J. C. Doran

The relationship between overlying synoptic-scale flows and winds within a valley

Abstract The relationship between winds above and within the Tennessee Valley is investigated climatologically and with an atmospheric numerical model. For the climatological analyses, winds above the valley were determined by interpolation from four surrounding rawinsonde stations, while winds within the valley were measured on four 100-m towers. Tennessee Valley winds are generally weak and bidirectional, oriented along the valleys axis. The valley wind direction depends strongly on the component of the synoptic-scale pressure gradient that is superimposed along the valleys axis at ridge-top level, with winds blowing along the valleys axis from high toward low pressure. This relationship between winds above and within the valley can result in countercurrents similar to those observed in the Rhine Valley. While winds in the Tennessee Valley are driven primarily by this pressure-driven channeling mechanism, downward momentum transport can cause afternoon winds within the valley to approach the wind dir...

Particulate Air Pollution in Mexico City: A Collaborative Research Project

PM10, PM25, precursor gas, and upper-air meteorological measurements were taken in Mexico City, Mexico, from February 23 to March 22, 1997, to understand concentrations and chemical compositions of the citys particulate matter (PM). Average 24-hr PM10 concentrations over the period of study at the core sites in the city were 75 H g/m3. The 24-hr standard of 150 μ g/m3 was exceeded for seven samples taken during the study period; the maximum 24-hr concentration measured was 542 μ g/m3. Nearly half of the PM10 was composed of fugitive dust from roadways, construction, and bare land. About 50% of the PM10 consisted of PM2.5, with higher percentages during the morning hours. Organic and black carbon constituted up to half of the PM2.5. PM concentrations were highest during the early morning and after sunset, when the mixed layers were shallow. Meteorological measurements taken during the field campaign show that on most days air was transported out of the Mexico City basin during the afternoon with little day-to-day carryover.

Boundary layer evolution and regional‐scale diurnal circulations over the and Mexican plateau

Data collected in a measurement campaign in February and March 1997 showed that the Mexico Basin (also called the Valley of Mexico), located atop the Mexican plateau, fails to develop the strong nocturnal inversions usually associated with basins and does not exhibit diurnally reversing valley wind systems. Data analyses, two-and three-dimensional numerical simulations with the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), and a Lagrangian particle dispersion model are used to interpret these observations and to examine the effects of topography and regional diurnal circulations on boundary layer evolution over the Mexico Basin and its surroundings during fair weather periods in the winter dry season. We show that the boundary layer evolution in and above the basin is driven primarily by regional diurnal circulations that develop between the air above the Mexican Plateau and the generally cooler surrounding coastal areas. A convective boundary layer (CBL) grows explosively over the plateau in the late morning to reach elevations of 2250 m agl (4500 m msl) by noon, and a strong baroclinic zone forms on the edges of the plateau separating the warm CBL air from its cooler surroundings. In early afternoon the rates of heating and CBL growth are slowed as cool air leaks onto the plateau and into the basin through passes and over low-lying plateau edges. The flow onto the plateau is retarded, however, by the strongly rising branch of a plain-plateau circulation at the plateau edges, especially where mountains or steep slopes are present. An unusually rapid and deep cooling of the air above the plateau begins in late afternoon and early evening when the surface energy budget reverses, the CBL decays, and air accelerates onto the plateau through the baroclinic zone. Flow convergence near the basin floor and the associated rising motions over the basin and plateau produce cooling in 3 hours that is equivalent to half the daytime heating. While the air that converges onto the plateau comes from elevations at and above the plateau, it is air that was modified earlier in the day by a cool, moist coastal inflow carried up the plateau slopes by the plain-plateau circulation.

The evolution of the boundary layer and its effect on air chemistry in the Phoenix area

During a 4-week period in May and June of 1998, meteorological and chemical measurements were made as part of a field campaign carried out in the Phoenix area. Data from the field campaign provide the first detailed measurements of the properties of the convective boundary layer in this area and of the effects of these properties on ozone levels. The meteorological and chemical measurements have been combined with results from a set of meteorological, particle, and chemistry models to study ozone production, transport, and mixing in the vicinity of Phoenix. Good agreement between the simulations and observations was obtained, and the results have been used to illustrate several important factors affecting ozone patterns in the region. Heating of the higher terrain north and east of Phoenix regularly produced thermally driven circulations from the south and southwest through most of the boundary layer during the afternoon, carrying the urban ozone plume to the northeast. The combination of deep mixed layers and moderate winds aloft provided good ventilation of the Phoenix area on most days so that multiday buildups of locally produced ozone did not appear to contribute significantly to ozone levels during the study period. Sensitivity simulations determined that 20 to 40% of the afternoon surface ozone mixing ratios (corresponding to 15 to 35 ppb) were due to vertical mixing processes that entrained reservoirs of ozone into the growing convective boundary layer. The model results also indicated that ozone production in the region is volatile organic compound limited.

Influence of Subgrid Variability on Surface Hydrology

A 6.25-km resolution dataset of meteorology, vegetation type, and soil type for a domain covering a typical global climate model grid cell is used to drive a land surface physics model for a period of 6 months. Additional simulations are performed driving the land surface physics model by spatially averaged meteorology, spatially averaged vegetation characteristics, spatially averaged soil properties, and spatially averaged meteorology, vegetation characteristics, and soil properties. By comparing the simulated water balance for the whole domain for each simulation, the relative influence of subgrid variability in meteorology, vegetation, and soil are assessed. Subgrid variability in summertime precipitation is found to have the largest effect on the surface hydrology, with a nearly twofold increase on surface runoff and a 15% increase in evapotranspiration. Subgrid variations in vegetation and soil properties also increase surface runoff and reduce evapotranspiration, so that surface runoff is 2.75 times as great with subgrid variability than without and evapotranspiration is 19% higher with subgrid variability than without.

Observations of Spatial Variations of Boundary Layer Structure over the Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed

Abstract Results from a field campaign to study the response of the planetary boundary layer to spatially varying surface conditions are presented. Radiosondes released at four locations with contrasting land use characteristics in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) in Kansas and Oklahoma showed significant variations in mixed-layer depth, temperature, and water vapor mixing ratios over distances of 100–200 km. Using CART and radiosonde data, estimates of the surface sensible and latent heat fluxes are derived; the results from several methods are compared and a discussion of the similarities and differences in the values is given. Although substantial flux differences among the sites account for some of the variations in the boundary layer behavior, other features of the ambient meteorology and initial conditions appear to be equally important. Despite large changes in mixed-layer and surface-layer temperatures over scales of approximately 100 km, no evidence for temperatu...

Regional Drainage Flows in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract An analysis of regional drainage flows in the Pacific Northwest is presented using results from a network of surface observations and a series of simulations carried out with a nested mesoscale model. The flows, which occur regularly in southeastern Washington during the late spring and summer months, are marked by an increase in wind speed and a shift to northwesterly wind directions early in the evening. The phenomenon occurs when a deep mixed layer forms cast of the Cascade Range, drawing cooler air from the west over the mountain crest. Anabatic and katabatic forcing, terrain channeling, and turning by the Coriolis force combine to produce the characteristic flow patterns.

Variations in mixed-layer depths arising from inhomogeneous surface conditions

Abstract Current approaches to parameterizations of sub-grid-scale variability in surface sensible heat fluxes in general circulation models normally neglect the associated variability in mixed-layer depths. Observations and a numerical mesoscale model are used to show that the magnitude of such variability can be significant. Over a domain of (41 km)2, the standard deviation of simulated mixed-layer depths was found to be 21%–24% of the mean noontime values on three days, and the mean depths were not simply related to the mean sensible heat fluxes. Results obtained with two-dimensional simulations over idealized distributions of warm, dry and cool, or moist surfaces show that as the characteristic sizes of individual patches increase, the distributions of mixed-layer depths tend to assume a bimodal nature. under these conditions, the mean mixed-layer depth may have little physical relevance. Finally, the use of domain-averaged values of wind and temperature to compute surface fluxes is shown to be anothe...

Measurements of Turbulent Heat and Momentum Fluxes In a Mountain Valley

Measurements of heat and momentum fluxes along the valley floor of Brush Creek in Colorado are described. The measurements were taken in the fall of 1984 as part of the Department of Energys Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain field program. The sensible heat flux to the ground decreased from approximately 40--60 W m{sup {minus}2} prior to midnight to about 10--25 W m{sup {minus}2} in the morning hours. Surface friction velocities {ital u}{sub *} ranged from approximately 20--15 cm s{sup {minus}1} during the corresponding time periods. Considerable site-to-site variability in flux values was found, and disturbances of the upwind flow appear to be a significant contributing cause. {copyright}1989 American Meteorological Society