Frontogenesis Function 2D
Compute 2D adiabatic kinematic material growth of temperature-gradient magnitude from caller local velocity-gradient tensor; no vertical tilting/diabatic term, coordinates or front forecast.
Description
Kinematic frontogenesis measures material growth of horizontal temperature-gradient magnitude.
Kinematic frontogenesis measures material growth of horizontal temperature-gradient magnitude. The local velocity-gradient tensor can strengthen or weaken that gradient without a full front simulation.1
Compute 2D adiabatic kinematic material growth of temperature-gradient magnitude from caller local velocity-gradient tensor; no vertical tilting/diabatic term, coordinates or front forecast.
When to use Frontogenesis Function 2D
Use this tool to compute 2D adiabatic kinematic material growth of temperature-gradient magnitude from caller local velocity-gradient tensor; no vertical tilting/diabatic term, coordinates or front forecast.
Prepare the observed sounding, cloud records or forecast verification data. Check pressure and height coordinates, wind conventions and the stated units.
How to use Frontogenesis Function 2D and understand its results
- Prepare the observed sounding, cloud records or forecast verification data. Check pressure and height coordinates, wind conventions and the stated units.
- Enter horizontalTemperatureGradientKPerM, horizontalWindGradientPerSecond using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
- Read horizontalKinematicFrontogenesisKPerMPerSecond, relativeGradientGrowthPerSecond. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
- If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.
| Input field | Meaning | Value type; see rules below | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| horizontalTemperatureGradientKPerM | Horizontal temperature gradient k per m | list of number | Required |
| horizontalWindGradientPerSecond | Horizontal wind gradient per second | list of list of number | Required |
Enter two temperature-gradient components in K/m and a 2×2 tensor [du/dx,du/dy;dv/dx,dv/dy] in s⁻¹. Require nonzero gradient magnitude. Report signed magnitude growth in K/m/s and growth divided by the initial magnitude in s⁻¹.
F = −[gx² ux + gx gy(uy + vx) + gy² vy]/sqrt(gx² + gy²) Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.
| Output field | Meaning | Value type |
|---|---|---|
| horizontalKinematicFrontogenesisKPerMPerSecond | Horizontal kinematic frontogenesis k per m per second | number |
| relativeGradientGrowthPerSecond | Relative gradient growth per second | number |
{
"input": {
"horizontalTemperatureGradientKPerM": [
0.001,
0
],
"horizontalWindGradientPerSecond": [
[
0.0001,
0
],
[
0,
0.0002
]
]
},
"output": {
"horizontalKinematicFrontogenesisKPerMPerSecond": -1e-7,
"relativeGradientGrowthPerSecond": -0.0001
}
}Limitations and assumptions
Vertical tilting, diabatic heating and coordinate transformation are excluded.
Numeric inputs and returned numeric values must be finite; an unrepresentable returned value produces an error. Matrices are limited to 128 rows and 128 entries per row; other numeric lists are limited to 100,000 entries. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use Dryline Mixing Ratio Gradient Checker: Screen observed signed moisture gradients on caller measured planar transect distances; no coordinate distance computation or dryline identification from humidity gradient alone. For a complementary task, use Pressure Gradient Force per Mass: Convert measured three-dimensional Cartesian pressure gradient to signed per-mass acceleration; no Coriolis balance, coordinates or hydrostatic-gravity cancellation inferred.
References
-
Frontogenesis Function 2D — tool.io
Similar or alternative tools
- Dryline Mixing Ratio Gradient Checker
Screen observed signed moisture gradients on caller measured planar transect distances; no coordinate distance computation or dryline identification from humidity gradient alone.
- Pressure Gradient Force per Mass
Convert measured three-dimensional Cartesian pressure gradient to signed per-mass acceleration; no Coriolis balance, coordinates or hydrostatic-gravity cancellation inferred.