Tomassini, L. (2020) The interaction between moist convection and the atmospheric circulation in the tropics The interaction between moist convection and the atmospheric circulation in the tropics. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101 (8). e1378-e1396. ISSN 0003-0007
Abstract
Theories of the interaction between moist convection and the atmospheric circulation in the tropics are reviewed. Two main schools of thought are highlighted: (i) one that emphasizes the lower-level control of convection through moisture convergence and variations in convective inhibition, and (ii) one that sees convection as an adjustment process in reaction to larger-scale instabilities, referred to as convective quasi-equilibrium theory. Conceptually the two views consider moist convection to have fundamentally different roles in the tropical circulation. In one case the presence of low-level inhibition and the conditional nature of the atmospheric instability allows for convective vertical motion and latent heating to drive and reinforce synoptic-scale disturbances and overturning circulations; in the other case, because low-level inhibition is not acknowledged to be a widespread controlling barrier, convection is believed to balance and dampen vertical instabilities at the rate they are created by larger-scale processes over the vertical extent of the atmosphere. More recently, investigations of the moisture dynamics surrounding organized convective structures have led to an emerging consensus on the theory of convection–circulation coupling in the tropics that acknowledges the important role of lower- to midtropospheric moisture variations, and the significance of moist convection and convective clouds for initiating and establishing circulations. However, the implementation of these new insights in numerical models lags behind. This is exemplified by the apparent inadequacy of climate models to correctly represent decadal variability in the tropical Pacific, a fact that potentially has implications for the confidence in climate change projections based on such models.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Mathematics (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Mar 2025 12:48 |
Last Modified: | 17 Mar 2025 12:48 |
Published Version: | https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/10... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Meteorological Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1175/bams-d-19-0180.1 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:224493 |