Chapter 3

Air masses and Front

 Front

 Frontal theory is the first complete theory of synoptic

meteorology.
 The most extreme weather phenomena in the atmosphere
occur mainly at the boundary of cold and warm air masses
rather than inside the air masses.
 Contents：Concepts (§ 1, 2), Characters (§ 3), Growth
and Elimination (§ 4 )of air masses and front
 § 3.1 Air masses
Concepts
[Link]：large range of air masses where the distribution of meteorological
elements (generally, temperature and humidity) is relatively uniform.
[Link]： thousands of kilometers in the horizontal direction and the vertical range
can reach several kilometers to more than ten kilometers.
[Link] dominated by air masses ：
horizontal： the weather phenomenon is similar; the temperature and humidity are
uniformly distributed ；
vertical： meteorological elements share the same distribution（including
stability）;
Formation and Transformation of air masses
[Link] of air masses
①Air mass source is the widely homogeneous surface of the earth
(the large deserts, plains, oceans and ice/snow covers)
Air mass source: areas where the characteristics of temperature and humidity in air masses
are uniform.

②air movement(descending motion and divergence, stable circulation

such as anticyclones with slow movements)
2. formation ： physical processes such as turbulence at various scales ,
systematic vertical motion, evaporation, condensation and radiation.

[Link] transformation of air masses: the physical properties of air masses

change gradually.
The speed of transformation of different air masses differs,
subjecting to the properties of the underlay surface and the nature
of the air mass.
It transforms fast when the cold air mass moves to warm places. The
cause: the low-level of the cold air mass gets warmer, becomes
unstable, resulting in favorable environment for turbulences,
transporting the heat of the lower layer upwards.
It transforms relatively slower when the warm air mass moves to cold
places. The cause: the lower layer gets cooler, becomes stable,
unfavorable for turbulences and convection. The cooling is mainly
caused by radiation.
When the air mass moves from the mainland to the ocean, it is easy to
obtain the evaporated water vapor and gets wet, while the air mass
moves reversely the air has to get dryer via condensation and
precipitation. Hence, the drying process is relatively slow.
3 Air-mass classification
Arctic air mass

Geographical Polar air mass: Continental and Oceanic

classification Tropical air mass: Continental and Oceanic

Equatorial Air Mass

Cold air mass：when the air mass move

toward a warmer underlying surface, it is
Thermal called a cold air mass.
Classification
Warm air mass: it moves toward a
colder underlying surface
4. THE AIR MASS ACTIVITIES AND WEATHER IN CHINA
 Winter: Polar Continental air mass (Siberian air mass) and tropical
oceanic air mass, arctic air mass
 Summer: Siberian air Mass, tropical oceanic air mass, tropical
continental air mass, equatorial air mass
 Spring: Siberian air masses, tropical oceanic air masses equals,
frontal and cyclone activity prevails
 Autumn: Siberian air mass dominants, tropical oceanic air mass
retreat to the Southeast China Sea
 § 3.2 FRONT AND FRONTAL SLOPE

Fronts and cyclones are the two most typical weather

system, which are always related to the mid-latitudes
weather phenomena.
Font is the most classic concept in synoptic
meteorology and one of the most important weather
systems.
Frontal zone
Frontal surface
Frontal line
FRONT

[Link] frontal zone

When the cold and warm air masses meet, there is a narrow transition zone, and it
tilts to the cold zone vertically with height, which is called the frontal zone.
2. The interface between the frontal zone and the warm air mass is called a
warm interface or the upper interface, the interface between the frontal zone
and the cold air mass is called a cold interface or the lower interface.
3. Frontal surface
The transition bandwidth is approximately 10 km in the near-ground layer, and up to
200-400 km in the upper level. Compared to the horizontal scale, the width is very
small. Therefore, it is always considered as a surface, i.e. the front.
4. The frontal line: the intersection between the frontal surface and the
underlying surface.
Frontal spatial structure
2 the frontal slope
(1) The reasons :why it tilts to the cold zone?

a）the density differs in cold and warm air masses.

b）earth rotation.
 2. FRONTAL SLOPE FORMULA
Hypothetical condition—substantial surface PN=PL
Front is a zero-order discontinuous surface of ρ, T
one-order discontinuous surface second-order discontinuous surface
density distributions density distributions
 PN PN PN
dPN  dx  dy  dz,
x y z
PL PN PL PN PL PN
dPL  dPN  (  )dx  (  )dy  (  )dz  0
x x y y z z

owing to Y axis is parallel to front, so PL  PN  0，

y y
PL PN

dz
Obtaining the frontal slope formula: tg    x x
dx PL PN

z z
Substituting zero-order simplified motion equations
1 P
  fv  0
 x
1 P
 g 0
 z

Margueles front slope formula：

f (  LV gL   N V gN )
tg  
g(L  N )
用状态方程  P /( RT )代入，得
f TNVgL  TLVgN
tg 
g TN  TL
取平均温度 Tm  (TN  TL ) / 2，平均地转风风速Vgm  (VgL  VgN ) / 2,
Vg  VgL  VgN，T  TN  TL , 得：

f Vg f f Vg
tg  Tm  Vgm  Tm
g T g g T

The first item is much larger than the second item.

 Discussions: f Vg f f Vg
tg   Tm  V gm  Tm
g T g g T

1 Keep other conditions unchanged, the slope of the font increases with the increasing
latitude, decreases with decreasing latitude. There is no front as φ=0 at the equator.
2 The frontal slope is inversely proportional to the temperature difference across the front.
No temperature differences, no front.
3 The frontal slope is proportional to the wind speed differences (wind shear) on both
sides of the front.
4 The front slope is proportional to the average temperature on either side of the front.
5 When the front exists (tga>0,VgL>VgN) , the wind speed of the geostrophic wind from both
sides paralleled to it should be a cyclonic shear.
6 When the curvature of the airflow near the front is large, the gradient wind formula
should be applied. That is, the larger the cyclonic curvature, the lager the balanced
frontal slope.
3. THE CLASSIFICATION OF FRONT
I. Classified by primary and secondary roles of the cold and warm
masses in frontal movement
• Cold front, warm front，stationary front, occlusion front
II. Classified by the frontal stretching height

• Tropospheric front, surface front, upper air front

III. Classified by geographical types of air masses

• Arctic Polar Front, polar front, subtropical front

Types of front
Cold front: The cold air mass plays a leading
role during the movements, pushing the front
to move toward the side of the warm air
masses. The warm air masses are forced to
lift up and the front slope is large.

地面

三维
 Warm front: During the movement, the
warm air masses play a leading role,
pushing the front to move toward the
side of the cold air masses. The warm
air masses slides up with the cold air
masses, and the front slope is small.

地面

三维
Stationary front：
A stationary front is a non-moving (or stalled)
boundary between two air masses, neither of which
is strong enough to replace the other. In practical
work, we usually define a quasi-stationary front, or
simply a stationary front as a front whose position
does not change much in six hours.
Occluded front ：When the warm air mass, the cool air mass and the cooler
air mass meet, they form two fronts, and then one front catches up with the other
to form an occluded front. This forced the warm air ahead of the cold front to lift
off the ground and to the upper layer. We call the boundary between cold air
masses behind the cold front and warm air masses in front of the warm front the
occluded front.
Occluded front ：
When the cold front overtakes the warm front or the two cold fronts meet, the surface air
masses are lifted into the upper layer and the ground is completely occupied by the cold
air. The front is formed by press the of cold air masses behind the cold front and warm air
masses in front of the warm front.
In a cold occlusion, the air mass overtaking the warm front is cooler than the cool air
ahead of the warm front and plows under both air masses.
In a warm occlusion, the air mass overtaking the warm front is warmer than the cold air
ahead of the warm front and rides over the colder air mass while lifting the warm air
If the characters of the cold air masses on both sides of the front are similar, then the
occluded front is called neutral occlusion front.
a b

The solid red line in the xy plane

is the upper isotherm
c

a) cold occlusion front （ The warm tongue lies

behind the surface occlusion front .）
b) warm occlusion front （ The warm tongue lies
in front of the surface occlusion front .）
c) neutral occlusion front （ The position of the
warm tongue is basically the same with height but
its width increases. ）
§ 2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF METEOROLOGICAL
ELEMENT FIELDS NEAR THE FRONT
 Ⅰ Characteristics of the temperature field near the front
1、Characteristics of horizontal temperature field

HT 内  HT 外
T T

z 内 z 外

The temperature gradients inside the front area are larger than the
temperature gradients outside the front area.

In the vertical direction, the vertical variations of the temperature inside

the front area are less than the changes of the temperature outside the front
area.
 The upper layer frontal zone is a isothermal ribbon, which inclines toward
the cold area and is parallel to the surface frontal line. The occluded
front has warm tongue in the upper layer, and the isotherms are dense
on both sides of the warm tongue.
Application ：The intensity of the frontal zone and the position of the
surface frontal line are determined by the density of the isotherm in the
center of the upper-level chart.

The corresponding space between upper air frontal zone and surface frontal line
surface
Upper Front
zone

850hPa
Upper Front
zone

700hPa
Upper Front
zone

500hPa
cold advection at upper level——cold front

warm advection at upper level——warm front

Weak temperature advection——stationary front

The higher the level, the more the position of the front is toward to
the cold air masses side.
2 . Vertical characteristics of the temperature field ：The vertical gradient of
temperature inside the front zone is small, the inversion temperature,
isothermal or decreasing rate is small, and the temperature in the air mass on
both sides decreases with height.
The greater the temperature differences between the cold and warm air masses,
the stronger the frontal inversion or the narrower the transition zone, the more
severely the isotherms bend through the frontal zone.
3、 Characteristics of potential temperature near the front
The potential temperature increases rapidly with height. The
horizontal equipotential temperature lines of the frontal zone is dense.

Equipotential temperature  lines distributions near the front

1. Characteristics ：The equipotential temperature line in the
front area is dense and parallel to the front area
AR
2. notion： 1000 C p
  T ( )
p

take the logarithm

take partial reciprocal of z:

Substitute the equation of state

and hydrostatic equation

  T Ag
get  (  )
z T z Cp

T dT Ag
where   , d   
z dz Cp
 
  ( d   )
z T
Inside the air mass   0,  d    0

 0
z

The potential temperature increases with height

  0,  d    0
Inside the frontal zone 
  0
z
The potential temperature increases rapidly with height
Conclusion：
a) The horizontal potential temperature gradient direction is exactly the
same as the horizontal temperature gradient direction on the isobaric
surface. The potential temperature contour is the temperature contour。
b） ,the potential temperature contour in the frontal zone is dense
because the vertical gradient of the potential temperature in the front is
much larger than in the air mass.
c）When the air particle moves on the front, the potential temperature is
conservative under adiabatic conditions, therefore the temperature
equipotential surface is parallel to the front.
d）The potential temperature is not used in practical work. Instead the
potential pseudo-equivalent temperature is used.(The real atmosphere is
non-adiabatic)
potential pseudo-equivalent temperature(θse):The temperature of the air mass that raising the
unsaturated air to the elevated condensation height, continue to raise it to the height N, and when the
moisture is completely removed from the air parcel, drops to 1000 hpa in the way of dry adiabatic.
Ⅱ Characteristics of the wind and the allobaric fields near the
frontal surface when the front surface is simulated with a zero-
order discontinuity of density
The slope and the meteorological elements in the front
have a catastrophe: temperature, pressure, wind, and
weather near the front are changing dramatically.
（1）Pressure field characteristics
Pressure is continuous while the density and pressure gradient is
discontinuous beside the front: the air pressure gradient in the cold
air mass is greater than it in the warm air mass.
PL PN

x x
Application：the isobaric line curves cyclonically across the front, and
are folded at the front, pointing to high pressure. The front line falls
in the trough of low pressure
PL P
P  N
Substitute the static equation  gp into the slope formula, we get tg  x x
z g(L  N )

while   0 and   2
, the front exists when there is a inclined density discontinuity.
the isobaric line curves cyclonically across the front, and are folded at the front, pointing to high
pressure. The front line falls in the trough of low pressure

pressure and wind field patterns near fontal zone

（2）Characteristics of the wind field around the frontal zone

[Link] direction

Characteristics：the wind has the cyclonic shear and airflow convergence around the front.

From the wind deviation：the air flow is cyclonic convergence in the low pressure
[Link] direction
a. cold advection behind the cold front——go through the front from the
bottom, the wind is counterclockwise
warm advection behind the warm front——go through the front from the
bottom, the wind is clockwise
b. the jet stream over the front: westerly jet stream in the polar front zone
and subtropical front zone
Distributions of wind and pressure field around the frontal zone
（3)The characteristics of allobaric fields

the allobaric field is the spatial changes of pressure at one point with
time in a plane.
the value of pressure variation in front of the front is less than it
behind the front in both cold and warm front.
pressure reduced in front of warm front(negative variation)
pressure increased behind the cold front(positive variation)
in front of the cold front and behind the warm front, near the quasi-
stationary front: the variation is not obvious
1、THE PHYSICAL CAUSES

t0 t1

+
t0
t1

-
2 CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ALLOBARIC FIELDS AND THE FRONT

MOVING SPEED

 Assumptions：

 The front is zero-order density discontinuity, PL=PN


C represents the moving speed in the moving coordinate

In the fixed coordinate

d  
（ ） 固 V   (1)
dt t
In the moving coordinate
d   
（ ） 移  （V  C)   (2)
dt t
 d d
due to（ ）fixed （ ）moving
dt dt
So：(1) right side =（2）right side

Get the relationship between the moving coordinates and

fixed coordinates：

  
 C 
t t
 
 PL  PN  ( PL  PN )  0
t
  PL PN
( PL  PN )  C x  (  )
t x x
PL PN
In the warm front C x  0 and 
x x
 PL PN
so (PL  PN )  0, 
t t t
the value of allobar in front of the warm front is less
than that behind.
 PL PN
In the cold front C x  0 and 
x x
 PL PN
so ( PL  PN )  0, 
t t t

the value of allobar in front of the cold front is less than that behind

-
+

PN
0
t
near the quasi-stationary front: the variation is not obvious
 3 Surface pressure tendency equation

Ground pressure can be expressed very precisely by the weight of the entire column of air at per unit area:

PZ 0   Z 0
g  z,
 PZ 0    
 t Z  0 Z  0  t  z
 g   z  g
t
  u  v  w
plug  (   )i n t o a b o v e f o r m u l a ， g e t
t x y z
 PZ 0   u  v   w
  g(  ) z   g z
t Z 0 x y Z0 z
    u v 
   g (u v ) z   g  (  ) z  g  w Z 0
Z 0 x y Z 0 x y
b o u d a r y c o n d i t i o n s a t Z  Z 0， w  0 ; Z   ,   0
then, get
 PZ 0     u v
   g (u v ) z   g(  ) z
t Z 0 x y Z 0 x y
Surface pressure tendency equation

 PZ 0     u v
   g (u v ) z   g (  ) z
t 0 x y 0 x y

Density advection over the The sum of the horizontal

entire column above the ground divergence of velocity in the
（thermodynamic factors) entire column above the ground
（dynamic factor）
When the vertical velocity is zero on a flat ground, The change of surface pressure is
caused by thermodynamic factors and dynamic factors:
pressure reduced in front of warm front(the warm advection)
  P
 (u v ) 0  0
x y t
pressure increased behind the cold front(the cold advection)
  P
 (u v ) 0  0
x y t
in front of the cold front and behind the warm front, near the quasi-stationary front:
the variation is not obvious
The sum of divergence is divergence,
u v P
the surface pressure decreases  0 0
x y t
The sum of divergence is convergence, u v P
 0 0
the surface pressure increases. x y t
 Allobaric field distributions near frontal zone.
a) Cold front; b) warm front; c) warm-occluded front; d) cold- occluded front
Ⅲ. Characters of frontal slope and nearby pressure, wind
and pressure variation field when simulate the front with
first order discontinuity of density
A more accurate description of the front is:
1) The temperature is continuously distributed;
2) The temperature gradient is the first-order continuous on
L N
the boundary between cold and warm air masses

TFN
T TN
T
TL
TFL
L N L F N

Zero-order discontinuity First-order discontinuity

hypothesis hypothesis
 1 Frontal slope

N L

First-order discontinuity hypothesis

The frontal slope formula under the material surface assumption is applied to the cold and
warm boundary, respectively.
 PF PN

dz
tgN    x x , where tgN is the slope on the warm boundary，
dx PF PN

z z
F represents the variable value in the front zone, plug hydrostatic equation into above formula：
PF PN

dz
tgN   x x
dx g(F  N )
when F  N，then tgN  ， but this does not fit the facts，
PF PN
so (  )  0。 Similarly, on the cold boundary
x x
P P
( L  F )  0， that is, not only pressure is continuity, but also pressure gradient is，
x x
continuity on the discontinuity surface.
  PF  PN
on the front d (  )  0， after expansion, get
x x
  PF  PN   PF  PN   PF  PN
(  ) dx  (  ) dy  (  ) dz  0
x x x y x x z x x
  PF  PN
in the our selected coordinates: (  )  0， then
y x x
 2 PF  2 PN  2 PF  2 PN
(  ) 
dz
  2x x x x 2
2 2 2
tg  N   
dx  PF  2 PN  
 (  g  F )  ( g  N )
xz xz x x
 2 PF  2 PN

1 x 2  x 2
tg  N 
g  F   N
x x
 2 PL  2 PF Density is discontinuity of first-order and

1 x 2
x 2
pressure is second-order near the front
sim ilarly : tg  L 
g  L   F
x x
 2. Characters of nearby pressure and wind fields when simulate
the front with first order discontinuity of density
PL PN  2 PL  2 PN
pressure is second-order discontinuity：PL  PN ;  ; 2 
x x x x 2
   
 F  N ; F  L 即 denominator  （take 0 an example as warm boundary）
x x x x
Pressure: The cyclonic (anti-cyclonic) curvature of isobar inside the frontal
 2 PF  2 PL  2 PN
 2  2 或 2 zone is much larger (less) than that outside the frontal zone ; the horizontal
x x x gradient of density inside of the frontal zone is much larger than that in the
cold or warm air masses.
Wind: The cyclonic shear, horizontal temperature gradient and thermal wind
in the frontal zone are much larger than those outside of the frontal

Wind turns clockwise with height warm advection warm frontal zone at upper level
(strongest warm advection and thermal wind)
Wind turns counterclockwise with height cold advection cold frontal zone at upper level
(strongest cold advection and thermal wind)
 p p p p
pressure is continuity near frontal zone， L  F , F  N 。
x x x x
Y axis is parallel to the front, and the coordinate is moving with front together，
then on the warm boundary：
 pF pN  p p  p p
(  )  ( F  N )  Cx ( F  N )  0
 t x x t x x x x x
Cx represents the moving velocity of front along X axis, then：
 pF pN  2 pF  2 p N
(  )  Cx ( 2  )
x t t x x 2
 2 pF  2 pN  2 pL
 2  or (in the frontal zone)The cyclonic  anti  cyclonic  curvature of isobar inside
x x 2 x 2
the frontal zone is much larger  less  than that outside the frontal zone或
for warm front，Cx  0, then：
 pF  p  p  p
 ( )  ( N )  0， ( F )  ( L )  0,
x t x t x t x t
allobaric gradient is discontinuity on the boundary of frontal zone，
so, allobaric wind is discontinuity, and the allobaric gradient inside of the frontal zone
is much larger than that ouside of the frontal zone.

Allobaric fields: the allobaric gradient and allobaric wind are discontinuity;
The allobaric contours are dense (thin) in (outside) the frontal zone.
 -
+

Front zone
Front zone
4、Characteristics of humidity field near the frontal line
general The humidity of the warm mass is large.
Cold air mass humidity is small.
special
note：the source of clod and
Cold air in the ocean -- cold and wet. warm air masses
Warm air on the Mainland -- dry and warm.

The difference of dew point temperature near the front is often more significant
than that of the temperature. In the absence of precipitation, dew point
temperature can better express the properties of air masses.
5. Frontal weather: clouds and precipitation near the front.

[Link] that causes vertical motion (upward movements) near the

front
(1) convergence and ascending motions caused by surface friction
(2) Uplift and sliding up during the movement of the front
(3) Systematic ascending and descending motions in front and
behind the upper trough
(4) The ascending and descending motions caused by cold and warm
advections
[Link] motions near the warm front

⑴ The surface near the warm front is overwhelmed by a cyclone with

convergences and ascending motions.
⑵The warm moist air near the warm front climbs up along the warm
interface.
⑶The warm front corresponds to a systematic ascending motions behind the
ridge and in front of the trough.
(4) The warm front is corresponding to a warm advection in the upper layer
with strong ascending motions.
3. Vertical movements near the cold front
⑴ the first type of cold front（cold front before the trough）
a. The surface near the cold front is controlled by a cyclone with convergences
and ascending motions.
b. The warm and moist flow on the warm interface near the cold front is forced
to ascend.
c. The cold front corresponds to a systematic ascending motions in front of the
upper layer trough.
d. The cold front is corresponding to a weak cold advection in the upper layer,
resulting in a sinking motion. The precipitation zone is behind the cold front
to the cold air boundary and is stable.
⑵ the second type of cold front ( cold front after the trough)
a) There is a frictional convergence near the surface.
b) The warm moist flow is force to move upward.
c) The air descends systematically after the up-level trough.
d) There is a strong cold advection causing a sinking motion. The
precipitation zone is before the front to the front line and is
unstable.
⑶ The differences of the first and second type cold fronts
a． The positions：the first type :before the trough
the second type: behind the trough
b．The precipitation zones differ: the first type: behind the front
the second type: in front of the front
c． The strengths of the up-level cold advection are different.
the first type: weak cold advection
the second type: strong cold advection
d. The property of the precipitation differ: the first type : stable
the second type: unstable
Most cold frontal weather happened in Northwest China,
North China in summer and southern China in winter
belongs to this type.

The first type cold frontal weather mode

The second type cold frontal weather mode
Warm frontal weather mode
 No significant
rainfall
cloudy system in
Stationary front

Significant rainfall
WARM OCCLUDED FRONTAL WEATHER MODE
WARM OCCLUDED FRONTAL WEATHER MODE
 § 2.4 Front analysis
The principle of historical continuity
Consider the up-level front zone：The front tilts to the cold zone with height, the
frontal line is located on the warm side of the relatively dense zone of the isotherm
on the isobaric surface in the upper level, and it is basically parallel to the isotherm.
The classification of the front could be determined according to the warm or cold
advections.
The position of the front could be analyzed by the meteorological elements on the
surface synoptic charts.
using satellite and cloud pictures;
using other datasets;
Application of upper-layer wind data （ Single station ）：

[Link] direction of thermal wind generally represents the orientation

of the front.
[Link] the property of the front according to the variations of
thermal wind direction with height
[Link] vertical line of the origin and the thermal wind represents the
direction and velocity of the front.
§ 2.5 FRONTOGENESIS AND FRONTOLYSIS

1、The concepts of Frontogenesis and Frontolysis

Frontogenesis ： A process formed by density discontinuities or an
existing front whose horizontal gradients of temperature or potential
temperature increasing .
Frontolysis： The opposite procession.
Frontogenesis function
1. The concept of frontogenesis belt
There is a set of isotherms on the isobaric surface

The ascendant is ，if the atmospheric movement drives Tn

increasing faster along the isotherms than other zones, then the
isotherms is called the line of frontogenesis, and this Tn increasing
process is called frontogenesis. The front line must be a material line
(ie, the frontogenesis should take place on the same air mass for a
period of time).
 Individual frontogenesis
function

F>0 Indicates that there is a frontogenesis and the temperature

gradient increases.
F<0 Indicates that there is a frontolysis and the temperature gradient
reduces.

Frontogenesis condition

Frontolysis condition
2、 The formula of frontogenesis and frontolysis and
physical significance

1. Derivation of the formula

—— ①
With:

unfold the formula：

solve： and

d    
 u v  —— ②
dt t x y P

  d      u     2 v     2    2
     u 2   v  
x  dt  x  t  x  x  x x  y  x y x p xp

—— ③
and：d         2
  2
  2

   u 2 v 
dt  x  t  x  x xy xp
—— ④
 d     d u    v    w 
④③        
dt  x  x dt x  x  x  y  x P
———⑤

Similarly:
d     d u    v     
      
dt  y  y dt y  y  y  y  y p
——— ⑥
Substituted ⑤, ⑥ into ①

1     d     d 
F      
    x  x  dt   y  y  dt 
2 2
u    v       v u 
         
x  x  y  y  x y  x y 
       
   
  x  x  y  y   p 
——— ⑦
2. Discuss the ⑦（ The formula of frontogenesis and frontolysis ）

Set the X axis parallel to the isentropic line.

The y-axis is perpendicular to the isentropic line, pointing to the direction of
potential temperature rises

 v     d 
F     
y y y p y  dt 
——⑧
Therefore, the discussion turned ⑧
 F1（horizontal movement effect）:
Set the X axis parallel to the isentropic line，y  axis is pointing to the direction of potential temperature rises
v
then F1 
y
v
when v is increasing with the direction of isentropic gradients，  0, F1  0，frontogenesis
y
v
when v in decreasing with the direction of isentropic gradients,  0, F1  0， frontolysis
y

physical meaning: isentropes becomes dense under horizontal wind

field which has velocity convergence leading to Frontogenesis,
otherwise leads to Frontolysis
Deformation field：
a. If the angle between the isentropic line and the extended axis
α<45°, it is easier to form frontogenesis under the convergent
flow.
b. If α＞45°, it is easier to form frontolysis under the divergence
flow ；But the isotherm will rotate gradually to make the α＜45°

∴ The deformation field is most conducive to frontogenesis

In the weather chart, the saddle field is most conducive to

frontogenesis .
  
F2 (Stability and Vertical movements term): F2  
 y p
a) Stable atmosphere  0
p
eg: when cold front moves up the mountain where the isotherm ribbon is in
the upper layer, there is upward movement of air masses in the warm side
making temperture drop through adiabatic expansion while weak upward
movement in the wram side making temperture unchange, so the isotherm
ribbon becomes sparse which leads to frontolysis

eg: when cold front moves up the mountain, there is little downward
movement of air masses in the warm side making temperture unchange while
strong downward movement making temperture rise so the isotherm ribbon
becomes sparse which leads to frontolysis
 ，Warm air masses sink, cold air rises
（ convergence ）
∴ Frontogenesis
， Warm air masses rise, cold air sinks
（divergence）
∴Frontolysis

∴ In the stable atmosphere, if the warm side sinks relative to the cold
side，then the frontogenesis formed, otherwise the frontolysis
 
b） Unstable atmosphere 0
p
eg： when cold front moves up the mountain, large
amounts of water vapour condensates which releases
latent heat in the cold side making temperture rise while
the upward movement of air masses in the wram side is
very weak so the isotherm ribbon becomes dense which
leads to frontogenesis
Diabatic heating term(F3)

• When cold front moves southward, while warm front moves

northward, frontolysis happens because of the effect of underlying
surface.
• When cold front moves southward, the underlying surface in the
cold side has a lager influence making temperture rise, while the
underlying surface in the wram side has little effect, so the
isotherm ribbon becomes sparse leading to frontolysis .
（3）Diabatic heating term

if ， warm air masses are heated and cold air is cool

then ， Frontogenesis

Similarly, if ，then ， Frontolysis

Heating form latent heat ——Frontogenesis

Underlying surface heating——Frontolysis
Temperature and pressure field during Frontogenesis

The move-in and development of troughs in the upper layer helps

the enhancement of surface airflow convergence
cold frontal genesis: cold air activities dominant, cold troughs
develop in the upper layer, strong cold advection
warm frontal genesis: warm shear at 700hPa or 850hPa, strong
warm advection
Deformation field on 700hPa
Surface pressure field during Frontogenesis

Usually occurs in low pressure (troughs):

Frontogenesis often happens in the troughs in the northeast
of China and in the inverted troughs or at the east (southeast
side) of cold high in the area of the Yangtze and Huaihe
river
Changes in meteorological elements during Frontogenesis

1)Allobaric fields: pressure drops in the inverted trough;

pressure rises when cold front frontogenesis, while pressure
drops when warm front frontogenesis
2)Wind :Cyclonic wind shear happens, Wind direction
changes
3)Weather :Cloudy, rainy, etc.
Several situations of Frontolysis

Changes of the situation in the upper layer and surface

Cold and warm advection weakens or disappears
The pressure difference on both sides of the front decreases
Airmass transformation
The secondary circulation of frontogenesis makes the middle layer tending to
frontolysis