9424462 Bannon This research project involves an investigation of the role of boundary layer processes in the formation, structure and propagation of surface fronts. The low level structure of the front includes the vorticity and convergence fields as well as the frontal updraft. Their relative positions help to determine the rate of frontogenesis and the strength and speed of the front. The principal investigator will employ a variety of tools in the study. A diagnostic geostrophic momentum model of the baroclinic boundary layer will be used to study the effects of baroclinicity, transience, advection, and stratification. A prognostic model will be used to conduct numerical experiments designed to elucidate the roles of surface friction and surface hear fluxes on the front. Finally, analyses of data from the Storm-scale Operational and Research Meteorology-Fronts Experiment Systems Test (STORM-FEST) field program to document observed mesoscale and microscale frontal structure and compare it with model results. Understanding the processes affecting the behavior of atmospheric fronts is an important aspect of efforts to improve weather forecasting. ***
