Articles | Volume 2, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1073-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1073-2021
Research article
 | 
09 Nov 2021
Research article |  | 09 Nov 2021

Systematic assessment of the diabatic processes that modify low-level potential vorticity in extratropical cyclones

Roman Attinger, Elisa Spreitzer, Maxi Boettcher, Heini Wernli, and Hanna Joos

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS).
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Cited articles

Adamson, D., Belcher, S. E., Hoskins, B. J., and Plant, R. S.: Boundary-layer friction in midlatitude cyclones, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 132, 101–124, https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.04.145, 2006. a, b, c, d
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Attinger, R., Spreitzer, E., Boettcher, M., Forbes, R., Wernli, H., and Joos, H.: Quantifying the role of individual diabatic processes for the formation of PV anomalies in a North Pacific cyclone, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 145, 2454–2476, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3573, 2019. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i
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Short summary
Diabatic processes affect the development of extratropical cyclones. This work provides a systematic assessment of the diabatic processes that modify potential vorticity (PV) in model simulations. PV is primarily produced by condensation and convection. Given favorable environmental conditions, long-wave radiative cooling and turbulence become the primary process at the cold and warm fronts, respectively. Turbulence and long-wave radiative heating produce negative PV anomalies at the fronts.
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