• Title/Summary/Keyword: Potential vorticity

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A Case Study of Tsukuba Tornado in Japan on 6 May 2012

  • Choo, Seonhee;Min, Ki-Hong;Kim, Kyung-Eak;Lee, Gyuwon
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.39 no.5
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    • pp.403-418
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    • 2018
  • This study conducted synoptic and mesoscale analyses to understand the cause of Japan Tsukuba tornado development, which occurred at 0340 UTC 6 May 2012. Prior to the tornado occurrence, there was a circular jet stream over Japan, and the surface was moist due to overnight precipitation. The circular jet stream brought cold and dry air to the upper-level atmosphere which let strong solar radiation heat the ground with clearing of sky cover. A tornadic supercell developed in the area of potentially unstable atmosphere. Sounding data at Tateno showed a capping inversion at 900 hPa at 0000 UTC 6 May. Strong insolation in early morning hours and removal of the inversion instigated vigorous updraft with rotation due to vertical shear in the upper-level atmosphere. This caused multiple tornadoes to occur from 0220 to 0340 UTC 6 May 2012. When comparing Tateno's climatological temperature and dew-point temperature profile on the day of event, the mid-level atmosphere was moister than typical sounding in the region. This study showed that tornado development in Tsukuba was caused by a combination of (a) topography and potential vorticity anomaly, which increased vorticity over the Kanto Plain; (b) vertical shear, which produced horizontal vortex line; and c) thermal instability, which triggered supercell and tilted the vortex line in the vertical.

Influence of Stratospheric Intrusion on Upper Tropospheric Ozone over the Tropical North Atlantic

  • Kim, So-Myoung;Na, Sun-Mi;Kim, Jae-Hwan
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.29 no.5
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    • pp.428-436
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    • 2008
  • This study observed the upper tropospheric ozone enhancement in the northern Atlantic for the Aerosols99 campaign in January-February 1999. To find the origin of this air, we have analyzed the horizontal and vertical fields of Isentropic Potential Vorticity (IPV) and Relative Humidity (RH). The arch-shaped IPV is greater than 1.5 pvus indicating stratospheric air stretches equatorward. These arch-shaped regions are connected with regions of RH less than 20%. The vertical fields of IPV and RH show the folding layer penetrating into the upper troposphere. These features support the idea that the upper tropospheric ozone enhancement originated from the stratosphere. Additionally, we have investigated the climatological frequency of stratospheric intrusion over the tropical north Atlantic using IPV and RH. The total frequency between the equator and $30^{\circ}N$ over the tropical north Atlantic exhibits a maximum in northern winter. It suggests that the stratospheric intrusion plays an important role in enhancing ozone in the upper troposphere over the tropical north Atlantic in winter and early spring. Although the tropospheric ozone residual method assumed zonally invariant stratospheric ozone, stratospheric zonal ozone variance could be caused by stratospheric intrusions. This implies that stratospheric intrusion influences ozone variance over the Atlantic in boreal winter and spring, and the intrusion is a possible source for the tropical north Atlantic paradox.

A multilayer Model for Dynamics of Upper and Intermediate Layer Circulation of the East Sea (동해의 상, 중층 순환 역학에 대한 다층모델)

  • 승영호;김국진
    • 한국해양학회지
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.227-236
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    • 1995
  • A simple layer model based on isophcnal coordinate is applied to the East Sea to examine the dynamics of circulation. The results confirm the existing knowledge about role of inflow-outflow and wind in driving the circulation. It is found, however, that the buoyancy flux generates quite different circulation pattern; it enhances the inflow-outflow driven circulation and has a convective nature. The circulation considering all these effects resembles the schematic one presently known. In the circulation, the intermediate layer is outcropped in the north off the northern boundary, ventilated here and flows cyclonically in the northern part of basin. This water, however, does not flow southward directly because of the strong eastward (separating from the coast) current in the layer above. This water also loses its potential vorticity while traveling around the periphery of the outcropping region and is thus characterized by minimum potential vorticity in the interior of the basin.

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Analysis of the February 2014 East Coast Heavy SnowFall Case Due to Blocking (블로킹에 의한 2014년 2월 동해안 지방 폭설 분석)

  • Bae, Jeong-Ho;Min, Ki-Hong
    • Atmosphere
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.227-241
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    • 2016
  • This study investigated the cause of the heavy snowfall that occurred in the East Coast of Korea from 6 February to 14 February 2014. The synoptic conditions were analyzed using blocking index, equivalent potential temperature, potential vorticity, maritime temperature difference, temperature advection, and ground convergence. During the case period, a large blocking pattern developed over the Western Pacific causing the flow to be stagnant, and there was a North-South oriented High-to-Low pressure system over the Korean Peninsula because of this arrangement. The case period was divided into three parts based on the synoptic forcing that was responsible for the heavy snowfall; detailed analyses were conducted for the first and last period. In the first period, a heavy snowfall occurred over the entire Korean Peninsula due to strong updrafts from baroclinic instability and a low pressure caused by potential vorticity located at the mid-troposphere. In the lower atmosphere, a North-South oriented High-to-Low pressure system over the Eastern Korea intensified the easterly airflow and created a convergence zone near the ground which strengthened the upslope effect of the Taebaek Mountain range with a cumulative fresh snowfall amount of 41 cm in the East Coast region. In the last period, the cold air nestled in the Maritime Province of Siberia and Manchuria strengthened much more than that in the first half and extended to the East Sea. The temperature difference between the 850 hPa air and the SST was large and convective clouds developed over the sea. The highest cumulative fresh snow amount of 39.7 cm was recorded in the coastal area during this period. During the entire period, vertically oriented equivalent potential temperature showed neutral stability layer that helped the cloud formation and development in the East Coast. The 2014 heavy snowfall case over the East Coast provinces of Korea were due to: 1) stagnation of the system by blocking pattern, 2) the dynamic effect of mid-level potential vorticity of 1.6 PVU, 3) the easterly air flow from North-South oriented High-to-Low pressure system, 4) the existence of vertically oriented neutral stable layer, and 5) the expansion of strong cold air into the East Sea which created a large temperature difference between the air and the ocean.

Study of Hydrodynamic-Magnetic-Thermal Coupling in a Linear Induction MHD Pump

  • Kadid, Fatima Zohra;Drid, Said;Abdessemed, Rachid
    • Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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    • v.4 no.2
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    • pp.249-254
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    • 2009
  • This article deals with the analysis of a coupling between stationary Maxwell's equations, the transient state Navier-Stokes and thermal equations. The resolution of these equations is obtained by introducing the magnetic vector potential A, the vorticity ${\xi}$, the stream function ${\psi}$ and the temperature T. The flux density, the electromagnetic thrust, the electric power density, the velocity, the pressure and the temperature are graphically visualized. Also, the influence of the frequency is presented.

Computation of Unsteady Separated Flow Using the Vortex Particle Method (I) - Boundary Element Method and Vortex Strength Around the Square Cylinder - (와류입자법에 의한 비정상 박리흐름의 전산(I) -경계요소법과 정방형 실린더 주위의 와류강도-)

  • 박외철
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.3-8
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    • 1998
  • The vortex particle method, which includes viscous effects, consists of diffusion of boundary vorticity and creation of the vortex particles, convection, particle strength exchange, and particle redistribution. Accuracy of the boundary element method is very important since it creates the particles around the body at every time step. A boundary element method based on source panel was investigated as part of computation of unsteady separated flows by rising the vortex particle method. The potential flows were computed around a circular cylinder and a square cylinder. The results around the circular cylinder were compared with the exact solution, and the distribution of vorticity, in particular near the sharp comers of the square cylinder, is scrutinized for different number of panels.

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Design of 2-Dimensional Blade Section for Prescribed Velocity Distribution by a Vortex Based Panel Method (표면양력판 이론에 의한 요구 속도 분포를 갖는 2차원 날개 단면의 설계)

  • K.J. Cho;G.I. Choi;J.D. Kim
    • Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.69-76
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    • 1991
  • A design method based on the surface vorticity distribution is developed to generate a two-dimensional blade section for prescribed velocity distribution in potential flow. The boundary condition used to determine the strength of vorticity distribution requires that the surface of blade section should be a streamline of the resulting flow. In order to obtain the required final geometry of a two-dimensional blade section, an iterative procedure is used. A computer program is developed and several numerical results are presented.

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An analysis of Characteristics of Heavy Rainfall Events over Yeongdong Region Associated with Tropopause Folding (대류권계면 접힘에 의한 영동지방 집중호우사례의 특성분석)

  • Lee, Hye-Young;Ko, Hye-Young;Kim, Kyung-Eak;Yoon, Ill-Hee
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.354-369
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    • 2010
  • The synoptic and kinematic characteristics of a heavy rainfall that occurred in Gangneung region on 22 to 24 October 2006 were investigated using weather maps, infrared images, AWS observation data and NCEP global final analyses data. The total amount of rainfall observed in the region for the period was 316.5 mm, and the instanteneous maximum wind speed was $63.7m\;s^{-1}$. According to the analysis of weather maps, before the starting of the heavy rainfall, an extratropical low pressure system was developed in the middle region of the Korean Peninsula, and an inverted trough was formed in the northern region of the peninsula. In addition, a jet stream on the upper charts of 300 hPa was located over the Yellow Sea and the southern boundary of the peninsula. A cutoff low in the cyclonic shear side of the upper jet streak, which was linked to an anomaly of isentropic potential vorticity, was developed over the northwestern part of the peninsula. And there are analyzed potential vorticity and wind, time-height cross section of potential vorticity, vertical air motion, maximums of the divergence and convergence and vertical distribution of potential temperature in Gangneung region. The analyzed results of the synoptic conditions and kinematic processes strongly suggest that the tropopause folding made a significant role of initializing the heavy rainfall.

Analysis of An Outflow Boundary Induced Heavy Rainfall That Occurred in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (수도권에서 유출류 경계(Outflow Boundary)를 따라 발생한 집중호우 분석)

  • Lee, Ji-Won;Min, Ki-Hong
    • Atmosphere
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.455-466
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    • 2017
  • In Korea, property and human damages occur annually due to heavy precipitation during the summer. On August 8, 2015, heavy rainfall occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area due to an outflow boundary, and $77mmhr^{-1}$ rainfall was recorded in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. In this study, the simulation of the WRF numerical model is performed to understand the cause and characteristics of heavy rainfall using the Conditional Instability of the Second Kind (CISK), potential vorticity (PV), frontogenesis function, and convective available potential energy (CAPE) analyses, etc. Convective cells initiated over the Shandong Peninsula and located on the downwind side of an upper level trough. Large amounts of water vapor were supplied to the Shandong Peninsula along the southwestern edge of a high pressure system, and from the remnants of typhoon Soudelor. The mesoscale convective system (MCS) developed through CISK process and moved over to the Yellow Sea. The outflow boundary from the MCS progressed east and pushed cold pool eastward. The warm and humid air over the Korean Peninsula further enhanced convective development. As a result, a new MCS developed rapidly over land. Because of the latent heat release due to convection and precipitation, strong potential vorticity was generated in the lower atmosphere. The rapid development of MCS and the heavy rainfall occurred in an area where the CAPE value was greater than $1300Jkg^{-1}$ and the fronto-genesis function value of 1.5 or greater coincided. The analysis result shows that the MCS driven by an outflow boundary can be identified using CISK process.

Comparison of Development Mechanisms of Two Heavy Snowfall Events Occurred in Yeongnam and Yeongdong Regions of the Korean Peninsula (영동과 영남 지역에서 발생한 두 대설의 발달 메커니즘 비교)

  • Park, Ji-Hun;Kim, Kyung-Eak;Heo, Bok-Haeng
    • Atmosphere
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.9-36
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    • 2009
  • Two heavy snowfall events occurred in Yeongnam and Yeongdong regions of the Korean Peninsula during the period from 4 to 6 March 2005 are analyzed. The events were developed by two different meso-scale snow clouds associated with an extratropical low passing over the Western Pacific. Based on synoptic data, GOES-9 satellite images, and precipitation amount data, the events were named as Sokcho and Busan cases, respectively. We analyzed the development mechanism of the events using meterological variables from the NCEP(National Centers for Environmental Prediction) /NCAR(National Centers for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis data such as potential vorticity(PV), divergence, tropopause undulation, static stability, and meridional wind circulation. The present analyses show that in the case of Sokcho, the cyclonic circulation in the lower atmosphere in the strong baroclinic region induced the cyclonic circulation in the upper atmosphere. The cyclonic circulation in the lower and upper atmosphere caused a heavy snowfall in the Sokcho region. In the case of Busan, the strong cyclonic circulation in the upper atmosphere was initiated by the stratospheric air intrusion with the high positive PV into the troposphere during the tropopause folding. The upper strong cyclonic circulation enhanced the cyclonic circulation in the lower disturbed atmosphere due to the extratropical low. This lower cyclonic circulation in turn, intensified the upper cyclonic circulation, that caused a heavy snowfall in the Busan region.