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Abstract Many definitions of moist potential vorticity (PV) have been proposed to extend the dry theory of Ertel PV. None of the moist PV definitions seem to have all of the desirable properties of the dry Ertel PV. For instance, dry PV is not only a globally conserved quantity, but also a material invariant that is conserved along fluid parcel trajectories. Therefore, an open question remains: Is there a moist PV that is a material invariant, if clouds and phase changes of water are present? In prior studies, definitions of moist PV have been proposed based on physical and mathematical intuition. Here, a systematic approach is used. In particular, a particle relabeling symmetry is devised for a moist atmosphere and then Noether's theorem is employed to arrive at the associated conservation laws for a moist PV. A priori, it is not clear whether this systematic approach will be viable, since it relies on variational derivatives in Hamilton's principle, and phase changes introduce singularities that could potentially prevent derivatives at the cloud edge. However, it is shown that the energy and the Lagrangian density are sufficiently smooth to allow variational derivatives, in a moist Boussinesq system with reversible phase transitions between water vapor and liquid cloud water. From the particle relabeling symmetry, a moist Kelvin circulation theorem is found, along with a moist PV conservation law that applies not for each individual parcel but for parcel‐integrated PV, integrated over certain local volumes.
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Non‐conservation and conservation for different formulations of moist potential vorticity
Abstract Potential vorticity (PV) is one of the most important quantities in atmospheric science. In the absence of dissipative processes, the PV of each fluid parcel is known to be conserved, for a dry atmosphere. However, a parcel's PV is not conserved if clouds or phase changes of water occur. Recently, PV conservation laws were derived for a cloudy atmosphere, where each parcel's PV is not conserved but parcel‐integrated PV is conserved, for integrals over certain volumes that move with the flow. Hence a variety of different statements are now possible for moist PV conservation and non‐conservation, and in comparison to the case of a dry atmosphere, the situation for moist PV is more complex. Here, in light of this complexity, several different definitions of moist PV are compared for a cloudy atmosphere. Numerical simulations are shown for a rising thermal, both before and after the formation of a cloud. These simulations include the first computational illustration of the parcel‐integrated, moist PV conservation laws. The comparisons, both theoretical and numerical, serve to clarify and highlight the different statements of conservation and non‐conservation that arise for different definitions of moist PV.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1907667
- PAR ID:
- 10500107
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Atmospheric Science Letters
- ISSN:
- 1530-261X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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