Using Satellite Observations to Infer the Relationship between Cold Pools and Subsequent Convection Development

Abstract:

Cold pools are increasingly being recognized as important players in the evolution of both shallow and deep convection; hence, the incorporation of cold pool processes into a number of recently developed convective parameterizations. Unfortunately, observations serving to inform cold pool parameterization development are limited to select field programs and limited radar domains. However, a number of recent studies have noted that cold pools are often associated with arcs/lines of shallow clouds traversing 10 – 100 km in visible satellite imagery. Boundary layer thermodynamic perturbations are plausible at such scales, coincident with such mesoscale features.

Atmospheric signatures of features at these spatial scales are potentially observable from satellites. In this presentation, we discuss recent work that uses multi-sensor, high-resolution satellite products for observing mesoscale wind vector fluctuations and boundary layer temperature depressions attributed to cold pools produced by antecedent convection. The relationship to subsequent convection as well as convective system longevity is discussed.

As improvements in satellite technology occur and efforts to reduce noise in high-resolution orbital products progress, satellite pixel level (~10 km) thermodynamic and dynamic (e.g. mesoscale convergence) parameters can increasingly serve as useful benchmarks for constraining convective parameterization development, including for regimes where organized convection contributes substantially to the cloud and rainfall climatology.