- University of Potsdam, Physics and Astronomy, Computational Physics, Potsdam Eiche, Germany (wilsonashly8@gmail.com)
Convective Organization through Gravity Waves from a Conceptual Model
Ashly Wilson and Jan O. Haerter
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24/25,
14476 Potsdam, Germany
Correspondence: Ashly Wilson (ashly.wilson@uni-potsdam.de)
Organized convection plays a crucial role in driving extreme weather events, such as
Thunderstorm clusters and tropical cyclones have far-reaching implications for human lives and
infrastructure. It is known that the global tropical circulation is mainly thermally driven (Lau
& Lim, 1982) and that diabatic heating over Earth’s continents plays a key role in
causing Walker and Hadley type circulations. It has long been postulated that tropical deep convection
might couple to different geophysical flows. In a 2D conceptual model, we here propose a two-way interaction where gravity waves can trigger new convection, whereas convection also releases gravity waves.
In our model, a convective ”kick” (in the form of momentum ) (Bretherton and Piotr Smolarkiewicz
1988) initiates gravity waves, which subsequently interact with one another by linear superposition. When a critical amplitude is exceeded, a new convective “kick” results. The physical motivation of the aforementioned convective “kick” is localized heating from convergence in the planetary boundary layer resulting from the interaction between gravity waves, which can act as a source of convection. This enhanced convection, in turn, generates new oscillations within the otherwise stratified troposphere, perpetuating the feedback cycle. The interplay of these processes is proposed as a mechanism of self-organization of convection. Boussinesq equations in the absence of the Earth’s rotation are used. Convection is modeled as a triggered function (Dirac Delta) (Da Yang, 2021).
By extending these concepts, our model provides a simplified yet insightful framework
to explore the dynamics of convective aggregation. Preliminary results suggest that the nonlinear feedback proposed can give rise to a fully-clustered convective system, similar to that seen in convective self-aggregation. Our approach opens avenues for future investigations into the role of gravity waves in
modulating large-scale atmospheric patterns and extreme weather phenomena.
Keywords: Convective Organization, Convectively Coupled Gravity Waves, Triggered
Convection
Abstract for oral session
How to cite: Wilson, A. and Haerter, J.: Convective Organization through Gravity Waves from a Conceptual Model, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-21637, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-21637, 2026.
