The pathway of atmospheric water vapor from ocean evaporation to rainout in extratropical weather systems
Event details
| Date | 25.10.2010 |
| Hour | 16:15 |
| Speaker | Wernli, Heini (ETHZ) |
| Location |
GR A3 31
|
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
The dynamics of extratropical weather systems is strongly influenced by diabatic processes, in particular latent heating due to condensation of water vapor within clouds. Examples are the intensification of extratropical cyclones due to latent heat release and the modification of near-tropopause Rossby waves by cross-isentropic transport within so-called warm conveyor belts. The first part of the presentation will illustrate this key linkage between weather system dynamics and atmospheric moisture. The second part will address the issue of water vapor origin and transport from the evaporation region into developing weather systems. It will be shown that certain weather systems "consume" large amounts of moisture that have been advected from remote areas (e.g., the tropics); whereas in other cases local evaporation, induced by the system itself, plays the key role. The strongly differing residence times associated with the two scenarios (long-range transport vs. local sources) might be important for considering the implications of climate change on the dynamics of weather systems. The final part will address the potential of observational and modeling studies of stable water isotopes to further explore the role of water vapor pathways for extratropical weather systems.
Links
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Contact
- Huwald, Hendrik (EFLUM)