A note on boundary-layer friction in baroclinic cyclones

TL;DR

This paper investigates how boundary-layer friction influences the development of baroclinic cyclones by comparing different sea-surface temperature scenarios and analyzing low-level wind interactions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that multiple boundary-layer mechanisms can operate simultaneously in cyclone growth, clarifying their combined effects through simulation analysis.

Findings

Both boundary-layer mechanisms are active within a single simulation.

Sea-surface temperature variations significantly affect boundary-layer dynamics.

Low-level wind patterns reveal the interaction of different boundary-layer processes.

Abstract

The interaction between extratropical cyclones and the underlying boundary layer has been a topic of recent discussion in papers by Adamson et. al. (2006) and Beare (2007). Their results emphasise different mechanisms through which the boundary layer dynamics may modify the growth of a baroclinic cyclone. By using different sea-surface temperature distributions and comparing the low-level winds, the differences are exposed and both of the proposed mechanisms appear to be acting within a single simulation.