The sea breeze at Venice,as related to daily global solar radiation

Although the sea breeze at Venice and on her hinterland is influenced by orography - mainly the Alps — to the north and the Po Valley to the west, the search for a correlation between the frequency of development of the sea breeze and the daily global solar radiation seems to be desirable, and may be useful for the management of emissions from the industrial area near Venice. Three different cases are examined: (i) the sea breeze occuring in the absence of any appreciable gradient wind; (ii) the sea breeze superimposed on a prevailing wind; (iii) the sea breeze not developing at all. The frequency distributions of these cases related to the global solar radiation at Venice are discussed.     

The inland boundary layer at low latitudes: II Sea-breeze influences

Two-dimensional mesoscale model results support the claim of evening sea-breeze activity at Daly Waters, 280 km inland from the coast in northern Australia, the site of the Koorin boundary-layer experiment. The sea breeze occurs in conditions of strong onshore and alongshore geostrophic winds, not normally associated with such activity. It manifests itself at Daly Waters and in the model as a cooling in a layer 500–1000 m deep, as an associated surface pressure jump, as strong backing of the wind and, when an offshore low-level wind is present, as a collapse in the inland nocturnal jet.Both observational analysis and model results illustrate the rotational aspects of the deeply penetrating sea breeze; in our analysis this is represented in terms of a surge vector — the vector difference between the post- and pre-frontal low-level winds.There is further evidence to support earlier work that the sea breeze during the afternoon and well into the night — at least for these low-latitude experiments — behaves in many ways as an atmospheric gravity current, and that inland penetrations up to 500 km occur.     

Impact of the Rhône and Durance valleys on sea-breeze circulation in the Marseille area

Sea-breeze dynamics in the Marseille area, in the south of France, is investigated in the framework of the ESCOMPTE experiment conducted during summer 2001 in order to evaluate the role of thermal circulations on pollutant transport and ventilation. Under particular attention in this paper is the sea-breeze channelling by the broad Rhône valley and the narrow Durance valley, both oriented nearly-north–south, i.e., perpendicular to the coastline, and its possible impact on the sea-breeze penetration, intensity and depth, which are key information for air pollution issues. One situation of slight synoptic pressure gradient leading to a northerly flow in the Rhône valley (25 June 2001) and one situation of a weak onshore prevailing synoptic wind (26 June 2001) are compared. The impact of the Rhône and Durance valleys on the sea-breeze dynamics on these two typical days is generalized to the whole ESCOMPTE observing period.The present study shows by combining simple scaling analysis with wind data from meteorological surface stations and Doppler lidars that (i) the Durance valley always affects the sea breeze by accelerating the flow. A consequence is that the Durance valley contributes to weaken the temperature gradient along the valley and thus the sea-breeze circulation. In some cases, the acceleration of the channelled flow in the Durance valley suppresses the sea-breeze flow by temperature gradient inhibition; (ii) the Rhône valley does not generally affect the sea breeze significantly. However, if the sea breeze is combined with an onshore flow, it leads to further penetration inland and intensification of the low-level southerly flow. In this situation, lateral constriction may accelerate the sea breeze. Simple scaling analysis suggests that Saint Paul (44.35°N, about 100 km from the coastline) is the lower limit where sea breeze can be affected by the Rhône valley. These conclusions have implications in air quality topics as channelled sea breeze may advect far inland pollutants which may be incorporated into long-range transport, particularly in the Durance valley.     

Thermal effect of the sea breeze on the structure of the boundary layer and the heat budget over land

The daytime boundary-layer heating process and the air-land heat budget were investigated over the coastal sea-breeze region by means of observations over the Sendai plain in Japan during the summer. In this area, the onset of the sea breeze begins at the coast around 0900 LST, intruding about 35 km inland by late afternoon. The cold sea breeze creates a temperature difference of over 10°C between the coastal and inland areas in the afternoon. On the other hand, warm air advection due to the combination of the counter-sea breeze and land-to-sea synoptic wind occurs in the layer above the cold sea breeze in the coastal region. Owing to this local warm air advection, there is no significant difference in the daytime heating rate over the entire atmospheric boundary layer between the coastal and inland areas. The sensible heat flux from the land surface gradually decreases as distance from the coastline increases, being mainly attributed to the cold sea breeze. The daytime mean cold air advection due to the sea breeze is estimated asQ _adv ^local =–29 W m^–2 averaged over the sea breeze region (035 km from the coastline). This value is 17% of the surface sensible heat fluxH over the same region. The results of a two-dimensional numerical model show that the value ofQ _adv ^local /H is strongly affected by the upper-level synoptic wind direction. The absolute value ofQ _adv ^local /H becomes smaller when the synoptic wind has the opposite direction of the sea breeze. This condition occurred during the observations used in the present study.     

Inland penetration of the sea breeze over the suburban area of Tokyo

Observational results of the structure of the sea breeze over the urban and suburban areas of Tokyo for four summer days are presented.On two of these days, the inland penetration of the sea breeze front could be clearly traced. In one case, the sea breeze was first observed along the shores of Tokyo Bay around 0900 JST, and propagated in three hours through the Tokyo City area, the width of which is about 20 km. It then advanced inland at a rate of 16 km h^–1. Prior to the arrival of the sea breeze at the suburban site, the mixing height had remained at about 600 m for four hours. With the arrival of the sea breeze front, accompanied by an abrupt change in wind speed and direction, the mixing height increased sharply to 1700 m. It is suggested that this behavior and the structure of the front are intensified due to the urban effect, or the difference in the thermal characteristics between the urban and rural areas.On the days without a sea breeze front, the land breeze system during the early morning was less intense, allowing the sea breeze to develop simultaneously with the inland valley wind and easily form a large-scale local wind system during the morning hours. In both cases, the vertical motion accompanying the local wind system works as a feedback mechanism to control the local winds by modifying the thermal and pressure fields.     

Modeling of urban heat island and its impacts on thermal circulations in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region,China

Through regulating the land–atmosphere energy balance, urbanization plays an important role in modifying local circulations and cross-border transport of air pollutants. The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) metropolitan area in northern China is frequently influenced by complex atmospheric thermal circulations due to its special topography and geographic position. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model combined with remote sensing is used to explore the urbanization impacts on local circulations in the BTH region. The urban heat island (UHI) effect generated around Beijing and Tianjin shows complex interactions with local thermal circulations. Due to the combined effects of UHI and topography, the UHI circulation around Beijing and valley breeze at the southern slopes of Yan Mountain are coupled together to reinforce each other. At the coastal cities, the increased land/sea temperature gradient considerably accelerates the sea breeze along Bohai Bay and moves the sea breeze front further inland to reach as far as Beijing. This study may lay a foundation for the better understanding of air pollutant dispersion on complex terrain.

     

Analysis and numerical simulation of the meteorological observations at a tropical coastal site Chennai in India

Meteorological measurements were carried out at North Chennai semi rural area during pre-monsoon period as a part of an air quality study program. Analysis of the data showed the effects of coastal terrain namely the land-sea breeze circulation, temperature cooling during the sea breeze, difference in onset times at these sites etc. Sea breeze onset was observed with a sharp turning of the wind from westerly to south easterly associated with rise in wind speed. Advection speed of the front was about 2.0 m s^− 1. A simple mesoscale meteorological model (MAM-I) developed at Kalpakkam for coastal atmospheric dispersion estimation was used to simulate the observed characteristics. All the major features observed could be simulated by the model while significant difference was noticed in sea breeze frontal movement. MAM results were also inter-compared with MM5. There were no significant differences in the estimate of mean parameters by both the models. It is concluded that the simple model, which takes less run time in a desktop PC, is adequate enough for practical application of providing wind field for plume dispersion models at coastal sites.     

A Two-Dimensional Numerical Study of the Impact of a City on Atmospheric Circulation and Pollutant Dispersion in a Coastal Environment

The urban impact on the sea breeze is studied by means of a mesoscale model with a detailed urban parameterisation. Four simulations are carried out on an idealised two-dimensional flat domain. In the base case, half of the domain is characterised by seaand the other half by rural land. In the urban case, an urban area 10 km wide is added near the shoreline. Simulations are performed for a moist rural soil (weak sea breeze) and for a dry rural soil (strong sea breeze). Results are analysed in order to evaluate the impact of the city on the wind, temperature and turbulent kinetic energy fields. The dispersion of a passive tracer emitted near the coastline is, also, used in the comparison. Results show that the city accelerates the sea-breeze formation in the morning (combinations of urban circulation and sea breeze), but it slows thesea-breeze front penetration. Moreover, the presence of the city enhances the recirculation processes and strongly modifies the pollutant dispersion. These effects are enhanced for a moist rural soil.     

Interaction of the sea breeze with a river breeze in an area of complex coastal heating

A three-dimensional finite-element mesoscale model is used to study the interaction of two different but related mesoscale phenomena in an area having a complex pattern of surface heating. The model simulations have been compared with temperature and wind fields observed on a typical fall day during the Kennedy Space Center Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment on the east coast of Florida.Numerical results and observations both show that the meso- scale flow field is significantly modified from the conventional coastal-flow patterns by the smaller meso- scale irregular geographic features in this area. A local river breeze is observed to develop around the Indian River almost the same time as the Atlantic sea breeze. A comparison of the sea and the river breezes shows a large difference in their horizontal circulations but only slight differences in their vertical scales. The sea breeze intensifies more rapidly than the river breeze, so that a lag of 1 to 1.5 h exists between their most developed stages. The river breeze is relatively stationary, whereas the sea breeze propagates inland, with an eventual merger of the two circulations occurring about 6–8 h after their onset.Different synoptic wind regimes create different flow structures. Well-defined sea- and river-breeze circulations become established under calm, weak offshore, and weak alongshore synoptic-wind conditions. Maximum vertical velocities occur in the sea-breeze front (river-breeze front) in the cases of calm (offshore winds). The sea breeze and the river breeze are weaker when the synoptic winds are stronger.Finally, the results from numerical experiments designed to isolate the rivers' effect indicate that the convergence in the sea-breeze front is suppressed when it passes over the cooler surface of the rivers.Journal Paper No. J-14150 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, Project No. 2779     

Analyzing the basic features of different complex terrain flows by means of a Doppler Sodar and a numerical model: Some implications for air pollution problems

Summary A variety of programmes and field experiments were carried out in order to develop and evaluate models of transport and diffusion of pollutants in complex terrain areas. As part of this programme, in this study, we have focused our interest on analyzing the basic features of different flow fields and thermal structures developed in a complex area and their relation to air pollution problems. The area is located in the province of Barcelona (in the northeast of Spain) close to a wide industrial zone, thus a pollutant flux could affect this region. In order to carry out the main purpose of this study we have analysed data from a Doppler Sodar (FAS 64) and a network of near surface meteorological and air quality stations. In addition, different dynamical simulations given by a numerical mesoscale model (MM5) are also analyzed. The results show that the main flow fields and thermal structures generated in this area are: sea breeze, slope drainage winds, channelling winds created by terrain constrictions and cool-air accumulation in low-lying regions. This last structure, developed specially in winter time, gives rise to stagnant cold air masses and strong thermic inversions, with average lapse rate of –4 degrees on 100m, which contribute to increase air pollution concentration, especially SO₂. Hourly and daily averaged SO₂ concentration can be higher than 350 and 138µgm^–3 respectively. In addition, as La Plana is located not far from the Mediterranean Sea, during summertime the sea breeze arrives into this zone via its southern entrance, thereby reaching the whole area. The arrival of the sea breeze in to La Plana, which advects pollutants from the nearby industrial area, is the main cause of some of these pollutants, especially ozone and its precursors, attaining high concentrations during afternoon hours. The contribution of the sea breeze is variable, but could represent between a 25% to a 30% of its total value.     

Modeling of pollutant dispersion in sea breeze conditions using a Lagrangian model

Summary This work presents a numerical study of non-reactive pollutant dispersion in sea breeze conditions. Sea breeze circulation is investigated using a 3-D mesoscale meteorological model. Simulation was conducted for the area of Tarragona (Spain) which has an important petrochemical industry in the coastal region and complex terrain. Results from the meteorological model were used as input to a Lagrangian particle model in order to analyze the pollutant dispersion of an elevated plume emitting near the shoreline. The simulation was performed for 24 h and an analysis of the meteorological and concentration fields was untertaken for this time period. The results are compared with measured surface data. Good correlation exists between observed and simulated conditions indicating that the coupling of the meteorological and particle models provides a good tool for analyzing air pollution in complex situations.With 13 Figures     

The effect of water surface temperature on lake breezes and thermal internal boundary layers

A two-dimensional prognostic numerical model has been used to study a lake breeze event reported by Keen and Lyons (1978). Model predictions showed fair to good agreement with the observations. For the mature lake breeze, the model predicted inflow at the coast within about 1.5 m s^–1 of the observed value, lake breeze depth within 50–90 m of the observed, and inland penetration within about 6 km of the observed. The top of the thermal internal boundary layer (TIBL) was associated with a minimum in the predicted turbulent kinetic energy profile. This may be of consequence for attempts to evaluate pollutant dispersion using numerical models.Predicted lake breeze characteristics showed little sensitivity to temperature of the water surface, except when the water surface temperature was increased to a value exceeding the inland maximum temperature. The most sensitive lake breeze characteristic was the TIBL, which grew more slowly with inland distance and persisted for a greater distance inland as the lake surface became colder.     

Inland and Offshore Propagation Speeds of a Sea Breeze from Simulations and Measurements

The inland and offshore propagation speeds of a sea breeze circulation cell are simulated using a three-dimensional hydrostatic model within a terrain-following coordinate system. The model includes a third-order semi-Lagrangian advection scheme, which compares well in a one-dimensional stand-alone test with the more complex Bott and Smolarkiewicz advection schemes. Two turbulence schemes are available: a local scheme by Louis (1979) and a modified non-local scheme based on Zhang and Anthes (1982). Both compare well with higher-order closure schemes using the Wangara data set for Day 33–34 (Clark et al., 1971).Two-dimensional cross-sections derived from airborne sea breeze measurements (Finkele et al. 1995) constitute the basis for comparison with two-dimensional numerical model results. The offshore sea breeze propagation speed is defined as the speed at which the seaward extent of the sea breeze grows offshore. On a study day, the offshore sea breeze propagation speed, from both measurements and model, is -3.4 m s^-1. The measured inland propagation speed of the sea breeze decreased somewhat during the day. The model results show a fairly uniform inland propagation speed of 1.6 m s^-1 which corresponds to the average measured value. The offshore sea breeze propagation speed is about twice the inland propagation speed for this particular case study, from both the model and measurements.The influence of the offshore geostrophic wind on the sea breeze evolution, offshore extent and inland penetration are investigated. For moderate offshore geostrophic winds (-5.0 m s^-1), the offshore and inland propagation speeds are non-uniform. The offshore extent in moderate geostrophic wind conditions is similar to the offshore extent in light wind conditions (-2.5 m s^-1). The inland extent is greater in light offshore geostrophic winds than in moderate ones. This suggests that the offshore extent of the sea breeze is less sensitive to the offshore geostrophic wind than its inland extent. However, these results hold only if it is possible to define an inland propagation speed. For stronger offshore geostrophic winds (-7.5 m s^-1), the sea breeze is completely offshore and the inland propagation speed is ill-defined.     

Main features of the sea-breeze in Barcelona

Summary From a data set of sea-breeze observations corresponding to cases of no synoptic-scale flow in Barcelona during the period 1970–89, some features of this wind have been deduced. Maximum velocities of between 6–14 m/s generally occur during 12–16 SLT. Diurnal evolution gives a clockwise rotation of sea breeze so that this wind blows roughly parallel to the shoreline in late afternoon. The rate of the change of direction is in agreement with numerical results from a simple nonlinear sea breeze model.With 7 FiguresThis work has been supported by the DGICYT, Project No. PB87-0718.     

Modelling Local Sea-Breeze Flow and Associated Dispersion Patterns Over a Coastal Area in North-East Spain: A Case Study

The structure and evolution of the sea breeze in the north-west part of the Mediterranean (Catalonia, north-east Spain) is studied both experimentally and, predominantly, using numerical models to increase understanding of sea-breeze structure and three-dimensional (3D) pollution distributions in coastal environments. Sea-breeze components are modelled and analyzed using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Centre for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5). The results show that the growth and structure of the sea-breeze circulation is modulated by the synoptic flow and especially by the complex topography of the area. 3D pollution transport in a sea breeze is modelled by coupling the MM5 to the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, with results indicating that topography and synoptic flow are the main factors modulating horizontal and vertical pollutant transport in sea-breeze episodes. In this way, horizontal dispersion is limited by the complex topography of the area, whilst the sea-breeze flow is intensified by anabatic upslope winds that contribute to vertical pollutant transport. The numerical model results also indicate that the sea-breeze circulation with a weak return flow at upper levels grows due to a synoptic onshore wind component. However, such a sea-breeze circulation is capable of transporting pollutants towards the coast.     

Observations of sea breeze events in Rome and the surrounding area by a network of Doppler sodars

In the period June–July 1992, four Doppler sodars were operated simultaneously in Rome and the surrounding area. The data have been used to investigate the contributions from sea breeze events to the local low-level circulation. Three days in which synoptic-scale pressure gradients were weak have been selected. A number of characteristics of the sea breeze are examined including the onset and cessation of the phenomenon, the behavior of the wind speed, and the depth of the density flow. The time propagation of the events and the influence of orography are obtained from a comparison between the data at different sites. The low-level circulation in the early morning is associated with the land breeze and appears to be enhanced by a mountain wind from the surrounding hills. The observed behavior of the vertical velocity field associated with the sea breeze is consistent with model predictions.     

Available potential energy of the daily coastal circulation at Zadar (Croatia)

Summary The aim of this study is the evaluation of the sea breeze speed on the basis of its energy. Energetics of the sea breeze can be studied by means of the available potential energy (APE). Part of this energy is transformed into the kinetic energy of the sea breeze. Some similarity exists between the large scale processes of the circulation and the small coastal air circulation due to the fact that both circulations are triggered by the same physics, i.e., solenoidal activity of the baroclinic atmosphere. To evaluate the sea breeze speed, APE was calculated by use of the Lorenz’s equation (1955), and which is possible if the coastal circulation is considered to be a closed system in a hydrostatic equilibrium. For calculations and verifications hourly sea-surface temperatures, near-ground air temperatures and wind speed measurements, as well as the radio-sounding measurements at 12 UTC were used at the Zadar station (ϕ = 44° 08′ N, λ = 15° 13′ E), which is situated in the central part of the eastern Adriatic coast. Two days with an undisturbed sea breeze circulation were extracted using the methods for minimizing other atmospheric influences. Calculated hourly near ground sea breeze speeds obtained in this way were higher than the measured ones. With the assumption that some of the APE is transformed into the kinetic energy it is possible to obtain characteristic speed of the developed sea breeze with small discrepancies to the near-ground measurements. If 6.6% of the mean daily near ground APE was taken to be transformed to the mean daily kinetic sea breeze energy on the 29th and 4.2% on the 30th September 2002, the best agreement was obtained with the mean daily measured near ground sea breeze speed. This range of values can be attributed to inability to extract precise values for the lapse-rate needed in the APE sea breeze calculations. Results show similarities to the general circulation of the atmosphere, since about 10% of the APE is transformed to the kinetic energy of the sea breeze. On the other hand calculated wind speed at the lower branch of the borderline coastal circulation was not dependent on the integral value of the APE over the land, but on its value at the near-ground level.     

边界层参数化对海南岛海风环流结构模拟的影响

利用WRF V3.7详细分析了应用8种边界层参数化方案（YSU、MYNN2.5、MYNN3、ACM2、BouLac、UW、SH、GBM）所模拟的2014年5月25日海南岛海风环流结构的差异,其中YSU、ACM2和SH为非局地闭合方案,MYNN2.5、MYNN3、BouLac、UW和GBM为局地闭合方案。结果表明:对于海风环流水平结构的模拟,15时,YSU、ACM2、BouLac、UW和SH模拟的北部海风较强,SH和GBM的内陆风速偏大。温度与海风发展强度相对应,MYNN2.5与MYNN3模拟的岛屿温度偏低,海陆温差小,海风相对较弱。对于海风环流垂直结构的模拟,09时海风开始,但强度较小,且存在残余陆风,向内陆传播距离较短,YSU、MYNN2.5和SH方案的海风相对较强。12时,海风已呈现出较为清晰的环流结构,YSU和ACM2的海风厚度及向内陆传播距离相对强于其它方案,MYNN3的环流结构则不太明显,且向内陆推进距离短,海风相对较弱。15时,海风发展强盛,MYNN2.5和MYNN3方案模拟的海风垂直强度较小,ACM2方案的海风垂直环流特征最为明显。18时,海风的强度和扰动均有所减弱,ACM2、BouLac和UW的整体海风相对强于其它方案。21时海风已基本转为陆风,BouLac与UW的陆风环流结构最为清晰。位温、水汽及海风垂直环流强度的发展变化与海风的演变过程基本一致。造成ACM2模拟海风偏强的原因是其边界层垂直混合偏强,形成了足够的湍流混合强度所致。对于边界层高度的模拟,ACM2的边界层顶最高,这与此方案所模拟的海风强度偏大相吻合,其它方案的边界层高度与海风强度并不完全一致。      

多云天气下海南岛海风环流结构的数值模拟

利用WRF-Noah耦合中尺度模式对海南岛2012年7月5日的多云海风个例进行三维高分辨率数值模拟,重点分析多云天气条件下复杂地形区域的海风环流结构及其演变特征。通过观测资料与模拟结果的对比发现,WRF模式能够合理地模拟出岛屿四周的海风演变特征。与少云海风日相似,多云海风日中全岛海风于12时开始形成,15时海风发展最为强盛,影响范围最广,18时全岛海风的辐合程度最强,海风辐合区是主要的潜在降水区域。对比山区与平坦地区的海风环流发现,山区海风环流强盛期为13—18时,而平坦地区海风环流强盛期为15—18时。复杂的山地对海风环流结构有直接和间接的影响:一方面在山地地形动力阻挡和抬升作用下,海风环流变得更加清晰完整,间接延长了海风环流的维持时间;另一方面局地地形热力作用形成的谷风环流与海风几乎同时产生和消亡,两者汇合后,谷风的瞬间加强会引起海风锋锋消,瞬间减弱会引起海风锋锋生;两者同相叠加会使得海风环流结构更加完整。相比之下,平坦地区的海风受到的地形动力和热力作用小,海风水平分布比较规则,海风环流垂直结构的变化主要取决于不同方向海风之间的相互作用。     

Impact of a sea breeze on the boundary-layer dynamics and the atmospheric stratification in a coastal area of the North Sea

In-situ sodar and lidar measurements were coupled with numerical simulations for studying a sea-breeze event in a flat coastal area of the North Sea. The study’s aims included the recognition of the dynamics of a sea-breeze structure, and its effects on the lower troposphere stratification and the three-dimensional (3D) pollutant distribution. A sea breeze was observed with ground-based remote sensing instruments and analysed by means of numerical simulations using the 3D non-hydrostatic atmospheric model Meso-NH. The vertical structure of the lower troposphere was experimentally determined from the lidar and sodar measurements, while numerical simulations focused on the propagation of the sea breeze inland. The sea-breeze front, the headwind, the thermal internal boundary layer, the gravity current and the sea-breeze circulation were observed and analysed. The development of a late stratification was also observed by the lidar and simulated by the model, suggesting the formation of a stable multilayered structure. The transport of passive tracers inside the sea breeze and their redistribution above the gravity current was simulated too. Numerical modelling showed that local pollutants may travel backward to the sea above the gravity current at relatively low speed due to the shearing between the landward gravity current and the seaward synoptic wind. Such dynamic conditions may enhance an accumulation of pollutants above coastal industrial areas.