scholarly journals Composite Analysis of Polar Mesocyclones over the Western Part of the Sea of Japan

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (4) ◽  
pp. 985-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun-ichi I. Watanabe ◽  
Hiroshi Niino ◽  
Wataru Yanase
Keyword(s):  
Sea Of Japan ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
The Sea Of Japan ◽  
Convergence Zone ◽  
Composite Analysis ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Cold Air Outbreak ◽  
Pressure Anomaly ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Inversion Analysis

Polar mesocyclones occur frequently over the Sea of Japan during winter in association with cold air outbreaks from the Eurasian continent. In this study, the general characteristics of polar mesocyclones over the western part of the Sea of Japan are examined using composite analysis. The synoptic-scale environment associated with these mesocyclones is characterized by a negative sea level pressure anomaly to the east that causes a cold air outbreak at low levels. There is also a geopotential height trough moving eastward at upper levels. In the cold air outbreak, a convergence zone known as the Japan Sea polar airmass convergence zone (JPCZ), collocated with a thermal ridge, develops on the lee side of the mountains at the root of the Korean Peninsula. These polar mesocyclones are generated when the upper-level trough approaches the JPCZ from the west. However, the behavior of the JPCZ and the movement of the polar mesocyclones differ depending on the location of the upper-level trough. A piecewise potential vorticity inversion analysis revealed that the circulation associated with the upper-level trough modifies the low-level winds, which affects the direction of extension of the JPCZ as well as the genesis location and the movement of the polar mesocyclones.

scholarly journals A case study of snowstorm gusts and blowing/drifting snow

1993 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 142-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Maki ◽  
Sento Nakai ◽  
Tsuruhei Yagi ◽  
Hideomi Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Gravity Current ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
The Sea Of Japan ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Drifting Snow ◽  
Cold Air Outbreak ◽  
Strong Winds

The mechanisms of strong winds associated with snow clouds, and the relationship between strong winds and blowing/drifting snow, were investigated. A snowstorm occurred with a typical L-mode snow band which was generated and organized longitudinally during a continental cold-air outbreak over the Sea of Japan. Doppler radar observations revealed that the snow band consisted of small echo cells arranged along the direction of the snow band. When one of the echo cells passed, blowing/drifting snow was generated and intensified by a snow cloud-induced gust, and the horizontal visibility near the ground surface was significantly decreased. Doppler radar and radiosonde data showed that the gust was due to the cold air outflow (CAO) from the snow clouds. The leading edge of the CAO was about 9 km ahead of the center of the snow cloud and the depth of the CAO was about 600 m near the forward flank of the snow cloud. The CAO was caused by a downdraft at the center of the snow cloud, which was initiated at a height of about 1.3 km and with a velocity in excess of 1 ms−1. The observed CAO speed was explained by the theory of the gravity current.

Distribution of methane content and methane fluxes in the Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, and near-Kuril Pacific

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Obzhirov ◽  
N. L. Pestrikova ◽  
G. I. Mishukova ◽  
V. F. Mishukov ◽  
A. K. Okulov
Keyword(s):  
Sea Of Japan ◽  
Sea Of Okhotsk ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
Methane Content ◽  
The Sea Of Japan ◽  
Methane Fluxes

scholarly journals Structure and Evolution of Misovortices Observed within a Convective Snowband in the Japan Sea Coastal Region during a Cold-Air Outbreak on 31 December 2007

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 507-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanako Y. INOUE ◽  
Kenichi KUSUNOKI ◽  
Ken-ichiro ARAI ◽  
Naoki ISHITSU ◽  
Toru ADACHI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Region ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Cold Air Outbreak ◽  
The Japan Sea

scholarly journals Structure of Two Adjacent Shear Lines Accompanied by Wind Gusts in the Japan Sea Coastal Region during a Cold-Air Outbreak on 12 December 2010

SOLA ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (0) ◽  
pp. 90-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wataru Mashiko ◽  
Hanako Y. Inoue ◽  
Syugo Hayashi ◽  
Kenichi Kusunoki ◽  
Syunsuke Hoshino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Region ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Wind Gusts ◽  
Cold Air Outbreak ◽  
The Japan Sea

scholarly journals Roles of an upper-level cold vortex and low-level baroclinicity in the development of polar lows over the Sea of Japan

2014 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 24694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udai Shimada ◽  
Akiyoshi Wada ◽  
Koji Yamazaki ◽  
Naoko Kitabatake
Keyword(s):  
Sea Of Japan ◽  
The Sea Of Japan ◽  
Polar Lows ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Cold Vortex ◽  
Upper Level

Formation, Thermodynamic Structure, and Airflow of a Japan Sea Polar-Airmass Convergence Zone

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
Forecast Model ◽  
The Sea Of Japan ◽  
Convergence Zone ◽  
Horizontal Scale ◽  
Thermodynamic Structure ◽  
The Japan Sea ◽  
Flow Splitting

Abstract The Sea of Japan (SOJ) coast and adjoining orography of central Honshu, Japan receive substantial snowfall each winter. A frequent contributor during cold-air outbreaks (CAOs) is the Japan Sea Polar-Airmass Convergence Zone (JPCZ), which forms downstream of the Korean Highlands, extends southeastward to Honshu, and generates a mesoscale band of precipitation. Mesoscale polar vortices (MPVs) ranging in horizontal scale from tens (i.e., meso-β-scale cyclones) to several hundred kilometers (i.e., “polar lows”) are also common during CAOs and often interact with the JPCZ. Here we use satellite imagery and Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) simulations to examine the formation, thermodynamic structure, and airflow of a JPCZ that formed in the wake of an MPV during a CAO from 2–7 February 2018. The MPV and its associated warm seclusion and bent-back front developed in a locally warm, convergent, and convective environment over the SOJ near the base of the Korean Peninsula. The nascent JPCZ was structurally continuous with the bent-back front and lengthened as the MPV migrated southeastward. Trajectories illustrate how flow splitting around the Korean Highlands, channeling through low passes and valleys along the Asian coast, and air-sea interactions affect the formation and thermodynamic structure of the JPCZ. Contrasts in airmass origin and thermodynamic modification over the SOJ affect the cross-JPCZ temperature gradient, which reverses in sign along the JPCZ from the Asian coast to Honshu. These results provide new insights into the thermodynamic structure of the JPCZ, which is an important contributor to hazardous weather over Japan.

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