ON THE TRANSIENT BEHAVIOR OF ASAI'S MODEL OF MOIST CONVECTION

Abstract

The transient behavior of the simple model of moist convection devised by Asai is studied. It is shown that the initial behavior of convective disturbances depends strongly upon the geometry of the disturbance, its initial buoyancy, and dissipative mechanisms. Final approach to a steady convective cell is dependent upon the relative importance of entrainment of heat and momentum. These conclusions derived mainly from linear analysis are substantiated by a series of numerical experiments exhibiting the full nonlinear behavior of the system from formative stages to the final steady-state cell.