When, Where and to What Extent Do Temperature Perturbations near
Tropical Deep Convection Follow Convective Quasi Equilibrium?
Abstract
Convective Quasi-Equilibrium (CQE) is often adopted as a useful closure
assumption to summarize the effects of unresolved convection on
large-scale thermodynamics, while existing efforts to observationally
validate CQE largely rely on specific spatial domains or sites rather
than the source of CQE constraints—deep convection. This study employs
a Lagrangian framework to investigate leading temperature perturbation
patterns near deep convection, of which the centers are located by use
of an ensemble of satellite measurements. Temperature perturbations near
deep convection with high peak precipitation are rapidly adjusted
towards the CQE structure within the two hours centered on peak
precipitation. The top 1% precipitating deep convection constrains the
neighboring free-tropospheric leading perturbations up to 8 degrees.
Notable CQE validity beyond a 1-degree radius is observed when peak
precipitation exceeds the 95th percentile. These findings suggest that
only a small fraction of deep convection with extreme precipitation
shapes tropical free-tropospheric temperature patterns dominantly.