Articles | Volume 4, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-157-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-157-2023
Research article
 | 
25 Jan 2023
Research article |  | 25 Jan 2023

Origin of low-tropospheric potential vorticity in Mediterranean cyclones

Alexander Scherrmann, Heini Wernli, and Emmanouil Flaounas

Related authors

Precipitation extremes in Ukraine from 1979 to 2019: climatology, large-scale flow conditions, and moisture sources
Ellina Agayar, Franziska Aemisegger, Moshe Armon, Alexander Scherrmann, and Heini Wernli
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2441–2459, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2441-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2441-2024, 2024
Short summary
The upstream–downstream connection of North Atlantic and Mediterranean cyclones in semi-idealized simulations
Alexander Scherrmann, Heini Wernli, and Emmanouil Flaounas
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 419–438, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-419-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-419-2024, 2024
Short summary

Related subject area

Dynamical processes in midlatitudes
Extreme weather anomalies and surface signatures associated with merged Atlantic–African jets during northern winter
Sohan Suresan, Nili Harnik, and Rodrigo Caballero
Weather Clim. Dynam., 6, 789–806, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-789-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-789-2025, 2025
Short summary
Long vs. short: understanding the dynamics of persistent summer hot spells in Europe
Duncan Pappert, Alexandre Tuel, Dim Coumou, Mathieu Vrac, and Olivia Martius
Weather Clim. Dynam., 6, 769–788, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-769-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-769-2025, 2025
Short summary
Environments and lifting mechanisms of cold-frontal convective cells during the warm season in Germany
George Pacey, Stephan Pfahl, and Lisa Schielicke
Weather Clim. Dynam., 6, 695–713, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-695-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-695-2025, 2025
Short summary
Seasonal to decadal variability and persistence properties of the Euro-Atlantic jet streams characterized by complementary approaches
Hugo Banderier, Alexandre Tuel, Tim Woollings, and Olivia Martius
Weather Clim. Dynam., 6, 715–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-715-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-715-2025, 2025
Short summary
A pan-European analysis of large-scale drivers of severe convective outbreaks
Monika Feldmann, Daniela I. V. Domeisen, and Olivia Martius
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2296,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2296, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Aebischer, U. and Schär, C.: Low-level potential vorticity and cyclogenesis to the lee of the Alps, J. Atmos. Sci., 55, 186–207, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055<0186:LLPVAC>2.0.CO;2, 1998. a, b, c
Appenzeller, C. and Davies, H. C.: Structure of stratospheric intrusions into the troposphere, Nature, 358, 570–572, https://doi.org/10.1038/358570a0, 1992. a
Aragão, L. and Porcù, F.: Cyclonic activity in the Mediterranean region from a high-resolution perspective using ECMWF ERA5 dataset, Clim. Dynam., 58, 1293–1310, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-05963-x, 2022. a, b
Attinger, R.: Quantifying the diabatic modification of potential vorticity in extratropical cyclones, PhD thesis, ETH Zurich, https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000432253, 2020. a
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. Meteor. Soc., 145, 2454–2476, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3573, 2019. a, b, c, d
Download
Short summary
We investigate the dynamical origin of the lower-atmospheric potential vorticity (PV; linked to the intensity of cyclones) in Mediterranean cyclones. We quantify the contribution of the cyclone and the environment by tracing PV backward in time and space and linking it to the track of the cyclone. We find that the lower-tropospheric PV is produced shortly before the cyclone's stage of highest intensity. We investigate the driving processes and use a global dataset and a process-resolving one.
Share