intensity are different between the TOGA COARE and GATE squall line cases, the effects of the surface fluxes on the amount of rainfall and on the cloud development processes are quite similar. The area where surface fluxes originated was categorized into clear and cloudy regions according to whether there was cloud in the vertical column. The model results indicated that the surface fluxes from the large clear-air environment are the dominant moisture source for tropical squall line development, even though the surface fluxes in the cloud region display a large peak. The high-energy air from the boundary layer in the clear area is what feeds the convection, while the CAPE is removed by the convection. Trajectory and water budget analyses also indicate that most of the moisture (90%) is from the boundary layer of the clear-air environment. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society

18 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202365
202291
202151
202038
201932
201827