Up-Sliding Slantwise Vorticity Development and the Complete Vorticity Equation with Mass Forcing

The moist potential vorticity (MPV) equation is derived from complete atmospheric equations including the effect of mass forcing, with which the theory of Up-sliding Slantwise Vorticity Development, (USVD) is proposed based on the theory of Slantwise Vorticity Development (SVD). When an air parcel slides up along a slantwise isentropic surface, its vertical component of relative vorticity will develop, and the steeper the isentropic surface is, the more violent the development will he. From the definition of MPV and the MPV equation produced here in, a complete vorticity equation is then put forward with mass forcing, which explicitly includes the effects of both internal forcings, such as variations of stability, baroclinicity, and vertical shear of horizontal wind, arid external forcings, such as diabatic heating, friction, and mass forcing. When isentropic surfaces are flat, the complete vorticity equation matches its traditional counterpart. The physical interpretations of some of the items which are included in the complete- vorticity equation but not in the traditional one are studied with a simplified model of the Changjiang-Huaihe Meiyu front. A 60-h simulation is then performed to reproduce a torrential rain event in the Changjiang-Huaihe region and the output of the model is studied qualitatively based on the theory of USVD. The result shows that the conditions of the theory of USVD are easily satisfied immediately in front of mesoscale rainstorms in the downwind direction, that is, the theory of USVD is important to the development and movement of these kinds of systems.

Dynamical and Thermal Problems in Vortex Development and Movement. Part II: Generalized Slantwise Vorticity Development

The development of vertical vorticity under adiabatic condition is investigated by virtue of the view of potential vorticity and potential temperature （PV-θ） and from a Lagrangian perspective. A new concept of generalized slantwise vorticity development （GSVD） is introduced for adiabatic condition. The GSVD is a coordinate independent framework of vorticity development （VD）, which includes slantwise vorticity development （SVD） when a particle is sliding down the concave slope or up the convex slope of a sharply tilting isentropic surface under stable or unstable condition. The SVD is a special VD for studying the severe weather systems with rapid development of vertical vorticity. In addition, the GSVD clarifies VD and SVD. The criteria for VD and SVD demonstrate that the demand for SVD is much more restricted than the demand for VD. When an air parcel is moving down the concave slope or up the convex slope Of a sharply tilting isentropic surface in a stable stratified atmosphere with its stability decreasing, or in an unstable atmosphere with its stability increasing, i.e., its stability θz approaches zero, its vertical vorticity can develop rapidly if its CD is decreasing. The theoretical results are employed to analyze a Tibetan Plateau （TP） vortex （TPV）, which appeared over the TP, then slid down and moved eastward in late July 2008, resulting in heavy rainfall in Sichuan Province and along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The change of PV2 contributed to the intensification of the TPV from 0000 to 0600 UTC 22 July 2008 when it slid upward on the upslope of the northeastern edge of the Sichuan basin, since the changes in both horizontal vorticity ~？~ and baroclinity Os have positive effects on the development of vertical vorticity. At 0600 UTC 22 July 2008, the criterion for SVD at 300 K isentropic surface is satisfied, meaning that SVD occurred and contributed significantly to the development of vertical vorticity. The appearance of the stronger signals concerning the VD and SVD surrounding the vortex indicates that the GSVD concept can serve as a useful tool for diagnosing the development of weather systems.

CONSERVATION OF MOIST POTENTIAL VORTICITY AND DOWN-SLIDING SLANTWISE VORTICITY DEVELOPMENT

An accurate form of the moist potential vorticity(MPV)equation was deduced from a complete set of primitive equations.It was shown that motion in a saturated atmosphere without diabatic heat- ing and friction conserves moist potential vorticity.This property was then used to investigate the de- velopment of vertical vorticity in moist baroclinic processes.Results show that in the framework of moist isentropic coordinate,vorticity development can result from reduction of convective stability,or convergence,or latent heat release at isentropic surfaces.However,the application of the usual analy- sis of moist isentropic potential vorticity is limited due to the declination of moist isentropic surfaces. and a theory of development based on z-coordinate and p-coordinate was then proposed.According to this theory,whether the atmosphere is moist-symmetrically stable or unstable,or convective stable or unstable,the reduction of convective stability,the increase of the vertical shear of horizontal wind or moist baroclinity may result in the increase of vertical vorticity,so long as the moist isentropic surface is slantwise.The larger the declination of the moist isentropic surface,the more vigorous the develop- ment of vertical vorticity.In a region with a monsoon front to the north and the warm and moist air to the south,or by the north of the front,the moist isentropes are very steep.The is the region most favorable for development of vorticities and formation of torrential rain. For a case of persistent torrential rain occurring in the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang and Huaihe Rivers in June 11-15,1991,moist potential vorticity analysis,especially the isobaric analysis of its vertical and horizontal components,i.e.MPV1 and MPV2,respectively,is effective for identifying synoptic systems not only in middle and high latitudes,but also in low lati- tudes and in the lower troposphere.It can serve as a powerful tool for the diagnosis and prediction of torrential rain.

ANALYSIS OF EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POTENTIAL VORTICITY LOCATED AT SOUTH EDGE OF SOUTH ASIA HIGH ON INTENSIFICATION OF TROPICAL CYCLONES

The NCEP 1°×1°reanalysis of June-to-September dataset between 2002 to 2009 is used in this study to conduct statistical analysis of the relationship between the environmental potential vorticity(PV)on 150 hPa located at the south edge of South Asia High(SAH)and TCs making landfall.The results show that 23 of the TCs are affected by the PV on 150 hPa located at the south edge of SAH between 2002 to2009,and three TCs'center pressure decline after the high-value environmental PV moves to the center of the TCs.These three TCs are Senlaku(0216),Bilis(0604)and Linfa(0903).Through diagnostic analysis from the viewpoint of isolines,we determined the relationship between the intensification of these TCs and the PV anomaly at high levels;the isentropic surface is close to the high level’s PV anomaly under the influence of the 150-hPa PV anomaly,leading to the decline of isentropic surfaces on both sides of the PV anomaly.Then the warm core of the middle and high levels of the TC strengthens and PV increases at the middle level,and both of them are beneficial to the reinforcement of the cyclonic vorticity in the low level.As a result,the center pressure of the TC declines.According to Wu’s theory of Slantwise Vorticity Development(SVD),the incline of the isentropic surfaces leads to the development of vertical vorticity,contributing to the vertical motion and the release of the latent heat.Then the warm core of the TC strengthens and the TC strengthens,too.Otherwise,piecewise PV inversion also shows that the high-level PV influences the mid-level more than the low level.

Discussion on the Complete-Form Vorticity Equation and Slantwise Vorticity Development

The complete form of the vertical vorticity tendency equation （the complete-form vorticity equation） is derived from the Ertel potential vorticity equation to contain thermodynamic factors. In this study, a new complete-form vorticity equation, which has the same form as the original complete-form vorticity equation, is deduced from the absolute vorticity vector equation combined with the continuity equation and the expression of three-dimensional （3D） entropy gradient. By comparing the complete-form vorticity equation with the classical vertical vorticity equation, it is found that regardless of whether or not the isentropic surface is tilting, the two vorticity equations are in essence the same. The ＂baroclinic term＂ of the complete-form vorticity equation is exactly equal to the solenoidal term of the classical one, and there is a significant amount of cancellation between the two baroclinic items （the ＂slantwise term＂ and the horizontal vorticity change term） in the complete-form vorticity equation. In operational weather analysis, the tilt of the isentropic surface can be diagnosed according to the density of the isotherm on the upper-level isobaric map. For synoptic-scale motion, the vertical vorticity produced by the tilt of the isentropic surface is due to the contribution of atmospheric baroclinicity, which is measured by the solenoid. The 3D solenoid is parallel to the isentropic surface, so the more tilted the isentropic surface, the bigger the projection of the 3D solenoid in the vertical direction. The baroclinic contribution can be interpreted based on the PV thinking theory, but the relationship between the vorticity field and the potential vorticity field is not immediate.

Physical Mechanism of Formation of the Bimodal Structure in the Meiyu Front System

The bimodal structure of the Meiyu front system is readdressed after Zhou et al.（2005）. The physical mechanism of the formation of the bimodal distribution is discussed. The bimodal structure of the Melyu front system considerably results from atmospheric moisture gradients, though atmospheric temperature gradients are also not negligible. According to the definition of equivalent potential temperature, and by scale analysis, we find that atmospheric equivalent potential temperature gradients, which could be regarded as an indicator of the Meiyu front system, could be mainly attributed to the variations of atmospheric potential temperature gradients with a scaling factor of 1 and moisture gradients multiplied by a scaling factor of an order of about 2.5 × 10^3, which means that small variations of atmospheric moisture gradients could lead to large variations of equivalent potential temperature gradients, and thus large variations of the Meiyu front system. Quantitative diagnostics with a mesoscale simulation data in the vicinity of the Meiyu front system show that moisture gradients contribute to equivalent potential temperature gradients more than potential temperature gradients.

AN EXPERIMENT STUDY OF FRONTAL CYCLONES OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN

By using PSU/NCAR MM5 mesoscale model,a 60-h simulation is performed to reproduce a frontal cyclogenesis over the Western Atlantic Ocean during March 13- 15 1992.The model reproduces well the genesis,track and intensity of the cyclone,its associated thermal structure as well as its surface circulation.The major cyclone (M) deepens 45 hPa in the 60-h simulation and 12 hPa in 6 hours from 36 h to 42 h (model time) and 27 hPa in 24 hours from 36 h to 60 h (model time).Cross-section and isentropic analysis tell us that the cyclogenesis is in very close relation with slantwise isentropic surfaces;the cyclone is always superposed on the core of neutral convective stability with nearly vertical isentropic surfaces,which coincides with what the theory of Slantwise Vorticity Development (SVD) says.Beginning with the theory of SVD,the development and propagation of the oceanic frontal cyclone are studied by using high-resolution model output in the context of slantwise isentropic surfaces.The results show that the frontal cyclone deepens rapidly by the interaction with the large-scale environment after occurring over the ocean with weak static stability;and the theory of SVD can well interpret the development and propagation closely related with slantwise isentropic surfaces,The downstream slantwise up- sliding movement along canting isentropic surfaces makes vorticities develop (USVD) under favorable condition (C_D<0,where CD is SVD index),and results in the moving and development of the cyclone.