THE INFLUENCE OF BOUNDARY-LAYER SHEAR AND STATIC STABILITY ON LOW-LEVEL VERTICAL ACCELERATIONS IN A SUPERCELL

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dc.contributor.advisorPeters, John M.
dc.contributor.authorCaulfield, Sean P.
dc.contributor.departmentMeteorology (MR)
dc.contributor.secondreaderWang, Qing
dc.date.accessioned2019-02-13T22:48:03Z
dc.date.available2019-02-13T22:48:03Z
dc.date.issued2018-12
dc.description.abstractIt is well documented that tornadoes are formed from a special breed of rotating thunderstorms called supercells, and that tornadogenesis is a result of several factors, one of which is the vertical stretching of low-level vorticity. Not as well understood are the factors that contribute to vertical acceleration of low-level vorticity in the updraft region of a supercell to support tornadogenesis. This paper examined the influence of combining both low-level shear and low-level static stability on low-level vertical accelerations using idealized simulation from Cloud Model 1 (CM1). A matrix of simulations varied the low-level shear and the low-level convective inhibition (CIN) in order to parse out the dynamic response of these parameters on the low-level forcing. When shear was added to simulations, there was a consistent positive response to the low-level dynamic forcing; when low-level CIN was increased, there was a consistent negative response to the low-level buoyant forcing. Despite the chaotic nature of a supercell environment, a balance can be achieved in the lower atmosphere where the low-level CIN can counteract the low-level shear and inhibit the vertical stretching of vorticity. Since this phenomenon is associated with tornadogenesis, a correlation can be made between the ratio of low-level static stability to low-level shear and its effect on tornado formation.en_US
dc.description.distributionstatementApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
dc.description.serviceLieutenant Commander, United States Navyen_US
dc.description.urihttp://archive.org/details/theinfluenceofbo1094561328
dc.identifier.thesisid31902
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10945/61328
dc.publisherMonterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate Schoolen_US
dc.rightsThis publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.en_US
dc.subject.authortornadoesen_US
dc.subject.authorboundary layeren_US
dc.subject.authorsupercellen_US
dc.subject.authorshearen_US
dc.subject.authorstatic stabilityen_US
dc.titleTHE INFLUENCE OF BOUNDARY-LAYER SHEAR AND STATIC STABILITY ON LOW-LEVEL VERTICAL ACCELERATIONS IN A SUPERCELLen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dspace.entity.typePublication
etd.thesisdegree.disciplineMeteorology and Physical Oceanographyen_US
etd.thesisdegree.grantorNaval Postgraduate Schoolen_US
etd.thesisdegree.levelMastersen_US
etd.thesisdegree.nameMaster of Science in Meteorology and Physical Oceanographyen_US
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