An approach to kinetic energy diagnosis of Meso-synoptic scale interactions

To explicitly describe the energy exchange between meso- and synoptic-scale motions, a diagnostic scheme of kinetic energy has been developed. By using a horizontal filtering technique, meteorological variables are separated into synoptic and mesoscale components. A set of budget equations are deriv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly weather review 1990-12, Vol.118 (12), p.2774-2780
Main Authors: SHOU-JUN CHEN, LE-SHENG BAI, KUNG, E. C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Meteorology
Water in the atmosphere (humidity, clouds, evaporation, precipitation)
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:To explicitly describe the energy exchange between meso- and synoptic-scale motions, a diagnostic scheme of kinetic energy has been developed. By using a horizontal filtering technique, meteorological variables are separated into synoptic and mesoscale components. A set of budget equations are derived for the kinetic energy K of synoptic scale motion V, the kinetic energy K' of mesoscale motion V', and the scalar product V[small solid circle] V'. The scheme is applied to diagnose a severe rainstorm case over northern China during summer. The results show that the scale interactions between wind and height fields produce V[small solid circle] V', which transfers kinetic energy to K and K'. The term V[small solid circle] V' thus acts as a medium in scale interactions, conveying the energy between meso- and synoptic-scale motions and the potential energy source residing in the mass field.
ISSN:0027-0644
1520-0493
DOI:10.1175/1520-0493(1990)118<2774:aatked>2.0.co;2