Temperature Advection. Assignment 10. Due March 22

Review the information on advection in the Djuric text. Advection is one of the most important concepts for understanding how the wind field affects the distribution of scalar fields.

Graphics at 700 mb will be analyzed for the 60 h period beginning at 00z March 20. The following uses GARP to evaluate the temperature advection using the Eta model forecast.

• 1. Overlay 700 mb streamlines, wind vectors (m/s) and isotherms(C). Use the CONUS domain.
  • a. Where are the areas of warm and cold air at 700 mb at the initial time in relation to the ridges and troughs in the wind field?
  • b. How did these areas of warm and cold evolve with time relative to the movement of the ridges and troughs and the intensity of the ridges and troughs? Which pockets of cold and warm air intensified? Which ones weakened?
• 2. Overlay temperature advection(C/day).
  • a. At the initial time, where would you expect temperatures to fall sharply(cold air advection)? Increase rapidly(warm air advection)?
  • b. Loop forward over the next 24 h. Did the temperatures change at those locations of maximum warm/cold air advection as much as the temperature advection at the initial time would lead you to believe? Why?
  • c. Does temperature appear to be conserved following an air parcel beginning from SLC? Why or why not?
• 3. At the initial time, overlay another scalar field with wind vectors and streamlines and estimate regions of positive and negative advection. Loop forward 12 h and evaluate whether the scalar increased or decreased in the areas of strong advection identified at the initial time.

Keep your answers short and focussed. Email responses to me by the due date.