Diagnosis of the Heavy Rain near a Meiyu Front Using the Wet Q Vector Partitioning Method

A heavy rain process of the Changjiang-Huaihe Meiyu front (MYF) is diagnosed by the agency of the traditional Q vector partitioning (QVP) method to decompose the wet Q vector (Q) in a natural coordinate system that follows the isoentropes and by using the numerical simulation results of the revised MM4 meso-scale model. The technique shows that the partitioned wet Q vectors can lead to a significant scale separation of vertical motion related to the torrential rain. The results not only verify the existing conclusion that different scales interact throughout the rainstorm but also indicate the largely different roles of these scales during differing phases of the heavy ramfall on a quantitative basis. Specifically, during the developing stage, the large-scale plays a predominant role in forcing vertical motion, while frontal-scale forcing is secondary; during the intense stage, the frontal-scale evolves into the primary factor of forcing vertical motion, whereas the large-scale forcing is minor and plays a diminishing role and can even be ignored; and during the decaying stage, the large-scale once again serves as the main forcing of vertical motion in such a way that the forcing of the frontal-scale decays quickly and is of secondary importance. Furthermore, the partitioned wet Q vectors are suggested to be more suitable than the total wet Q vector for evaluating the potential physical mechanism of rainstorm genesis. The first step is that the forcing of large-scale $2?bla cdot {? Q}_s^*$ gives rise to the genesis of meso-scale $2?bla cdot {? Q}_n^*$ forcing; and then, accordingly as $2?bla cdot {? Q}_n^*$ forcing increases, whereby the secondary circulation is reinforced, the intensity of the rainfall is strengthened; and at last, the secondary circulation caused by $2?bla cdot {? Q}_n^*$ forcing is directly responsible for generation of the MYF heavy rainfall.

A STUDY OF PARTITIONING Q VECTOR ON BACKGROUND CONDITIONS OF A TORRENTIAL RAINFALL OVER SHANGHAI,CHINA ON 25 AUGUST 2008

A rainfall that occurred during 0200–1400 Beijing Standard Time(BST)25 August 2008 shows the rapid development of a convective system,a short life span,and a record rate of 117.5 mm h-1for Xujiahui station since 1872.To study this torrential rainfall process,the partitioning method of Q vector is developed,in which a moist Q vector is first separated into a dry ageostrophic Q vector(DQ)and a diabatic-heating component.The dry ageostrophic Q vector is further partitioned along isothermal lines in the natural coordinate to identify different scale forcing in adiabatic atmosphere,and the large-scale and convective condensational heating in non-uniform saturated atmosphere,convective condensational heating, and Laplace of diabatic heating that includes radiative heating and other heating and cooling processes,are calculated to study the forcing from diabatic heating.The effects of the environmental conditions on the development of the rainfall processes are diagnosed by performing the partitioning of Q vector based on 6-hourly NCEP/NCAR Final Analysis(FNL)data with the horizontal resolution of 1°×1°.The results include the following:(1)a low-pressure inverted trough associated with the landfall of Typhoon Nuri (2008),a strong southwesterly jet along the western side of the subtropical high,and an eastward-propagating westerly low-pressure trough provide favorable synoptic conditions for the development of torrential rainfall;(2)the analysis of DQ vector showed that the upward motions forced by the convergence of DQ vector in the lower troposphere(1000–600 hPa)favor the development of torrential rainfall.When DQ vector converges in the upper troposphere(500–100 hPa),upward motions in the whole air column intensify significantly to accelerate the development of torrential rainfall;(3)the partitioning analysis of DQ vector reveals that large-scale forcing persistently favors the development of torrential rainfall whereas the mesoscale forcing speeds up the torrential rainfall;(4)the calculations of large-scale condensational heating in non-uniform saturated atmosphere,convective condensational heating, and Laplace of diabatic heating showed that the forcing related to diabatic heating has the positive feedback on the convective development,and such positive feedback decays and dissipates when the convective system propagates eastward and weakens.

Q Vector Analysis of Torrential Rainfall from Meiyu Front Cyclone:A Case Study

Following similar derivation of quasi-geostrophic Q vector （Q^C）, a new Q vector （Q^N） is constructed in this study. Their difference is that the geostrophic wind in quasi-geostrophic Q vector is replaced by the wind in Q^N vector. The diagnostic analysis of Q^N vector is compared with that of Q^G vector in the case study of a typical Meiyu front cyclone （MYFC） occurred over Changjiang-Huaihe regions during 5-6 July 1991. The results show that the Q^N vector has more diagnostic advantages than Q^G vector does. Convergence of Q^N vector at 700 hPa is found to be a good indicator to mimic the horizontal distribution of precipitation. Q^N vector is further partitioned into four components： Q^Nalst （along-stream stretching）,Q^Ncurv （curvature）,Q^Nshdv （shear advection）, and Q^Ncrst （cross-stream stretching） in a natural coordinate system with isohypse （PG partitioning）. The application of Q^N PG partitioning in the MYFC torrential rain indicates that PG partitioning of Q can identify dominant physical processes. The horizontal distribution of 2V·Q^Nalst is similar to that of 2V·Q^N and mainly accounts for 2V·Q^N during the entire period of Meiyu. The effects of Q^Ncurv on rainfall enhancement fade from the mature stage to decay stage. Qshdv enhances precipitation significantly as the MYFC develops, and the effect weakens rapidly when the MYFC decays during its eastward propagation. Q^Ncrst shows little impacts on rainfall during the onset and mature phases whereas it displays significant role during the decay phase.Q^N alst and Q^Nshdv and Q^Ncrst show cancellation only during the decay period.