Articles | Volume 22, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7727-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7727-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Jun 2022
Research article |
| 15 Jun 2022
| 15 Jun 2022
Convective updrafts near sea-breeze fronts
Shizuo Fu
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Key Laboratory for Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Processes of the
Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
School of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou,
China
Richard Rotunno
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Huiwen Xue
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics,
Peking University, Beijing, China
Related authors
Shizuo Fu, Richard Rotunno, Jinghua Chen, Xin Deng, and Huiwen Xue
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9289–9308, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9289-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9289-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Deep-convection initiation (DCI) determines when and where deep convection develops and hence affects both weather and climate. However, our understanding of DCI is still limited. Here, we simulate DCI over a peninsula using large-eddy simulation and high-output frequency. We find that DCI is accomplished through the development of multiple generations of convection, and the earlier generation affects the later generation by producing downdrafts and cold pools.
Kaiqi Wang, Kai Bi, Shuling Chen, Markus Hartmann, Zhijun Wu, Jiyu Gao, Xiaoyu Xu, Yuhan Cheng, Mengyu Huang, Yunbo Chen, Huiwen Xue, Bingbing Wang, Yaqiong Hu, Xiongying Zhang, Xincheng Ma, Ruijie Li, Ping Tian, Ottmar Möhler, Heike Wex, Frank Startmann, Jie Chen, and Xianda Gong
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1873, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1873, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how ice forms in clouds is crucial for predicting weather and climate; however, accurately measuring the ice-nucleating particles that trigger ice formation remains challenging. We developed an advanced instrument called the Freezing Ice Nucleation Detection Analyzer. By refining temperature control, automating freezing detection, and rigorously testing, we demonstrated that this instrument can reliably measure ice-nucleating particles across diverse conditions.
Haifan Zhang, Xiangyu Lin, Qinghong Zhang, Kai Bi, Chan-Pang Ng, Yangze Ren, Huiwen Xue, Li Chen, and Zhuolin Chang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13957–13971, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13957-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This work is the first study to simultaneously analyze the number concentrations and species of insoluble particles in hailstones. The size distribution of insoluble particles for each species vary greatly in different hailstorms but little in shells. Two classic size distribution modes of organics and dust were fitted for the description of insoluble particles in deep convection. Combining this study with future experiments will lead to refinement of weather and climate models.
Shizuo Fu, Richard Rotunno, Jinghua Chen, Xin Deng, and Huiwen Xue
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9289–9308, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9289-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9289-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Deep-convection initiation (DCI) determines when and where deep convection develops and hence affects both weather and climate. However, our understanding of DCI is still limited. Here, we simulate DCI over a peninsula using large-eddy simulation and high-output frequency. We find that DCI is accomplished through the development of multiple generations of convection, and the earlier generation affects the later generation by producing downdrafts and cold pools.
Shian Guo and Huiwen Xue
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 69–85, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-69-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-69-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Observations in previous studies show that cloud droplets carry electric charges. We are curious about whether the electric interaction enhances the collision of cloud droplets. The effect of the electric charge and atmospheric electric field on the raindrop-formation process is studied numerically. Results indicate that a cloud with a small droplet size is more sensitive to an electric charge and field, which could significantly trigger droplet collision and accelerate raindrop formation.
Cited articles
Antonelli, M. and Rotunno, R.: Large-eddy simulation of the onset of the sea
breeze, J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 4445–4457,
https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAS2261.1, 2007.
Bechtold, P., Pinty, J.-P., and Mascart, P.: A numerical investigation of
the influence of large-scale winds on sea-breeze- and inland-breeze-type
Circulations, J. Appl. Meteor., 30, 1268–1279, 1991.
Benjamin, T. B.: Gravity currents and related phenomena, J. Fluid Mech., 31,
209–248, 1968.
Borne, K., Chen, D., and Nunez, M.: A method for finding sea breeze days
under stable synoptic conditions and its application to the Swedish west
coast, Int. J. Climatol., 18, 901–914, 1998.
Bryan, G.: Cloud Model 1, NCAR [code], https://www2.mmm.ucar.edu/people/bryan/cm1/ (last access: 8 October 2021), 2022.
Bryan, G. H. and Fritsch, J. M.: A benchmark simulation for moist
nonhydrostatic numerical models, Mon. Weather Rev., 130, 2917–2928,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2002)130<2917:ABSFMN>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Bryan, G. H. and Rotunno, R.: Gravity currents in confined channels with
environmental shear, J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 1121–1142,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-13-0157.1, 2014.
Carbone, R. E., Wilson, J. W., Keenan, T. D., and Hacker, J. M.: Tropical
island convection in the absence of significant topography. Part I: Life
cycle of diurnally forced convection, Mon. Weather Rev., 128, 3459–3480,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2000)128<3459:TICITA>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Chiba, O.: The turbulent characteristics in the lowest part of the sea breeze front in the atmospheric surface layer, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 65, 181–195, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708823, 1993.
Crosman, E. T. and Horel, J. D.: Sea and lake breezes: A review of numerical
studies, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 137, 1–29,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-010-9517-9, 2010.
Crosman, E. T. and Horel, J. D.: Idealized large-eddy simulations of sea and
lake breezes: Sensitivity to lake diameter, heat flux and stability,
Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 144, 309–328,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-012-9721-x, 2012.
Cuxart, J., Jiménez, M. A., Telišman Prtenjak, M., and Grisogono,
B.: Study of a sea-breeze case through momentum, temperature, and turbulence
budgets, J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 53, 2589–2609,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0007.1, 2014.
Dauhut, T., Chaboureau, J.-P., Escobar, J., and Mascart, P.: Giga-LES of
hector the convector and its two tallest updrafts up to the stratosphere, J.
Atmos. Sci., 73, 5041–5060, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-16-0083.1, 2016.
Deardorff, J. W.: Stratocumulus-capped mixed layers derived from a
three-dimensional model, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 18, 495–527,
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00119502, 1980.
Etling, D. and Brown, R. A.: Roll vortices in the planetary boundary layer:
A review, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol, 65, 215–248,
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00705527, 1993.
Fu, S.:
Updrafts near SBF, OSF, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/3HYPS, 2022.
Fu, S., Deng, X., Li, Z., and Xue, H.: Radiative effect of black carbon
aerosol on a squall line case in North China, Atmos. Res., 197,
407–414, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.07.026, 2017.
Fu, S., Rotunno, R., Chen, J., Deng, X., and Xue, H.: A large-eddy simulation study of deep-convection initiation through the collision of two sea-breeze fronts, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9289–9308, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9289-2021, 2021.
Grant, L. D. and van den Heever, S. C.: Cold pool dissipation, J. Geophys.
Res.-Atmos., 121, 1138–1155, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD023813, 2016.
Gryschka, M. and Raasch, S.: Roll convection during a cold air outbreak: A
large eddy simulation with stationary model domain, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32,
L14805, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022872, 2005.
Huang, Y., Meng, Z., Li, W., Bai, L., and Meng, X.: General features of
radar-observed boundary layer convergence lines and their associated
convection over a sharp vegetation-contrast area, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46,
2865–2873, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081714, 2019.
Kang, S.-L. and Bryan, G. H.: A large-eddy simulation study of moist
convection initiation over heterogeneous surface fluxes, Mon. Weather Rev.,
139, 2901–2917, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-10-05037.1, 2011.
Khanna, S. and Brasseur, J. G.: Three-dimensional buoyancy- and
shear-induced local structure of the atmospheric boundary layer, J. Atmos.
Sci., 55, 710–743, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055<0710:TDBASI>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Klemp, J. B. and Wilhelmson, R. B.: The simulation of three-dimensional
convective storm dynamics, J. Atmos. Sci., 35, 1070–1096, 1978.
Koch, S. E. and Clark, W. L.: A nonclassical cold front observed during
COPS-91: Frontal structure and the process of severe storm initiation, J.
Atmos. Sci., 56, 2862–2890,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1999)056<2862:ANCFOD>2.0.CO;2, 1999.
Koch, S. E. and Ray, C. A.: Mesoanalysis of summertime convergence zones in
central and eastern North Carolina, Weather Forecast., 12, 56–77,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0434(1997)012<0056:MOSCZI>2.0.CO;2, 1997.
Kraus, H., Hacker, J. M., and Hartmann, J.: An observational aircraft-based
study of sea-breeze frontogenesis, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 53, 223–265,
1990.
Lee, M. J., Kim, J., and Moin, P.: Structure of turbulence at high shear
rate, J. Fluid Mech., 216, 561–583, 1990.
Markowski, P. M. and Richardson, Y.: Mesoscale meteorology in midlatitudes,
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 407 pp., ISBN 978-0-470-74213-6, 2010.
Miller, S. T. K., Keim, B. D., Talbot, R. W., and Mao, H.: Sea breeze:
structure, forecasting, and impacts, Rev. Geophys., 41, 3,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2003RG000124, 2003.
Papanastasiou, D. K. and Melas, D.: Climatology and impact on air quality of
sea breeze in an urban coastal environment, Int. J. Climatol., 29, 305–315,
https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1707, 2009.
Park, J. M., Heever, S. C., Igel, A. L., Grant, L. D., Johnson, J. S.,
Saleeby, S. M., Miller, S. D., and Reid, J. S.: Environmental controls on
tropical sea breeze convection and resulting aerosol redistribution, J.
Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 125, e2019JD031699, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031699, 2020.
Patton, E. G., Sullivan, P. P., and Moeng, C.-H.: The influence of idealized
heterogeneity on wet and dry planetary boundary layers coupled to the land
surface, J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 2078–2097, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS3465.1,
2005.
Perez, G. M. P. and Silva Dias, M. A. F.: Long-term study of the occurrence
and time of passage of sea breeze in São Paulo, 1960–2009, Int. J.
Climatol., 37, 1210–1220, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5077, 2017.
Reible, D. D., Simpson, J. E., and Linden, P. F.: The sea breeze and
gravity-current frontogenesis, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 119, 1–16, 1993.
Rieck, M., Hohenegger, C., and van Heerwaarden, C. C.: The influence of land
surface heterogeneities on cloud size development, Mon. Weather Rev., 142,
3830–3846, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00354.1, 2014.
Robinson, F. J., Patterson, M. D., and Sherwood, S. C.: A numerical modeling
study of the propagation of idealized sea-breeze density currents, J. Atmos.
Sci., 70, 653–668, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-0113.1, 2013.
Rotunno, R., Klemp, J., and Weisman, M. L.: A theory for strong, long-lived
squall lines, J. Atmos. Sci., 45, 463–485, 1988.
Salesky, S. T., Chamecki, M., and Bou-Zeid, E.: On the nature of the
transition between roll and cellular organization in the convective boundary
layer, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 163, 41–68,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-016-0220-3, 2017.
Schmidt, H. and Schumann, U.: Coherent structure of the convective boundary
layer derived from large-eddy simulations, J. Fluid Mech., 200, 511–562,
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112089000753, 1989.
Shen, L., Zhao, C., and Yang, X.: Climate-driven characteristics of sea-land
breezes over the globe, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2020GL092308,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL092308, 2021.
Simpson, J. E.: A comparison between laboratory and atmospheric density
currents, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 95, 758–765,
https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49709540609, 1969.
Simpson, J. E.: Gravity currents in the laboratory, atmosphere, and ocean,
Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 14, 213–234, 1982.
Stephan, K., Kraus, H., Ewenz, C. M., and Hacker, J. M.: Sea-breeze front
variations in space and time, Meteorol. Atmos. Phys., 70, 81–95,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s007030050026, 1999.
Stull, R. B.: An introduction to boundary layer meteorology, 1st edn., Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 670 pp., ISBN 978-90-277-2769-5, 1988.
Sullivan, P. P. and Patton, E. G.: The effect of mesh resolution on
convective boundary layer statistics and structures generated by large-eddy
simulation, J. Atmos. Sci., 68, 2395–2415,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-10-05010.1, 2011.
Torri, G., Kuang, Z., and Tian, Y.: Mechanisms for convection triggering by
cold pools, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 1943–1950,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063227, 2015.
van Heerwaarden, C. C., Mellado, J. P., and De Lozar, A.: Scaling Laws for
the Heterogeneously Heated Free Convective Boundary Layer, J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 3975–4000,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-13-0383.1, 2014.
Wieringa: Representative roughness parameters for homogeneous terrain,
Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 63, 323–363, 1993.
Wood, R., Stromberg, I. M., and Jonas, P. R.: Aircraft observations of
sea-breeze frontal structure, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 125, 1959–1995,
1999.
Yang, F., Ovchinnikov, M., and Shaw, R. A.: Long-lifetime ice particles in
mixed-phase stratiform clouds: Quasi-steady and recycled growth, J. Geophys.
Res.-Atmos., 120, 11617–11635, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD023679, 2015.
Yang, Y., He, G.-W., and Wang, L.-P.: Effects of subgrid-scale modeling on
Lagrangian statistics in large-eddy simulation, J. Turbul., 9, N8,
https://doi.org/10.1080/14685240801905360, 2008.
Yu, L. and Weller, R. A.: Objectively Analyzed Air–Sea Heat Fluxes for the
Global Ice-Free Oceans (1981–2005), B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 88, 527–540,
https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-88-4-527, 2007.
Short summary
The convective updrafts near the sea-breeze fronts (SBFs) play important roles in initiating deep convection, but their characteristics are not well understood. By performing large-eddy simulations, we explain why the updrafts near the SBF are larger than but have similar strength to the updrafts ahead of the SBF. The results should also apply to other boundary-layer convergence zones similar to the SBF.
The convective updrafts near the sea-breeze fronts (SBFs) play important roles in initiating...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint