Domain-independent attribution. Part II: Its value in the verification of dynamical theories of frontal waves and frontogenesis

Abstract

Theories of frontogenesis and frontal waves describe development in terms of the interaction of a basic state or environmental flow with a frontal flow. The basic-state flow may comprise a large-scale confluent-diffluent deformation field and/or an alongfront temperature gradient. The frontal flow is seen as evolving as a result of its interaction with the environmental flow. Such theories make specific predictions about the effect of the basic-state flow on the frontal flow. To test these predictions, counterparts of the basic-state flows and frontal flows used in theoretical models must be extracted from atmospheric data. Here the concept of attribution is used to identify such counterpart..