Large-scale environmental variables and transition to deep convection in cloud resolving model simulations: A vector representation

Cloud resolving model simulations and vector analysis are used to develop a quantitative method of assessing regional variations in the relationships between various large-scale environmental variables and the transition to deep convection. Results of the CRM simulations from three tropical regions are used to cluster environmental conditions under which transition to deep convection does and does not take place. Projections of the large-scale environmental variables on the difference between these two clusters are used to quantify the roles of these variables in the transition to deep convection. While the transition to deep convection is most sensitive to moisture and vertical velocity perturbations, the details of the profiles of the anomalies vary from region to region. In comparison, the transition to deep convection is found to be much less sensitive to temperature anomalies over all three regions. The vector formulation presented in this study represents a simple general framework for quantifying various aspects of how the transition to deep convection is sensitive to environmental conditions.