Polar Low Dynamics

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Abstract
Polar lows are intense subsynoptic-scale cyclones that form over high-latitude oceans in association with deep cumulus convection and strong ambient baroclinicity. Recent observations indicate that polar lows are generally initiated by a nonaxisymmetric interaction between a surface disturbance and an upper-level mobile trough. Extant theories of polar low formation preclude study of such a process since they either constrain their models to be axisymmetric, or do not explicitly account for this transient interaction. In this work the physics of interacting upper- and lower-level potential vorticity structures is studied as an initial-value problem using a three-dimensional nonlinear geostrophic momentum model that incorporates moist processes and includes strong baroclinic dynamics. Model results illustrate the rapid formation of an intense small-scale cyclone whose structure is consistent with observations of mature polar lows. A conceptual model of polar low development is proposed. In the fir... Abstract Polar lows are intense subsynoptic-scale cyclones that form over high-latitude oceans in association with deep cumulus convection and strong ambient baroclinicity. Recent observations indicate that polar lows are generally initiated by a nonaxisymmetric interaction between a surface disturbance and an upper-level mobile trough. Extant theories of polar low formation preclude study of such a process since they either constrain their models to be axisymmetric, or do not explicitly account for this transient interaction. In this work the physics of interacting upper- and lower-level potential vorticity structures is studied as an initial-value problem using a three-dimensional nonlinear geostrophic momentum model that incorporates moist processes and includes strong baroclinic dynamics. Model results illustrate the rapid formation of an intense small-scale cyclone whose structure is consistent with observations of mature polar lows. A conceptual model of polar low development is proposed. In the fir...

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