'Striated Delta' Clouds As Tracers Of Inertia-Gravity Wave Emission From Upper Jets And Extratropical Cyclones

'Striated Delta' cloud formations are frequently tracers of upper-tropospheric inertia-gravity wave disturbances near the jet stream, coincident with rapid extratropical cyclogenesis (Feren, 1995). The investigation of source mechanisms in this context is important for better understanding of how and where large-amplitude inertia-gravity waves are generated, which propagate energy throughout the atmosphere and transfer it to the mean flow through breaking or attenuation processes. A seasonal study of twenty-eight Striated Delta events in the Australia/New Zealand region during May to September 2009 is analysed in the high-resolution ECMWF YOTC dataset. Mean composite analyses show that Striated Deltas occur in an upper-tropospheric environment of strong horizontal divergence, strong parcel accelerations, strong vertical motion and geostrophic imbalance. Synoptically, the Striated Delta cases occur in the poleward jet exit region near the axis of inflexion between an upstream upper trough and a downstream upper ridge. This is consistent with findings of previous studies regarding the synoptic environment characteristic of gravity wave generation. A Q-vector partitioning analysis suggests that flow curvature and advection of shear are the two greatest components to synoptic scale vertical motion forcing. The Q-Vector analysis also explains the characteristic triangular shape of the Striated Delta cloud formation. It is hypothesised that strong parcel accelerations due to curvature of the flow, as well as air parcel deceleration in the jet streak exit region, are responsible for the generation of inertia-gravity waves evident in the banding of Striated Delta clouds. Furthermore, deep convection is favoured in the poleward jet exit region by the ageostrophic circulation and is also thought to play a role in the generation of waves and the modulation of wavelengths. A distinct and interesting Striated Delta and extratropical cyclogenesis event from September 2009 is simulated in high-resolution in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, and the wave source dynamics investigated further. Feren, G., 1995: The "Striated Delta" Cloud System - A satellite imagery precursor to major cyclogenesis in the Eastern Australian-Western Tasman Sea region. Wea. Forecasting, 10, 286-309.