Stability and wind shear effects on meso-scale cellular convection

A three-dimensional numerical model has been used to assess the effects of vertical stability and wind shear on the nature and form of meso-scale cellular convection (MCC). The model was shown to be capable of simulating a real occasion of MCC before it was used in idealised cases. These cases revealed different regimes in MCC: open cells, longitudinal bands and closed cells/transverse bands. Open cells were favoured by the existence of instability in the surface layer and a lack of wind shear in the Ekman layer. Longitudinal bands were favoured by similar conditions in the surface layer plus wind shear in the Ekman layer. A near-neutral surface layer favoured the occurrence of closed cells/transverse bands. The depth of convection in the longitudinal bands was a function of the stability in both the surface and Ekman layers and of the wind shear in the Ekman layer. The regimes are related to the instability and shear through bulk Richardson numbers in the surface and Ekman layers.