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The Moist Boundary Layer under a Mid-latitude Weather System

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Abstract

Mid-latitude weather systems are key contributors to the transport of atmospheric water vapour, but less is known about the role of the boundary layer in this transport. We expand a conceptual model of dry boundary-layer structure under synoptic systems to include moist processes, using idealised simulations of cyclone waves to investigate the three-way interaction between the boundary layer, atmospheric moisture and large-scale dynamics. Forced by large-scale thermal advection, boundary-layer structures develop over large areas, analogous to the daytime convective boundary layer, the nocturnal stable boundary layer and transitional regimes between these extremes. A budgeting technique demonstrates the key role of boundary-layer processes in the transport of moisture. Moisture is evaporated from the ocean behind the cold front and in the high-pressure part of the wave, and transported large distances within the boundary layer into the footprint of the warm-conveyor belt. The warm-conveyor belt forms one of the two main processes of boundary-layer ventilation, with shallow cumulus convection being of similar importance.

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Author notes

  1. I. A. Boutle

    Present address: , Met Office, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, PO Box 243, Reading, RG6 6BB, UK

    I. A. Boutle, S. E. Belcher & R. S. Plant

  2. Met Office, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK

    A. R. Brown

  3. School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK

    R. J. Beare

Authors
  1. I. A. Boutle
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  2. R. J. Beare
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  3. S. E. Belcher
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  4. A. R. Brown
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  5. R. S. Plant
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Correspondence to I. A. Boutle.

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Boutle, I.A., Beare, R.J., Belcher, S.E. et al. The Moist Boundary Layer under a Mid-latitude Weather System. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 134, 367–386 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9452-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9452-9

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