SATELLITE EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF WINDSHEAR AND WATER VAPOR ON CONVECTIVE CLOUDS

Abstract

Convective waves have been engaging the attention of researchers during the past decade of consequence on to reports of thermal or convective waves among the soaring community. Several researchers have carried out related investigations, for instance, in respect of: wave flow above convection streets; windshear and thermal waves experienced in Germany; cloud structure; the time variation of a mesoscale convective system (MCS) in Spain; time variation of infrared cloud temperatures outlined by isotherms for a MCS over Texas; the magnitude of solar irradiance reflected from deep cumulus clouds to the ground using observations along the Front Range of Colorado, etc. ...Thermal waves as experienced by glider pilots are gravity waves found in the stable tropospheric layer above a heated planetary layer and are observed to reach down to the boundary layer as well as heights well above the tropopause. Glider pilots have observed them with and without cumulus convection, though they are easier to detect when clouds are present. The impacts of wind shear and water vapor on convective waves are not clearly undelstood from the point of view of thermal soaring and there is a need for further investigation. The present study has examhed these aspects using Meteosat observations in the northwestern regbn of Turkey.