Perturbation Pressure at the Base of Cumulus Clouds in Low Shear

Abstract

We examine the pressure fields wound the cloud-base updraft of three cumulus clouds observed in environments with low vertical shear of the horizontal wind near cloud base. These fields are compared to the corresponding pressure fields beneath convective clouds embedded in moderate to large shear. All of the pressure fields are derived from aircraft measurements taken during the 1981 Cooperative Convective Experiment, CCOPE. The pressure fields associated with these low-shear clouds are weaker than those for the clouds in higher shear. Furthermore, the low-shear fields are not consistently dominated by the dynamic pressure created by the interaction of the cloud-base updraft with the vertical shear of the horizontal wind. The weaker dynamic pressure is due to the smaller size and intensity of the cloud-base updraft as well as the smaller vertical shear of the horizontal wind. The reduction of the dynamic Pressure allows buoyancy effects on the pressure field to become more apparent.