• Atmosphere
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.51-66
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• 2015

This study was conducted to perform various sensitivity experiments using WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model in order to determine the effects of terrains of the Korean Peninsula and the land-sea thermal contrast on the formation and development of the convergent cloud band for the cases of 1 February 2012. The sensitivity experiments consist of the following five ones: CNTL experiment (control experiment), and TMBT experiment, BDMT experiment and ALL experiment that set the terrain altitude of Taeback Mountains and Northern mountain complex as zero, respectively, and the altitude of the above-mentioned two mountains as zero, and LANDSEA experiment that set to change the Korean Peninsula into sea in order to find out the land-sea thermal contrast effect. These experiment results showed that a cold air current stemming from the Siberian high pressure met the group of northern mountains with high topography altitude and was separated into two air currents. These two separated air currents met each other again on the Middle and Northern East Sea, downstream of the group of northern mountains and converged finally, creating the convergent cloud band. And these experiments suggested that the convergent cloud band located on the Middle and Northern East Sea, and the cloud band lying on the southern East sea to the coastal waters of the Japanese Island facing the East Sea, were generated and developed by different dynamical mechanisms. Also it was found that the topography of Taeback Mountains created a warm air advection region due to temperature rise by adiabatic compression near the coastal waters of Yeongdong Region, downstream of the mountains. In conclusion, these experiment results clearly showed that the most essential factor having an effect on the generation and development of the convergent cloud band was the topography effect of the northern mountain complex, and that the land-sea thermal contrast effect was insignificant.

• Atmosphere
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.49-68
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• 2014

This study analyzed atmospheric conditions for the convergent cloud band (Cu-Cb line) in developing stage and its neighbouring convections formed over the East Sea on 1 February 2012, by using synoptic, satellites data, and WRF numerical simulation output of high resolution. In both satellite images and the WRF numerical simulation outputs, the Cu-Cb line that stretched out toward northwest-southeast was shown in the East Sea, and cloud lines of the L mode were aligned in accordance with the prevailing surface wind direction. However, those of the T mode were aligned in the direction of NE-SW, which was nearly perpendicular direction to the surface winds. The directions of the wind shear vectors connecting top winds and bottom winds of the moist layers of the L mode and the T mode were identical with those of the cloud lines of L mode and T mode, respectively. From the WRF simulation convection circulations with a convergence in the lower layer of atmosphere and a divergence above 1.5 km ASL (Above Sea Level) were identified in the Cu-Cb line. A series of small sized vortexes (maximum vortex: $320{\times}10^{-5}s^{-1}$) of meso-${\gamma}$-scale formed by convergences was found along the Cu-Cb lines, suggesting that Cu-Cb lines, consisting of numerous convective clouds, were closely associated with a series of the small vortexes. There was an absolute unstable layer (${\partial}{\theta}/{\partial}z$ < 0) between sfc and ~0.3 km ASL, and a stable layer (${\partial}{\theta}/{\partial}z$ > 0) above ~2 km ASL over the Cu-Cb line and cloud zones. Not only convectively unstable layers (${\partial}{\theta}_e/{\partial}z$ < 0) but also neutral layers (${\partial}{\theta}_e/{\partial}z{\approx}=0$) in the lower atmosphere (sfc~1.5 km ASL) were scattered around over the cloud zones. Particularly, for the Cu-Cb line there were convectively unstable layers in the surface layer, and neutral layers (${\partial}{\theta}_e/{\partial}z{\approx}=0$) between 0.2 and ~1.5 km ASL over near the center of the Cu-Cb line, and the neutralization of unstable layers came from the release of convective instability.