C. G. Helmis

Application of Neural Networks to the Simulation of the Heat Island over Athens, Greece, Using Synoptic Types as a Predictor

The effect of the synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation on the urban heat island phenomenon over Athens, Greece, was investigated and quantified for a period of 2 yr, employing a neural network approach. A neural network model was appropriately designed and tested for the estimation of the heat island intensity at 23 stations during the examined period. The day-by-day synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation in the lower troposphere for the same period was classified into eight statistically distinct categories. The neural network model employed as an input the corresponding synoptic categories in conjunction with four meteorological parameters that are closely related to the urban heat island. It was found that the synoptic-scale circulation is a predominant input parameter, affecting considerably the heat island intensity. Also, it was demonstrated that the high pressure ridge mostly favors the heat island phenomenon and categories characterized by intense northerly component winds are responsible for its nonappearance or termination.

The Coupled Boundary Layers and Air–Sea Transfer Experiment in Low Winds

The Office of Naval Researchs Coupled Boundary Layers and Air–Sea Transfer (CBLAST) program is being conducted to investigate the processes that couple the marine boundary layers and govern the exchange of heat, mass, and momentum across the air–sea interface. CBLAST-LOW was designed to investigate these processes at the low-wind extreme where the processes are often driven or strongly modulated by buoyant forcing. The focus was on conditions ranging from negligible wind stress, where buoyant forcing dominates, up to wind speeds where wave breaking and Langmuir circulations play a significant role in the exchange processes. The field program provided observations from a suite of platforms deployed in the coastal ocean south of Marthas Vineyard. Highlights from the measurement campaigns include direct measurement of the momentum and heat fluxes on both sides of the air–sea interface using a specially constructed Air–Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT), and quantification of regional oceanic variability over sca...

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF OZONE OVER ATHENS

Abstract In this study, we present measurements of ozone (O 3 ) concentrations both on the surface and aloft, taken at sites appropriately located to give information about the effect of the local flows, such as the sea breeze circulation, on the air quality of Athens. Profiles of O 3 and other meteorological parameters of the atmospheric boundary layer were obtained at a location in the center of Athens. Surface measurements of O 3 were conducted in a number of other locations which included the shoreline and an island. The measurements confirmed well known models for the effect of sea breeze on photochemical pollutants and the diurnal variation of O 3 in the evolving atmospheric boundary layer and showed that pollutants released in the evening and early morning hours are advected offshore where they generate O 3 which in turn is advected back to the city by the sea breeze. They also showed that Athens pollutants are found in considerable concentrations in Aegina and outside the main basin to the north. The results of this study demonstrate the need to take into account advection patterns in any attempt to formulate pollution abatement strategies for sites with strong local circulations such as the Athens basin.

On the combination of air velocity and flow measurements in single sided natural ventilation configurations

Abstract Single sided natural ventilation configurations are very frequent especially in buildings in urban environments. Four single sided ventilation experiments were carried out in a full scale outdoor Test Cell facility. Air velocity measurements were taken at various heights in the middle of the opening. The average air flow rate through the opening was derived using the tracer gas decay technique. This work presents the results of an investigation into the relationship between the air velocity at the opening and the bulk air flow rate measurements. The paper presents a description of the experimental set-up as well as a qualitative discussion of the results.

Observations of sea-breeze fronts near the shoreline

Results from an observational study of sea-breeze fronts as they cross a shoreline are presented. Two kinds of fronts are analyzed, one with an offshore regional wind and one without. Their structure is found to be substantially different, the former being steeper and having stronger gradients. Measurements of the profiles of the vertical component of the wind speed, its standard deviation and the structure parameter for temperature are presented along with time series of the structure parameters for water vapor pressure and wind speed. The vertical wind component, w, is found to be of the order of 1.0–1.5 ms−1 in the front zone of the sharp front but only 5 as large in the weaker front. The usual height variation laws under convective conditions are found to apply for both the vertical velocity variance and the temperature structure parameter, which in conjunction with the appropriate spectra indicate that local equilibrium is re-established fairly quickly after the passage of the front. Substantial differences have also been noted in the values of the structure parameters before and after the front, especially in the water vapor pressure and wind speed, differences which are of dissimilar magnitude and sign for the two kinds of fronts.

Influence of background flow on evolution of saronic gulf sea breeze

Abstract Results from an experimental campaign at the coastline of the Saronic Gulf during the summer of 1992 are presented. The frontal intensity and the rotation of the wind hodograph at the shoreline during sea-breeze case:; are examined under different background flow conditions. The frontal intensity classification is based on the vertical velocities induced, as measured by a high resolution acoustic sounder. Three representative cases are presented. Conclusions are based on the analysis of all observed sea-breeze flows. Background off-shore or shore-parallel flows are more probable to create a strong or weak front, respectively. The development of frontal characteristics under background on-shore flow is attributed to off shore land features. The wind hodograph rotation is shown to be associated to the initial direction of the sea breeze, which is determined by the background flow direction. When the background flow possesses a westerly component the hodograph shows anticlockwise rotation, while an easterly background component causes the wind vector rotation to be clockwise.

Quantitative low-level acoustic sounding and comparison with direct measurements

In this paper, measurements of the first 150 m of the atmospheric boundary layer obtained by a high-frequency acoustic mini-sounder are compared with measurements obtained by a full complement of instruments including sonic anemometers mounted on the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory tower. The acoustic mini-sounder, starting as low as 6 m from the ground, measures in the monostatic mode the profiles of the vertical wind speed, w, and of the temperature structure parameter, CT2 with enhanced height resolution of the order of 1 m and time resolution of the order of 30 s. The results of the comparison show that the high-frequency mini-sounder is an effective atmospheric boundary-layer profiler that is also portable and relatively inexpensive.Measurements of the spectrum of CT2 are presented that provide information on the local isotropy of the temperature field. Statistics of the variability of CT2 in both stable and unstable conditions are also given.The sounders capabilities are further demonstrated by some detailed observations of the structure and time evolution of a thermal plume root at noon and of a nocturnal, stably stratified layer in which a dynamic instability develops. The plume starts at a height of less than 5 m, possesses substantial internal structure, and includes vertical velocities in excess of 2 m s-1.

Air mass exchange between the athens basin and the messogia plain of Attika, Greece

The present work investigates the interaction between the local and synoptic meteorology and the resultant air mass exchange between two major regions of the Athens Metropolitan Area (AMA); the Messogia Plain, a rural area under development and the Athens Basin which combines industrial and human activities. These are separated by the 1000 m-high Hymettos Mountain. Meteorological data from a 4-month experimental campaign are used to (a) identify and classify the principal synoptic types observed, based on past long-term observations, (b) determine the recurrent surface wind flow patterns over the Messogia Plain and the Athens Basin, (c) specify the effect of the local thermal flows on the meteorological coupling of the two areas in relation to the synoptic, background (large-scale) conditions, and (d) analyse the flow over the Hymettos Mountain and through the natural openings which link the two areas geographically.

Spectral density of millimeter wave amplitude scintillations in an absorption region

A detailed theory including the effect of water vapor fluctuations for the spectral density of the log amplitude scintillations of a radio wave propagating in an absorption medium is presented. The scintillation spectra obtained from links at 55.5 and 36.1 GHz on a common 4.1 km path are given together with the relevant meteorological data. Results show that the lower corner frequency predicted by Ott and Thompson, for the enhancement of the scintillations in an absorption region, is a good approximation.

Evidence of katabatic flows deduced from a 84 m meteorological tower in Athens, Greece

The identification of katabatic flows and their characteristics observed on a simple slope (the western side of Hymettos mountain) for a six-month period (January to June, 1990) are presented. This is the first application of data obtained from an 84 m high meteorological research tower recently erected at the National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos” in Athens, Greece. The tower is described with respect to construction and instrumentation. The topography of the region and the observational site are also described. Criteria for the identification of katabatic flows are presented, while the frequency of occurrence of such flows is estimated. Finally, two case studies are analysed in order to reveal the special characteristics of the katabatic flows.