Diabatic influence on mesoscale structures in extratropical storms

DIAMET is a large consortium project involving the Universities of Manchester, Leeds, Reading and East Anglia under the auspices of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), with the Met Office extensively involved as project partners. Its aim is to improve the forecasting of severe weather over the UK.

The project overall is concerned with the understanding and prediction of mesoscale structures in synoptic-scale storms. By a combination of measurements and modelling, it aims to better understand how mesoscale processes in cyclones give rise to severe weather and how they can be better represented in models and better forecast. The part of the project that I am involved with deals with new diagnostic developments designed to unpick the behaviour of model parameterisations within mid-latitude cyclones, and in particular the behaviour of the convection scheme. We are interested in the sensitivity of the forecasts to the representation of the parameterized physical processes and the dynamical consequences of diabatically-generated PV, both on the mesoscale and larger scales.

Some links for this work:

Papers

1. A paper on DIAMET generally, and cyclone Friedhelm specifically.
2. A paper on the distinction between a cold conveyor belt and a sting jet.
3. A paper on the splitting of the warm conveyor belt.
4. A paper on the role of parameterized convection in simulations of extratropical cyclones.

Book chapters:

1. A chapter on spectral and bulk mass flux parameterizations

Talks

1. A talk on the distinction between sting-jet and cold conveyor belt airstreams, (presented by Sue Gray), at the WWOSC conference in Montreal, August 2014
2. A talk combining three case studies, (presented by Oscar Martinez Alvarado), as a lunchtime seminar at Reading, May 2013
3. A talk on liquid detrainment, at a project science meeting in Manchester, March 2013
4. A talk on IOP8, a sting jet case, (presented by Oscar Martinez Alvarado), at a project science meeting in Manchester, March 2013
5. A talk on WCB structure, (presented by Oscar Martinez Alvarado), at a project science meeting in Manchester, March 2013
6. A talk on diabatic decomposition, (presented by Oscar Martinez Alvarado), at a project science meeting in Manchester, March 2013
7. A talk on cyclone Friedhelm, (presented by Laura Baker), at a project science meeting in Manchester, November 2012
8. A talk on WCB structure, (presented by Oscar Martinez Alvarado), as a seminar at Oxford, October 2012
9. A talk on WCB structure, (presented by Oscar Martinez Alvarado), at a European storms workshop, in Leeds, September 2012
10. A talk on the field campaigns, (presented by Geraint Vaughan), at EGU, in Vienna, April 2012
11. A talk on observed cold frontal structures, (presented by Keith Bower), at EGU, in Vienna, April 2012
12. A talk on Lagrangian budget diagnoses, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at a workshop in Savona, March 2012
13. A talk on liquid detrainment in bulk and spectral models, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at COST workshop on entrainment/detrainment in Utrecht, February 2012
14. Short progress report, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at project meeting in Reading, June 2011

Posters

1. A poster on the interactions of diabatic processes, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna, April/May 2014
2. A poster on the airflows in a sting jet cyclone, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at the EMS Annual Meeting in Reading, September 2013
3. A poster on 30 September 2011 case, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at the AGU Fall Meeting, December 2012
4. A poster on 30 September 2011 case, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at a European windstorms workshop, in Leeds, September 2012
5. A poster on the Lagrangian diagnostics, (presented by Oscar Martinez-Alvarado), at a CWC/SRM workshop, in Oxford, May 2012

Internal report

1. A report on the frozen WCB hypothesis, produced as an aid to flight planning

Others:

1. Main project page containing various talks and other documents
2. Educational videos aimed at schools and covering forecasting generally and the DIAMET project particularly
3. Reading press release on the St Jude storm describing some of the DIAMET work
4. The DIAMET blog
6. Description of project in the MOAP newsletter
7. Article and video from BBC news
8. Another BBC news video
9. An article in El Nacional, a Venezuelan newspaper (!)
10. An article on the NERC blog
11. An article on the Met Office pages
12. Items on the Weather and Climate Discussion blog pages: update 12/12/11 and flight planning
13. Model products for flight planning (password protected)
14. An article in the Independent newspaper
15. Met Office press release for 8th December 2011 flight
16. Article in Scottish edition of the Sunday Times
17. Article in the Times
18. Article in Scottish Sun