Abstract In convective quasi-equilibrium theory, tropical tropospheric temperature perturbations are expected to follow vertical profiles constrained by convection, referred to as A-profiles here, often approximated by perturbations of moist adiabats. Differences between an idealized A-profile based on moist-static energy conservation and temperature perturbations derived from entraining and nonentraining parcel computations are modest under convective conditions—deep convection mostly occurs when the lower troposphere is close to saturation, thus minimizing the impact of entrainment on tropospheric temperature. Simple calculations with pseudoadiabatic perturbations about the observed profile thus provide useful baseline A-profiles. The first EOF mode of tropospheric temperature (TEOF1) from the ERA-Interim and AIRS retrievals below the level of neutral buoyancy (LNB) is compared with these A-profiles. The TEOF1 profiles with high LNB, typically above 400 hPa, yield high vertical spatial correlation (∼0.9) with A-profiles, indicating that tropospheric temperature perturbations tend to be consistent with the quasi-equilibrium assumption where the environment is favorable to deep convection. Lower correlation tends to occur in regions with low climatological LNB, less favorable to deep convection. Excluding temperature profiles with low LNB significantly increases the tropical mean vertical spatial correlation. The temperature perturbations near LNB exhibit negative deviations from the A-profiles—the convective cold-top phenomenon—with greater deviation for higher LNB. In regions with lower correlation, the deviation from A-profile shows an S-like shape beneath 600 hPa, usually accompanied by a drier lower troposphere. These findings are robust across a wide range of time scales from daily to monthly, although the vertical spatial correlation and TEOF1 explained variance tend to decrease on short time scales.
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This content will become publicly available on July 25, 2025
Moist heatwaves intensified by entrainment of dry air that limits deep convection
Moist heatwaves in the tropics and subtropics pose substantial risks to
society, yet the dynamics governing their intensity are not fully understood.
The onset of deep convection arising from hot, moist near-surface air
has been thought to limit the magnitude of moist heatwaves. Here we use
reanalysis data, output from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
Phase 6 and model entrainment perturbation experiments to show that
entrainment of unsaturated air in the lower-free troposphere (roughly
1–3 km above the surface) limits deep convection, thereby allowing much
higher near-surface moist heat. Regions with large-scale subsidence and
a dry lower-free troposphere, such as coastal areas adjacent to hot and
arid land, are thus particularly susceptible to moist heatwaves. Even in
convective regions such as the northern Indian Plain, Southeast Asia and
interior South America, the lower-free tropospheric dryness strongly afects
the maximum surface wet-bulb temperature. As the climate warms, the
dryness (relative to saturation) of the lower-free tropospheric air increases
and this allows for a larger increase of extreme moist heat, further elevating
the likelihood of moist heatwaves.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2225956
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10537469
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Geoscience
- ISSN:
- 1752-0894
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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