Stephan F. J. De Wekker

THE TERRAIN-INDUCED ROTOR EXPERIMENT : A Field Campaign Overview Including Observational Highlights

Abstract The Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) is a coordinated international project, composed of an observational field campaign and a research program, focused on the investigation of atmospheric rotors and closely related phenomena in complex terrain. The T-REX field campaign took place during March and April 2006 in the lee of the southern Sierra Nevada in eastern California. Atmospheric rotors have been traditionally defined as quasi-two-dimensional atmospheric vortices that form parallel to and downwind of a mountain ridge under conditions conducive to the generation of large-amplitude mountain waves. Intermittency, high levels of turbulence, and complex small-scale internal structure characterize rotors, which are known hazards to general aviation. The objective of the T-REX field campaign was to provide an unprecedented comprehensive set of in situ and remotely sensed meteorological observations from the ground to UTLS altitudes for the documentation of the spatiotem-poral characteristics ...

Turbulence Structure and Exchange Processes in an Alpine Valley: The Riviera Project.

During a special observing period (SOP) of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP), boundary layer processes in highly complex topography were investigated in the Riviera Valley in southern Switzerland. The main focus was on the turbulence structure and turbulent exchange processes near the valley surfaces and free troposphere. Due to the anticipated spatial inhomogeneity, a number of different turbulence probes were deployed on a cross section through the valley. Together with a suite of more conventional instrumentation, to observe mean meteorological structure in the valley, this effort yielded a highly valuable dataset. The latter is presently being exploited to yield insight into the turbulence structure in very complex terrain, and its relation to flow regimes and associated mean flow characteristics. Specific questions, such as a detailed investigation of turbulent exchange processes over complex topography and the validity of surface exchange parameterizations in numerical models for such surfaces, t...

A Numerical Study of the Thermally Driven Plain-to-Basin Wind over Idealized Basin Topographies

Numerical experiments have been carried out with a two-dimensional nonhydrostatic mesoscale model to investigate the diurnal temperature range in a basin and the thermally driven plain-to-basin winds. Under clearsky conditions, the diurnal temperature range in a basin is larger than over the surrounding plains due to a combination of larger turbulent sensible heat fluxes over the sidewalls and a volume effect in which energy fluxes are distributed through the smaller basin atmosphere. Around sunset, a thermally driven plain-to-basin flow develops, transporting air from the plains into the basin. Characteristics of this plain-to-basin wind are described for idealized basins bounded by sinusoidal mountains and the circumstances under which such winds might or might not occur are considered. In contrast with a previous numerical study, it is found that the height of the mixed layer over the plains relative to the mountain height is not a critical factor governing the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a plain-to-basin wind. The critical factor is the horizontal temperature gradient above mountain height created by a larger daytime heating rate over the basin topography than over the plains. Subsidence and turbulent heat flux divergence play important roles in this heating above mountain height.

Observations and Numerical Simulations of Subrotor Vortices during T-REX

High-resolution observations from scanning Doppler and aerosol lidars, wind profiler radars, as well as surface and aircraft measurements during the Terrain-induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) provide the first comprehensive documentation of small-scale intense vortices associated with atmospheric rotors that form in the lee of mountainous terrain. Although rotors are already recognized as potential hazards for aircraft, it is proposed that these small-scale vortices, or subrotors, are the most dangerous features because of strong wind shear and the transient nature of the vortices. A life cycle of a subrotor event is captured by scanning Doppler and aerosol lidars over a 5-min period. The lidars depict an amplifying vortex, with a characteristic length scale of 500–1000 m, that overturns and intensifies to a maximum spanwise vorticity greater than 0.2 s−1. Radar wind profiler observations document a series of vortices, characterized by updraft/downdraft couplets and regions of enhanced reversed flow, that are generated in a layer of strong vertical wind shear and subcritical Richardson number. The observations and numerical simulations reveal that turbulent subrotors occur most frequently along the leading edge of an elevated sheet of horizontal vorticity that is a manifestation of boundary layer shear and separation along the lee slopes. As the subrotors break from the vortex sheet, intensification occurs through vortex stretching and in some cases tilting processes related to three-dimensional turbulent mixing. The subrotors and ambient vortex sheet are shown to intensify through a modest increase in the upstream inversion strength, which illustrates the predictability challenges for the turbulent characterization of rotors.

Intercomparison of Mesoscale Model Simulations of the Daytime Valley Wind System

AbstractThree-dimensional simulations of the daytime thermally induced valley wind system for an idealized valley–plain configuration, obtained from nine nonhydrostatic mesoscale models, are compared with special emphasis on the evolution of the along-valley wind. The models use the same initial and lateral boundary conditions, and standard parameterizations for turbulence, radiation, and land surface processes. The evolution of the mean along-valley wind (averaged over the valley cross section) is similar for all models, except for a time shift between individual models of up to 2 h and slight differences in the speed of the evolution. The analysis suggests that these differences are primarily due to differences in the simulated surface energy balance such as the dependence of the sensible heat flux on surface wind speed. Additional sensitivity experiments indicate that the evolution of the mean along-valley flow is largely independent of the choice of the dynamical core and of the turbulence parameteriz...

Mountain Weather Research and Forecasting

Mountain Weather Prediction: Phenomenological Challenges and Forecast Methodology.- Diurnal Mountain Wind Systems.- Dynamically-driven Winds.- Understanding and Forecasting Alpine Foehn.- Boundary Layers and Air Quality in Mountainous Terrain.- Recent Progress on the Theory, Observations, and Predictions of Orographic Precipitation.- Microphysical Processes Within Winter Orographic Cloud and Precipitation Systems.- Observational Techniques: Sampling the Mountain Atmosphere.- Mescoscale Modeling Over Complex Terrain: Numerical and Predictability Perspectives.- Meso- and Fine-scale Numerical Modeling Over Complex Terrain: Parameterizations and Applications.- Numerical Weather Prediction and Weather Forecasting in Complex Terrain.- Bridging the Gap Between Operations and Research To Improve Weather Prediction in Mountainous Regions.

Convective Boundary Layer Heights Over Mountainous Terrain—A Review of Concepts

Mountainous terrain exerts an important influence on the Earths atmosphere and affects atmospheric transport and mixing at a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. The vertical scale of this transport and mixing is determined by the height of the atmospheric boundary layer, which is therefore an important parameter in air pollution studies, weather forecasting, climate modeling, and many other applications. It is recognized that the spatio-temporal structure of the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) height is strongly modified and more complex in hilly and mountainous terrain compared to flat terrain. While the CBL over flat terrain is mostly dominated by turbulent convection, advection from multi-scale thermally driven flows plays an important role for the CBL evolution over mountainous terrain. However, detailed observations of the CBL structure and understanding of the underlying processes are still limited. Characteristics of CBL heights in mountainous terrain are reviewed for dry, convective conditions. CBLs in valleys and basins, where hazardous accumulation of pollutants is of particular concern, are relatively well-understood compared to CBLs over slopes, ridges, or mountain peaks. Interests in the initiation of shallow and deep convection, and of budgets and long-range transport of air pollutants and trace gases, have triggered some recent studies on terrain induced exchange processes between the CBL and the overlying atmosphere. These studies have helped to gain more insight into CBL structure over complex mountainous terrain, but also show that the universal definition of CBL height over mountains remains an unresolved issue. The review summarizes the progress that has been made in documenting and understanding spatio-temporal behavior of CBL heights in mountainous terrain and concludes with a discussion of open research questions and opportunities for future research.

A Multiscale and Multidisciplinary Investigation of Ecosystem- Atmosphere CO2 Exchange over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado

A significant fraction of Earth consists of mountainous terrain. However, the question of how to monitor the surface–atmosphere carbon exchange over complex terrain has not been fully explored. This article reports on studies by a team of investigators from U.S. universities and research institutes who carried out a multiscale and multidisciplinary field and modeling investigation of the CO2 exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere and of CO2 transport over complex mountainous terrain in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado. The goals of the field campaign, which included ground and airborne in situ and remote-sensing measurements, were to characterize unique features of the local CO2 exchange and to find effective methods to measure regional ecosystem–atmosphere CO2 exchange over complex terrain. The modeling effort included atmospheric and ecological numerical modeling and data assimilation to investigate regional CO2 transport and biological processes involved in ecosystem–atmosphere carbon exch...

Observational and Numerical Evidence of Depressed Convective Boundary Layer Heights near a Mountain Base

Recent field and numerical studies show evidence of the existence of a convective boundary layer height depression near a mountain base. This depression can have implications for air pollutant transport and concentrations in complex terrain. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, idealized simulations with a mesoscale numerical model are performed and combined with available observations. The idealized simulations with a single mountain ridge of various dimensions suggest that the depression evolves in time, is most pronounced in the late afternoon, and becomes larger as slope steepness increases. Observations and modeling results show that the atmosphere is heated more intensely near the mountain base than far away from the mountain base, not only inside the boundary layer but also above. The enhanced heating aloft affects boundary layer growth near the mountain base and is associated with the boundary layer height depression. An analysis of the different terms in the temperature tendency equation indicates that vertical and horizontal advection of warm air, associated with the thermally driven circulation along the mountain slope, play a role in this enhanced heating aloft.

Observations of Atmospheric Structure and Dynamics in the Owens Valley of California with a Ground-Based, Eye-Safe, Scanning Aerosol Lidar*

Abstract First results are presented from the deployment of the NCAR Raman-Shifted Eye-Safe Aerosol Lidar (REAL) in the Owens Valley of California during the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) in March and April 2006. REAL operated in range–height indicator (RHI) and plan position indicator (PPI) scanning modes to observe the vertical and horizontal structures of the aerosol and cloud distribution in a broad valley in the lee of a tall mountain range. The scans produce two-dimensional cross sections that when animated produce time-lapse visualizations of the microscale and mesoscale atmospheric structures and dynamics. The 2-month dataset includes a wide variety of interesting atmospheric phenomena. When the synoptic-scale flow is strong and westerly, the lidar data reveal mountain-induced waves, hydraulic jumps, and rotorlike circulations that lift aerosols to altitudes of more than 2 km above the valley. Shear instabilities occasionally leading to breaking waves were observed in cloud and aerosol ...