Bubble theory of penetrative convection

Abstract The process of convection is described in terms of a unit or proton of convection ‐ the bubble. A rising bubble of warm air sheds its outer skin steadily into a disturbed wake until it becomes exhausted completely or spreads out at a stable layer. The wake is a region where the ascent of further bubbles is favoured. The wakes of small bubbles close to the ground are aggregated into larger bubbles, which are more dilute, up to a level where they begin to penetrate hitherto undisturbed air, and then they waste away as they ascend further. The air above a bubble is lifted (and cooled) as the bubble approaches and then drains down the outside, the air close to the bubble being mixed into the wake. The wake of a clear bubble is buoyant but that of a cloudy bubble may sink if it is sufficiently chilled by dilution with surrounding clear air. The drag on a bubble is estimated from observations on rising cumulus towers, and a linear relation between buoyancy and limiting velocity is proposed. From this the horizontal velocity of the bubble relative to the surrounding air is deduced to be about the same as the vertical velocity when it ascends through strong shear. A bubble is a compact stable configuration for a rising element. Near the ground the heat is transported by small bubbles, which are less efficient, and therefore require a greater lapse rate, than the larger ones which can operate higher up. The process of aggregation is again renewed within large clouds so that the bubbles found at the top may be more dilute than if they had ascended directly from the base. Clouds growing in a shearing current will grow into the shear.