The Characteristics and Predictability of Convective System Based on GOES-9 Observations during the Summer of 2004 over East Asia

정지기상위성의 밝기온도로 분석한 2004년 동아시아지역에서 발생한 여름철 대류 시스템의 특성과 그 예측 가능성

Convective systems propagate eastward with a persistent pattern in the longitude-time space. The characteristic structure and fluctuation of convective system is helpful in determining its predictability. In this study, convective index (CI) was defined as a difference between GOES-9 window and water vapor channel brightness temperatures following Mosher (2001). Then the temporal-spatial scales and variational characteristics of the summer convective systems in the East Asia were analyzed. It is found that the average moving speed of the convective system is about 14 m/s which is much faster than the low pressure system in the summer. Their average duration is about 12 hours and the average length of the cloud streak is about 750km. These characteristics are consistent with results from other studies. Although the convective systems are forced by the synoptic system and are mostly developed in the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, they have a persistent pattern, i.e., appearance of the maximum intensity of convective systems, as they approach the Korean Peninsula. The consistency of the convective systems, i.e., the eastward propagation, suggests that there exists an intrinsic predictability.