THE STRUCTURE OF OCCLUSIONS AS DETERMINED FROM SERIAL ASCENTS AND VERTICALLY-DIRECTED RADAR,
Abstract
The thermal, cloud, and precipitation structures of occluded frontal systems on both the mesoand synoptic-scales are examined. The data used include serial-ascent radiosonde observations of five systems and the time-height precipitation structure of these and many other frontal systems as obtained using vertically-directed, 1.87-cm radar. For the serial-ascent cases, mesoscale vertical motions were computed using a variation of the adiabatic method which requires only single-station radiosonde data. The reliability of each vertical velocity is also computed to indicate the proper weighting of the values in the analysis. The reliabilities justify placing confidence in the principal features of the mesoscale vertical motion fields. The 'static energy' function which is a quasi-conservative for adiabatic and pseudo-adiabatic processes, has been found to be very useful for interpreting structures and processes, including turbulent mixing, in cloudy regions of the troposphere. The mesoscale thermal structure of frontal zones is characterized by multiple, narrow hyperbaroclinic subzones within the broader baroclinic zones separating relatively barotropic air masses. A front based on synoptic data cannot accurately depict the details of the mesoscale structure, but it can approximately locate the principal subzones within the broader baroclinic zone. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0432007
Entities
People
- Carl W. Kreitzberg
Organizations
- Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories