Initiation of deep convection through deepening of a well-mixed boundary layer
Yano, Jun-Ichi
The present study examines mechanisms by which deep moist convection may be initiated through deepening of a well-mixed convective boundary layer under large-scale low-level convergence. The process is examined using a standard formulation for the well-mixed boundary layer, in which the depth increases exponentially with time under a constant convergence with height. Consideration is also given to a case with a more realistic mean vertical velocity profile which has a maximum in the middle troposphere and attenuates to zero at the tropopause. In the latter case, the unstable well-mixed layer under convergence grows to a troposphere-deep mixed layer. Importantly, under these scenarios, the so-called convective inhibition (CIN) does not inhibit deepening of a well-mixed convective boundary layer, nor does deep moist convection need to overcome CIN to initiate.</p>
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