Vol. 122, No. 4 * Pages 361–462 * October - December 2018

DOI:10.28974/idojaras.2018.4.6

Extratropical cyclones and anticyclones are the main objects in researches of the large-scale atmospheric circulation processes in midlatitudes. In this context, new data which can improve our knowledge about theirtypical places of origin, tracks, and lifetime characteristics were critical.
The purpose of this research is to analyze existing methods and algorithms, used for cyclone and anticyclone identification and tracking, and to develop a three-stage methodology of baric systems identification in the low and middle troposphere based on a three-dimensional approach.
This research utilizes 40-year-long datasets of sea level pressure and geopotential height of three standard pressure levels up to 500 hPa covering the Northern hemisphere down to 20°N.
This paper presents a newly developed unified baric systems identification and tracking methodology. It is based on a step-by-step identification of isolated clusters of low and high sea level pressure and geopotential height throughout the low and middle troposphere from the ground level to 500 hPa pressure level. Centers of clusters on different levels for each moment of time are combined in a single vertical profile which represents one certain baric system. Tracking of the baric system movement is realized with nearest neighbor method, improved for more accurate detection and tracking of fast-moving short-living cyclones. In the process, a software was developed for the purposes of the automatic identification of baric systems in the Northern Hemisphere and for creating sets of cinematic schemes of natural synoptic periods. Also, a database of the baric systems existed during on the period of 1976–2015 on the Northern Hemisphere was created.