Mesoscale Convective Systems
c = k (g H T' / T)1/2
Mesoscale Convective Systems are groups of thunderstorms organized by the underlying
terrain, synoptic-scale weather systems, or their interaction with each other.
Scales range from half a dozen thunderstorm cells in a line less than 50 km
long to scores of cells along synoptic-scale fronts or in some tropical super-clusters.
Strong updrafts and downdrafts on both the mesoscale and within individual thunderstorm
cells lead to heavy rain, high winds, lightning, and other forms of severe weather.
The impact of mesoscale convective systems on river-flow, ocean temperature,
global climate, and aviation are also of interest. Some of the most challenging
problems today involve the interactions between mesoscale convective systems
and the gravity waves and gravity currents they spawn.
Field Experiments | Selected
||TOGA COARE IOP
||Topical Western Pacific
||Research Vessel Moana Wave
||TOGA Pilot Cruise
||Topical Western Pacific
Research Vessel Wecoma
||NCAR Electra aircraft
- Sikora, T.D., G.S. Young, C.M. Fisher, and M.D. Stepp, 2011: A synthetic aperture radar-based climatology of open cell convection over the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 50, 594-603 --- Abstract
- Young, G.S., T.D. Sikora, and C.M. Fisher, 2007: Use of MODIS and synthetic
aperture radar wind speed imagery to describe the morphology of open cell
convection, Canadian Journal Remote Sensing, 33, 357-367.
- Nicholls, S.D., and G.S. Young, 2007: Dendritic patterns in tropical cumulus:
An observational analysis. Mon. Wea. Rev. 135, 1994-2005.---
- Rozbicki, J.J., G.S. Young, and L. Qian, 1999: Tests of a convective wake
parameterization for the single column version of CCM3. Mon. Wea. Rev.,
127, 1347-1361. --- Abstract ---
- Qian, L., G.S. Young, and W.M. Frank, 1998: A convective wake parameterization
scheme for use in general circulation models. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126,
456-469. --- Abstract
- Young, G.S., S.M. Perugini, and C.W. Fairall, 1995: Convective wakes in
the equatorial western Pacific during TOGA. Mon. Wea. Rev., 123,
110-123. --- Abstract
- Alexander, G.D., G.S. Young, and D.V. Ledvina, 1993: Principal component
analysis of vertical profiles of Q1 and Q2 in the tropics. Mon. Wea.
Rev., 121, 535-548. --- Abstract
- Young, G.S., D.V. Ledvina, and C.W. Fairall, 1992: Influence of precipitating
convection on the surface energy budget observed during a TOGA pilot cruise
in the tropical Pacific ocean. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 97,
9595-9603. --- Abstract
- Alexander, G.D., and G.S. Young, 1992: The relationship between EMEX mesoscale
precipitation feature properties and their environmental characteristics.
Mon. Wea. Rev., 120, 554-564. --- Abstract
- Johnson, R.H., and G.S. Young, 1983: Heat and moisture budgets of tropical
mesoscale anvil clouds. J. Atmos. Sci., 40, 2138-2147. ---