Articles | Volume 18, issue 24
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7603-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7603-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Dec 2025
Research article |
| 15 Dec 2025
| 15 Dec 2025
A method for characterizing the spatial organization of deep convective cores in deep convective systems' cloud shield using idealized elementary convective structure decomposition
Université de Toulouse, Laboratoire d'Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (CNRS/CNES/IRD/UPS), Toulouse, France
Thomas Fiolleau
Université de Toulouse, Laboratoire d'Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (CNRS/CNES/IRD/UPS), Toulouse, France
Rémy Roca
Université de Toulouse, Laboratoire d'Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (CNRS/CNES/IRD/UPS), Toulouse, France
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The RAPSODI dataset compiles 624 radiosonde profiles collected during the 2024 ORCESTRA campaign across the tropical Atlantic—from Cape Verde (INMG), the R/V Meteor, and the Barbados Cloud Observatory. It provides high-resolution temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure data to study convection, tropical waves, and ITCZ dynamics. Data are quality-controlled and openly available in Zarr format via IPFS.
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This paper presents a database of tropical deep convective systems over the 2012–2020 period, built from a cloud-tracking algorithm called TOOCAN, which has been applied to homogenized infrared observations from a fleet of geostationary satellites. This database aims to analyze the tropical deep convective systems, the evolution of their associated characteristics over their life cycle, their organization, and their importance in the hydrological and energy cycle.
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Zipser, E. J. and Lutz, K. R.: The Vertical Profile of Radar Reflectivity of Convective Cells: A Strong Indicator of Storm Intensity and Lightning Probability?, Monthly Weather Review, 122, 1751–1759, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1994)122<1751:TVPORR>2.0.CO;2, 1994.
Short summary
Convective systems are the primary drivers of rainfall and climate on Earth, yet the spatial organisation of associated convection remains poorly understood. This study presents a simple approach to describing this organisation. First, the convective field is decomposed into elementary structures. Then, four scores are computed to describe the size, density, spacing scale and departure from randomness of the cores. This method robustly characterises the organisation of convection.
Convective systems are the primary drivers of rainfall and climate on Earth, yet the spatial...
