Clash of Air Masses (First Prize)

Tsung-Lin Hsieh (graduate student)

Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Extratropical cyclones form when the warm air in the south collides and mixes with the cold air in the north. This 3D visualization shows a simulated extratropical cyclone viewed from southwest to northeast , with warm air moving north behind the red surface and cold air moving south behind the blue surface. Deep clouds form along the warm airflow and produce rain. The cyclone is coupled with the jet stream in the upper troposphere, meandering along the yellow isentropic surface.