A study of atmospheric structures using sodar in relation to land and sea breezes

Simultaneous observations were made by an acoustic sounder and on a meteorological tower during the month of May 1978 at the Atomic Power Station Tarapur. The probing range of the acoustic sounder was 700 m. The meteorological tower could sense wind and temperature at various levels up to a height of 120 m.The site being close to the sea shore, the thermal environment of the lower atmosphere is controlled mostly by land and sea breeze circulations. Thermal convective structures were seen during the daytime and also at night. The frequency of plume formation and the height of the plumes were, however, low during the night. The convective boundary layer in the daytime ranged from 400–500 m while at night it was mostly under 200 m. The observation of thermals at night is explained by the presence of a naturally stable marine layer above 30 m at this site. In the morning hours, winds suddenly change their direction allowing advection of a land breeze which is responsible for the formation of surface-based shear echoes to a height of 200 m during the transition period and for the subsequent development of an elevated layer due to mixing of two different air masses. A marine layer was also seen over Tarapur for a few days during the early evening and night hours. Its height was mostly around 400 m. It may indicate the presence of a subsidence inversion at Tarapur. The need for collection of supporting meteorological data to a height of 500 m by tethered balloon or some other suitable in-situ technique is stressed.