This M. Sc. thesis studies the statistical characteristics of convective storms in a monsoon regime in Darwin, northern Australia. It has been conducted with the use of radar. Enhanced knowledge of tropical convection is essential in studies of the global climate, and this study aims to bring light on some special characteristics of storms in a tropical environment. The observed behaviour of convective storms can be implemented in the parameterisation of these in cloud-resolving regional and global models. The wet season was subdivided into three regimes; build-up and breaks, the monsoon and the dry monsoon. Using a cell tracking system called TITAN, these regimes were shown to support different storm characteristics in terms of their temporal, spatial and height distributions. The build-up and break storms were seen to be more vigorous and particularly modulated diurnally by sea breezes. The monsoon was dominated by frequent but less intense and vertically less extensive convective cores. The explanation for this could be found in the atmospheric environment, with monsoonal convection having oceanic origins together with a mean upward motion of air through the depth of the troposphere. The dry monsoon was characterised by suppressed convection due to the presence of dry mid-level air. The effects of wind shear on convective line orientations were examined. The results show a diurnal evolution from low-level shear parallel orientations of convective lines to low-level shear perpendicular during build-up and breaks. The monsoon was dominated by complex orientations of convective lines. The thesis includes a study of merged and splitted cells, which have been separated from other storms, and mergers were shown to support more vigorous convection in terms of height distribution and reflectivity profiles. They were also seen to be the most long-lived category of storms as well as the most common type. Split storms were generally weaker, indicative of their general tendency to decay shortly after the split occurred. / En statistisk studie av konvektiva celler i en miljö som präglas av monsunförhållanden har utförts i Darwin, norra Australien, med hjälp av radar. En ökad förståelse for tropisk konvektion är nödvändig for att kunna studera klimatet globalt. Denna studie har bidragit till denna kunskapsbas genom att studera några viktiga parametrar hos konvektiva celler i en tropisk miljö. De observerade egenskaperna hos dessa celler kan implementeras i parametriseringen av högupplösta regionala och globala modeller. Regnperioden delades upp i tre olika regimer; uppbyggnad och avbrott, monsun och torr monsun. Genom att använda ett cellsökande system kallat TITAN, visade sig dessa regimer uppvisa olika karakteristika vad gäller tids- och rumsmässig samt vertikal distribution av konvektionsceller. Uppbyggnad- och avbrottsregimen dominerades av mäktiga och intensiva konvektionsceller, och modulerades av sjöbrisar på en daglig basis. Monsunen dominerades av talrika men mindre intensiva celler. Anledningen till detta kan finnas i atmosfäriska förhållanden, dar monsunen dominerades av konvektionsceller med oceanisk härkomst och allmän hävning genom större delen av troposfären. Den torra monsunen präglades av försvagad konvektion på grund av närvaron av mycket torr luft på medelhöga nivåer. Effekten av vindskjuvning på orienteringen av bylinjer undersöktes. Resultaten visar att en daglig övergång från en orientering som var parallell med vindskjuvningsvektorn till en vinkelrät orientering dominerade under uppbyggnad och avbrott. Monsunen präglades av komplexa orienteringar av bylinjer. Sammanväxande och splittrande celler separerades fran andra celler och undersöktes speciellt. De sammanväxande cellerna uppvisade mer intensiv konvektion och större vertikal maktighet. Denna kategori av celler, som var den vanligaste typen av ickeisolerade celler, levde också längre än andra celltyper. Splittrande celler var generellt svagare än andra celler, vilket indikerade den generella tendensen för denna celltyp att brytas ner strax efter det att en splittring ägt rum.

Title: Convective storms and lower stratospheric moisture Author: Jindřich Šťástka Department: Department of Atmospheric Physics Supervisor: RNDr. Martin Setvák, CSc., Czech Hydrometeorological Institute Abstract: The primary focus of this thesis is to diagnose contributions to upper tropo- spheric and lower stratospheric (UTLS) water vapor from convective storms. The first parts of this work introduces two approaches used for a detection of lower stratospheric water vapor above convective storm tops - brightness temperature difference (BTD) technique and EOS MLS measurements. The BTD technique is based on brightness temperature difference between the water vapor absorp- tion and infrared window bands, assuming a thermal inversion above the cloud top level. The most frequently offered explanation of positive BTD values above convective storms is presence of warmer water vapor in the lower stratosphere. Furthermore, so called BTD anomalies were described and it was proposed an algorithm for objective detection of such BTD anomalies. Characteristics of pa- rameters describing BTD, BTD anomaly, infrared window brightness temperature were investigated during storms evolution on dataset of 320 storms from the area of Europe. The analysis of these characteristics proved highly probable conection between positive...

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This study presents a prototype of a deployable unit for automated surface weather observation, named Estação Mesomóvel, which is mounted on a tripod and portable in a small vehicle, allowing its installation in the path of oncoming convective storms. With a high frequency data sampling strategy, the Estação Mesomóvel is capable of monitoring adequately mesoscale surface features produced by convection. The challenges and solutions found during the conception of the prototype are discussed, as well as the results from the data comparison experiments conducted between the Estação Mesomóvel and an automated surface weather station from the operational network. The operation of the Estação Mesomóvel in storm interception mode is presented in the context of the weather analysis and forecasting strategies used, the deployment logistics, and the atmospheric data obtained in the field. Results from the analysis of the collected data showed the capability of the Estação Mesomóvel in sampling the evolution, at high frequency, of convective phenomena at the meso-g scale, such as gust fronts, cold pools, mesohighs and high precipitation rates, which are typically poorly represented by the synoptic-scale surface observing network. This investigation showed the feasibility of conducting storm interception in Brazil with the goal of collecting high-quality atmospheric data for scientific purposes. / Neste trabalho é apresentada a Estação Mesomóvel, que consiste no protótipo de uma unidade tática de observação meteorológica automática de superfície, montada sobre tripé e transportável em um veículo de pequeno porte, podendo assim ser instalada na trajetória de tempestades convectivas. Com sua amostragem em alta frequência, a Estação Mesomóvel é capaz de monitorar de maneira adequada circulações de mesoescala produzidas pela convecção. São apresentados os desafios e as soluções encontradas durante a concepção deste protótipo, e também os resultados de comparações feitas entre as medições da Estação Mesomóvel e de uma estação da rede operacional de observação em superfície. A operação da Estação Mesomóvel em modo de interceptação de tempestades é discutida em termos das estratégias de análise e previsão de tempo empregadas, da logística de deslocamento, e dos dados atmosféricos obtidos em campo. Resultados da análise dos dados coletados pela Estação Mesomóvel mostraram sua capacidade de amostrar a evolução, em alta frequência, de fenômenos convectivos da escala meso-g, como frentes de rajada, piscinas de ar frio, mesoaltas e altas taxas de precipitação, que tipicamente é mal representada pela rede de observação de superfície em escala sinótica. Esta pesquisa demonstrou que é factível realizar no Brasil a coleta de dados meteorológicos com qualidade científica através da estratégia de interceptação de tempestades convectivas.

This study analyzes the available radar evidence in order to describe the morphology of channel networks around the north polar seas of Titan. Critical flow depths necessary to entrain water-ice grains, and denudation rates for a north polar channel network are discussed. The results indicate that channel networks on Titan have similar morphologies to channel networks cut by water on Earth. We also find that water-ice sediment should be readily entrained in the headwaters and downstream sections of the analyzed Titanian basin, given sufficient flow depths of liquid hydrocarbons. Also, the importance of slope and the elevated topography of the highlands surrounding the polar lakes are considered, as well as potential formation theories for the elevated highlands and low-lying maria that dominate the north polar region.