Prequel to the Stories of Warm Conveyor Belts and Atmospheric Rivers: The Moist Tongues Identified by Rossby and His Collaborators in the 1930s

Mo, Ruping

doi:https://open-science.canada.ca/handle/123456789/1295

Prequel to the Stories of Warm Conveyor Belts and Atmospheric Rivers: The Moist Tongues Identified by Rossby and His Collaborators in the 1930s

Simple item page

Full item details

dc.contributor.author: Mo, Ruping
dc.date.accepted: 2021-12-30
dc.date.accessioned: 2023-11-17T15:06:21Z
dc.date.available: 2023-11-17T15:06:21Z
dc.date.issued: 2022-04-07
dc.description.abstract - en: The model of atmospheric rivers (ARs) has been around since the 1990s. A closely related model is the warm conveyor belt (WCB) developed in the 1970s. Looking further back in time, a phenomenon known as the “moist tongue” was intensively investigated in the late 1930s and early 1940s by Rossby and his collaborators using the innovation of isentropic analysis. This article aims to establish a historical perspective on the development of the moist tongue model and its relevance to the current models of WCBs and ARs. As it turns out, the moist tongue was identified as an extension of moist air into a region of lower moisture content on the selected isentropic charts. Most moist tongues are driven by large-scale cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies and are often accompanied by surface cold fronts in close proximity. Ahead of the moist tongues, areas of continuous precipitation are caused mainly by the motion of moist air up the steep isentropic slopes over warm fronts or topographical features. In the warm season, the mere presence of a moist tongue could be sufficient to give thunderstorms. A reanalysis dataset is used to reexamine the structures and evolutions of two moist tongue events in 1936. It is shown that not all but some of the moist tongues fit well with the modern conceptual models of WCB and AR. These two case studies also serve to elucidate the usefulness of reanalysis data for investigating historical high-impact weather events that were poorly understood due to the lack of observational data.
dc.description.fosrcfull - en: Copyright [2022] American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this Work, please contact <a href = "mailto: permissions@ametsoc.org">permissions@ametsoc.org</a>. Any use of material in this Work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. All AMS journals and monograph publications are registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (<a href="https://www.copyright.com">https://www.copyright.com</a>). Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement, available on the AMS website (<a href="https://www.ametsoc.org/PUBSCopyrightPolicy">https://www.ametsoc.org/PUBSCopyrightPolicy</a>)
dc.description.fosrcfull-fosrctranslation - fr: Droit d'auteur [2022] American Meteorological Society (AMS). Pour obtenir l'autorisation de réutiliser toute partie de cette œuvre, veuillez contacter <a href = "mailto: permissions@ametsoc.org">permissions@ametsoc.org</a>. Toute utilisation d'un élément de cette œuvre considérée comme une "utilisation équitable" par l'article 107 de la loi américaine sur le droit d'auteur (U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S. Code § 107) ou satisfaisant aux conditions énoncées à l'article 108 de la loi américaine sur le droit d'auteur (U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S. Code § 108) ne requiert pas l'autorisation de l'AMS. La republication, la reproduction systématique, l'affichage sous forme électronique, par exemple sur un site web ou dans une base de données interrogeable, ou toute autre utilisation de ce matériel, à l'exception de ce qui est exempté par la déclaration ci-dessus, nécessite une autorisation écrite ou une licence de la part de l'AMS. Toutes les revues et monographies de l'AMS sont enregistrées auprès du Copyright Clearance Center (<a href="https://www.copyright.com">https://www.copyright.com</a>). Des détails supplémentaires sont prévu dans la déclaration de politique de droit d'auteur de l'AMS, disponible sur le site web de l'AMS (<a href="https://www.ametsoc.org/PUBSCopyrightPolicy">https://www.ametsoc.org/PUBSCopyrightPolicy</a>)
dc.identifier.doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0276.1
dc.identifier.issn: 0003-0007; 1520-0477
dc.identifier.uri: https://open-science.canada.ca/handle/123456789/1295
dc.language.iso: en
dc.publisher: American Meteorological Society
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - en: Green
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - fr: Vert
dc.subject - en: Nature and environment; Science and technology; Climate
dc.subject - fr: Nature et environnement; Sciences et technologie; Climat
dc.subject.en - en: Nature and environment; Science and technology; Climate
dc.subject.fr - fr: Nature et environnement; Sciences et technologie; Climat
dc.title - en: Prequel to the Stories of Warm Conveyor Belts and Atmospheric Rivers: The Moist Tongues Identified by Rossby and His Collaborators in the 1930s
dc.type - en: Article
dc.type - fr: Article
local.article.journalissue: 4
local.article.journaltitle: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
local.article.journalvolume: 103
local.pagination: E1019–E1040
local.peerreview - en: Yes
local.peerreview - fr: Oui
local.requestdoi: No

Download(s)

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Name: WarmConveyorBeltsAtmosphericRiversMoistTonguesRossby.pdf

Size: 28.87 MB

Format: PDF

Download file

Collection(s)

Climate and weather