Hi!
I am not a climate expert but I am doing a project in climate impacts on offshore oil and gas in the Arctic, and I just cannot understand why static stability is important? I know the definition, I understand if static stability increases there will be a laminar flow, which to my mind means that since warm weather is usually associated with cylclones, it will cause more storms up in the atmosphere, but on the other hand since there will be like 2 isolated layers, I think in the part which is closer to earth, cold weather severity will increase,
But I cannot verifyt this.
Is there anyone who can just tell me what happens when static stability increases? The studies I found don't give it out straight!
Thank you :)
Hi Atefeh,
I guess you are refering to the static stability of the atmosphere (not that of the ocean).
In that sense, an increase in the atmospheric static stability relates to reduced vertical mixing and coupling between different layers of the atmosphere (mainly those at low and mid-levels). It also gives hints of potentially colder temperatures at the surface and more prevailing and frequent conditions of air stagnation.
If static stability increases in any location, it makes one suspect of either decreasing low-level temperatures, or also reduced turbulent mixing (which, for instance, could be associated with a reduction in cyclonic activity and mean wind speeds and wind shear over the region).
Hope this helps. Otherwise, feel free to ask again.
Cheers,
Ramiro
Hi Atefet:
I suggest going back to the source of the claim stating that static stability is increasing in the Artic (the signal). The may have offered a set of hypotheses suggesting why the changes (observed or modeled) are taking place. By "first principles", most answers in this threat are somehow right, but they are just suggestions and hang-waving ideas. Follow the lead of the original claim and learn about the significance of the signal and related uncertainties.
Ramiro Saurral Thank you so much, it just makes sense that just what you say happens, and I thought the same thing, it's just logical! You helped me a lot :) thank you for your answer
John F Mejia The paper just reported the change and not the potential results. But thank you so much for the help, it just makes sense that in the case of a lack of dynamic exchange between layers, the layers are isolated so severe weather events would increase at the surface especially closer to the ocean. Thank you for the taking the time to answer :)
Atefeh Zamani and Readers,
“In northern high latitudes, measures of static stability are by definition a proxy for the strength of the pervasive near-surface temperature inversion, a principal climatic structure of the autumn and wintertime Arctic atmosphere (Sverdrup 1933).”
For further discussion please see the following conference paper
https://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/60754.pdf
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