Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Building Blocks of Tropical Diabatic Heating

Samson Hagos Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

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Print Publication:
01 Jul 2010
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JAS3252.1
Page(s):
2341–2354
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Abstract

Rotated EOF analyses are used to study the composition and variability of large-scale tropical diabatic heating profiles estimated from eight field campaigns. The results show that the profiles are composed of a pair of building blocks. These are the stratiform heating with peak heating near 400 hPa and a cooling peak near 700 hPa and the convective heating with a heating maximum near 700 hPa. Variations in the contributions of these building blocks account for the evolution of the large-scale heating profile. Instantaneous top-heavy (bottom-heavy) large-scale heating profiles associated with excess of stratiform (convective) heating evolve toward a stationary mean profile due to exponential decay of the excess stratiform (convective) heating.

* Current affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

Corresponding author address: Samson Hagos, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, MSIN K9-24, Richland, WA 99354. Email: samson.hagos@pnl.gov

Abstract

Rotated EOF analyses are used to study the composition and variability of large-scale tropical diabatic heating profiles estimated from eight field campaigns. The results show that the profiles are composed of a pair of building blocks. These are the stratiform heating with peak heating near 400 hPa and a cooling peak near 700 hPa and the convective heating with a heating maximum near 700 hPa. Variations in the contributions of these building blocks account for the evolution of the large-scale heating profile. Instantaneous top-heavy (bottom-heavy) large-scale heating profiles associated with excess of stratiform (convective) heating evolve toward a stationary mean profile due to exponential decay of the excess stratiform (convective) heating.

* Current affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

Corresponding author address: Samson Hagos, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, MSIN K9-24, Richland, WA 99354. Email: samson.hagos@pnl.gov

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