Abstract
Observations and simulations have found convective cold pools to trigger
and organize subsequent updrafts by modifying near-surface temperature
and moisture as well as by lifting air parcels at the outflow
boundaries. We study the causality between cold pools and subsequent
deep convection in an idealized large-eddy simulation by tracking
colliding outflow boundaries preceding hundreds of deep convection
events. When outflow boundaries collide, their common front position
remains immobile, whereas the internal cold pool dynamics continues for
hours. We analyze how this dynamics “funnels” moisture from a
relatively large volume into a narrow convergence zone. We quantify
moisture convergence and separate the contribution from surface fluxes,
finding that it plays a secondary role. Our results highlight that
dynamical effects are crucial in triggering new convection, even in
radiative-convective equilibrium. However, it is the moisture
convergence resulting from this dynamics that moistens the atmosphere
aloft and ultimately permits deep convection.