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Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes

Class at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
NMEX031

Syllabus

1. Specification and characterization of the meso-scale and mesoscale processes. History. Temporal and spatial scales. Role of mesoscale processes from the view of energy spectral transport.

2. Basic types of instabilities in the atmosphere. Buyoant instability, inertial (symmetric) instability, Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, Brunt-Väisälä frequency.

3. Gravity waves, mechanism of creation, transport of momentum and energy.

4. Mountain waves, Förchtgott's classification, Scorer parameter, basic simplified model of the lee waves.

5. Thermally induced circulation, vertical density scale, shallow and deep circulation.

6. Atmospheric fronts and jet-streams. Frontogenetic function, frontogenesis and frontolysis, Kinematics and dynamics of frontogenesis and frontolysis, models. Q vector. Role of ageostrofic flow. Tropopause.

Annotation

Definition and specification of mesoscale processes, their physical mechanism. Methods of diagnosis and forecast of these processes.

Knowledge gained from lectures NMET023, NMET002, NMET035, NMET036 are supposed