A field study of orographic precipitation anomalies during high velocity winds using an aerofoil rain gauge

Summary This study was prompted by a need to explain an anomaly in the apparent precipitation distribution over a prominent mountain subject to a high velocity westerly airstream. Historical data reveal that the lee receives 58% more precipitation than the summit. A novel rain gauge with a vertically orientated collecting orifice, 3 standard rain gauges and complementary wind data were procured from 3 sites on the mountain to assess the effect of the airstream on the precipitation distribution. The catch efficiency of standard rain gauges decrease after the wind velocity exceeds 2.5 ms^–1 Results indicate that the summit actually receives 59% more precipitation than the lee, where a vortex directly affects the precipitation distribution over, and east, of the mountain.With 11 Figures     

Advective, orographic and radiation fog in the Tarapacá region, Chile

A project in northern Chile was undertaken to determine the origin and behaviour of fog in the coastal and inland locations of the Tarapacá Region. In the Pampa del Tamarugal, 50 km from the sea, conditions exist for the formation of radiation fog. Advective fog has been studied on the coast and orographic fog was observed at a few coastal sites near mountain ranges with elevations above 1000 m. Fog water collected by two standard fog collectors (SFC) for 3 1/2 years showed an average flux of 8.5 l m⁻² day⁻¹ on the coast and 1.1 l m⁻² day⁻¹ inland 12 km from the coastline. On only a few days in 10 months was water collected at the inland site of Pampa del Tamarugal. GOES satellite images are shown to illustrate the pattern of formation of the stratocumuli cloud over the sea, its approach to the coastline, the entrance of fog by corridors through the coastal range and the presence of radiation fog inland. The results are important for the understanding of fog formation and dissipation along the coastal mountain range and for the recognition of potential sites for the installation of fog water collectors, which can be used as a water source in the Atacama Desert. The results also provide vital information for use in the preservation of the unique ecosystems of the most arid desert of the world.     

Valley winds and slope winds — Observations and elementary thoughts

Summary This paper presents a state-of-the-art account of valley wind research, with a bias towards a typical large Alpine valley and towards weak-gradient synoptic conditions. At the center of our attention is the quasiperiodic thermal forcing mechanism which drives the local wind system, in particular the role of slope winds and of topographic relief.Slope winds are at the small-scale end of a whole spectrum of thermally direct circulations which act to transmit the sensible heat input along the slopes to the valley atmosphere via compensating vertical motions. We surmise that the dynamics of slope winds, which react instantly to changes of the insolation or radiation balance, is characterized by local, instantaneous equilibria, rather than by conventional entrainment and boundary layer concepts.As described by Steinacker, the area-height distribution of a valley segment is a fundamental geometric factor which affords a quantitative measure of the slope area available for heat exchange, and of the air volume which must be heated or cooled. Using this concept, one can easily explain why the daily range of the valley mean temperature is, on average, more than twice as large as that of the atmosphere over the adjacent plain. This horizontal temperature contrast between plain and valley, reversing sign twice daily, builds up a corresponding pressure contrast hydrostatically, thereby causing up- and downvalley winds.

---

Berg- und Tal- bzw. Hangwinde — Beobachtungen und grundsätzliche Überlegungen

Zusammenfassung Wir berichten über den aktuellen Stand der Talwindforschung mit besonderer Betonung der Verhältnisse in den Alpen und vorzugsweise gradientschwache Wetterlagen betreffend. Einen Schwerpunkt unserer Darstellung bilden die quasiperiodischen thermischen Antriebskräfte der lokalen Windsysteme, vor allem die Rolle der Hangwinde und des Reliefs.Am kleinräumigen Ende eines Spektrums thermisch getriebener direkter Zirkulationsformen stehen die Hangwinde. Sie vermitteln der Talatmosphäre die an den Hängen umgesetzte fühlbare Wärme mittels kompensierender vertikaler Strömungen. Es wird vermutet, daß die Dynamik der Hangwinde eher durch lokale und spontane Gleichgewichtszustände beschrieben werden kann als durch die üblichen Entrainment- und Grenzschichtkonzepte.Steinacker hat gezeigt, daß die Flächen-Höhen-Verteilung von Talabschnitten ein quantitatives Maß der für die Wärmeumsätze zur Verfügung stehenden Hangflächen liefert, und gleichzeitig der abzukühlenden oder zu erwärmenden Luftvolumina. Die in einem Tal im Vergleich zum Vorland mehr als doppelt so große Tagesschwankung der vertikalen Mitteltemperatur kann damit leicht erklärt werden. Dieser horizontale Temperaturunterschied zwischen Ebene und Gebirge mit seinem täglich zweimaligen Vorzeichenwechsel baut hydrostatisch die entsprechenden Druckunterschiede auf, welche die Talein- und Talauswinde antreiben.

---

---

With 14 Figures     

正压地形扰动的数值试验

本文用正压模式对一种水平差分格式在有复杂地形下的计算稳定性及动力性能作了多种检验,模拟了在不同结构的基流上扰动的传播,得到了较为理想的结果.     

The orographic deformation and retardation of a frontal zone

Summary A three-layer version of Davies' (1984) model is used to investigate orographic impact on fronts. Uniform potential vorticity is assumed for each layer. The uppermost layer represents the flow ahead and above a frontal zone approaching a mountain. The frontal zone is represented by the second layer and the cold air behind it by the third layer of the model. The upper layer induces weak frontogenesis when the frontal zone is moving towards the mountain. However, rapid frontogenesis sets in when the zone's leading edge is climbing up the slope while part of the frontal zone is still in the plain. When, finally, the whole frontal zone is moving up the slope, the flow evolution strongly depends on the structure of the frontal zone: frontolysis as well as frontogenesis can occur.With 5 Figures     

A comparison of satellite winds and surface buoy winds in the northeast Pacific: Research note

Abstract

Cloud‐motion winds measured from organized and disorganized cumulus cloud fields are compared with winds measured at collocated buoys in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Findings suggest that an automated tracking algorithm using GOES satellite imagery can measure cloud‐level winds at these latitudes. Comparisons with buoy wind measurements show that the influence of boundary‐layer stability should be included in estimates of surface winds from cloud‐motion data.     

Waves to the lee of a meso-scale elliptic orographic barrier

Summary ?The paper considers a meso-scale, adiabatic, inviscid and Boussisnesq flow of a stably stratified fluid over a three-dimensional (3-D) meso-scale orographic barrier with elliptic contour, with special reference to a part of the Western ghats mountain along west coast of India and on the Khasi-Jayantia hill in the northeast India. The airstream characteristics are simplified by assuming that the upstream wind velocity (U) and buoyancy frequency (N) are constant with height. Solutions for perturbation vertical velocity (w′) and streamline displacement (η′) are expressed in terms of double integrals. These integrals cannot be evaluated exactly, hence they have been approximated by asymptotic expansion method. Side by side solutions using numerical method have also been obtained. The results of the study indicate that the updraft regions in the asymptotic solution are crescent shaped, symmetrical about the axis y = 0, tilting upwind and spreading laterally with height. The study also shows that in both asymptotic solution and numerical solution w′ and η′ fall off down wind of the barrier in the central plane (y = 0), further more in the asymptotic solution w′ and η′ fall off as x ⁻¹. The study also indicates that the discrete updraft regions obtained in the numerical solution, when joined, take a crescent shape. Received November 26, 2001; accepted February 27, 2002     

On frictional and orographic effects on precipitation in coastal areas

Methods have been designed to calculate orographic and frictional influences on precipitation in coastal regions. A model computes the vertical fluxes of water vapor at the top of the planetary boundary layer due to these two effects. The horizontal downwind displacement of falling precipitation is also allowed for. The procedures are applied over southwestern British Columbia to monthly amounts and maximum 24-h rainfalls for return periods of 2–50 yr. Correlation coefficients between observed and computed precipitation vary from 0.65 to 0.97, the average being 0.84.     

Patterns of weak,near-surface winds at Melbourne,Australia

Up to 30 months of near-surface anemograph records have been examined from 13 locations in and near Melbourne, Australia, to determine the wind patterns which existed during prolonged periods of light winds (at least 3 hours at 2 m s^-1 or less). A coherent katabatic wind system was found to develop in at least part of the monitored region on approximately 30% of nights. The flow broadly followed the slope of the basin surrounding the city, with a strong flow down the main river valley, and was partly reinforced by a land breeze in bayside areas. Other valleys also acted as channels for these winds. The general tendency of these katabatic winds was to converge towards the central business district and the northern part of Port Phillip Bay adjacent to the city centre. Where winds from different directions interacted, one of the winds dominated or successive replacement occurred causing the wind direction to vary considerably during a period.There were indications that in the presence of low-level stability with a synoptic gradient wind between east and north, the gradient flow may be deflected around the major topographic barrier to the northeast of the city. The existence of such a situation would have major implications in terms of air quality due to the possibility of pollutants being recirculated in conditions when vertical diffusion was very limited.     

Computation of the wind speed at sites with complex orographic effects

Computation of the wind speed at a given station is performed via interpretation of the hydrodynamic modelling results using the multiple regression method. The a priori model parameters—pressure and thermal gradients, the Laplace operator at the standard levels of the lower and middle troposphere, and others—were obtained from reanalysis. The wind speed at observation times at Vladivostok station was used as a dependent variable. Preliminary classifying of the vector of predictors in accordance to the surface pressure gradient has been done. This procedure, first of all, allowed us to decrease variability of the friction force impact on the wind speed formation for a given class. Experiments, which were performed with the different sets of parameters and various classification schemes, allowed selecting models that provide computation results comparable to the known methods of wind speed computation at a given station.     

On the measurement of atmospheric winds

The measurement of atmospheric winds using a cup anemometer to measure speed and a wind vane to measure direction, recording the data on paper charts is commonplace. Standard Meteorological Service criteria stipulate that the wind charts so recorded are read (averaged over one hour) by taking the dominant wind direction over an hour and the wind run then gives the speed over that hour. However, fluctuations of wind direction can lead to erroneous results. A vector average wind obtained using two orthogonally mounted propeller anemometers is described here, and comparisons are drawn between this and the first-mentioned technique. Prevailing winds are shown to be approximately the same for the two systems, but minor components can differ considerably. It is also shown that the integration time of the wind will have a marked effect on results.     

秦岭地区气溶胶对地形云降水的抑制作用

以华山站为影响站, 周围的西安、渭南和华阴作为对比站, 通过影响站与对比站降水之比——地形强化因子(Ro)的变化趋势以及Ro与能见度关系的分析, 定量研究了秦岭地区气溶胶对地形云降水的抑制作用。Ro的演变分析表明: 有观测以来Ro逐年递减, 减幅为14%～20%, 即影响站与对比站相比降水量减少了14%～20%; Ro的减少趋势与能见度递减、气溶胶递增相吻合, 说明气溶胶的增加抑制了地形云降水。Ro的递减主要是减少了中小雨 (日雨量小于30 mm) 的天数, 这种影响对浅薄的生命期较短的地形云降水作用更明显, 对于华山站, 30 mm以下的降水都会受到入云气溶胶的抑制作用, 而西安站为5 mm以下, 入云气溶胶浓度越高, 就有越厚的降水云受气溶胶影响而抑制降水; 在以动力强迫抬升为主的春秋季, 气溶胶抑制华山地形云降水20%左右, 最大可达25%; 在热对流条件下, 气溶胶对地形云和对平原地区云的抑制作用基本相当。不同风速风向下Ro的变化趋势表明, Ro递减随风速增大而加快, 迎风向 (240°～30°) 大风 (≥5 m/s) 时减少降水超过30%。由Ro与能见度关系的定量分析发现, 当能见度在14 km时Ro为1.8左右, 随着能见度的降低Ro逐渐减小, 当能见度小于8 km时,R0约为1.2, 减小了30%左右; 华山对于华阴的Ro与能见度呈线性关系, 相关系数达0.81。最后, 根据研究结果归纳出气溶胶抑制秦岭地区地形云降水的初步物理模型。     

QuikSCAT卫星遥感与MM5模拟海表面风场的综合分析

利用2000—2009年中国近海海域(105~135°E,0°~45°N)Quik SCAT卫星遥感风场资料和2007年MM5模拟风速结果,运用对比验证、经验正交函数(empirical orthogonal functions,EOF)和奇异值分解(singular value decomposition,SVD)方法,分析了Quik SCAT卫星遥感风场资料和MM5数值模拟风速结果的特征。结果表明:两者风速的空间分布形态相似,且风速变化密切相关;QuikSCAT卫星遥感风场的空间分布形态更加接近实测结果,而模拟风速结果的量值更加接近实测结果。采用PS(Pattern-Scaling)方法分别提取了Quik SCAT卫星遥感风场的空间分布形态和模拟结果的量值,得到的风速空间分布形态与Quik SCAT卫星遥感风场一致,且风速量值与模拟风速结果相同。通过初步检验发现,PS方法改善了卫星遥感风速在中国近海海域风速偏大的问题。     

Momentum budget diagnosis and the parameterization of subgrid-scale orographic drag in global GRAPES

The initial tendency approach is used to diagnose systematic errors in global GRAPES (Global/Regional Assimilation Prediction System), including overly strong westerlies in the northern midlatitudes, cold/warm bias dipoles in the vicinity of the tropopause, and excessively strong southerlies in downstream regions of the Tibetan Plateau. This approach, involving the use of the assimilation system, focuses on the first few time steps of numerical weather forecasts to identify the deficiencies in diabatic forcing. The results show that there is insufficient diabatic dissipation in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere of the northern midlatitudes and the lower troposphere of most latitudes, which results from the absence of a parameterization of subgrid orographic drag in global GRAPES. A scheme to parameterize the effects of these drags is therefore tested and the experiments indicate that the newly introduced scheme reduces zonal momentum budget residuals, weakens the northern midlatitude westerlies and southerlies in the downstream regions of the Tibetan Plateau, decreases the cold/warm bias dipoles, and leads to improved objective verification scores.     

太行山东麓一次强对流降雹过程中的地形强迫

利用WRF模式对2011年5月26日发生在太行山东麓的一次强对流降雹过程进行数值模拟,探讨了太行山及周边地形在本次强对流过程的作用。结果表明,控制华北平原的偏东暖湿气流受太行山阻挡并与切变线东南侧的西南暖湿气流汇合,在太行山东侧形成水汽高值区。太行山东坡下垫面向上热通量明显高于华北平原,午后850hPa高度山坡与平原的假相当位温梯度达到0.2 K·km~(-1),850~600 hPa假相当位温垂直梯度达4 K·km~(-1),对应上坡风的垂直速度大于1 m·s~(-1),热力环流为太行山东麓对流的发生提供了动力条件。太行山东侧暖湿气层之上为偏西干冷气流,由此形成的强热力不稳定与水汽高值区、上坡风共同造成太行山东麓强对流过程的发生。局地小尺度地形抬升与重力波共同促使太原盆地有对流单体生成,该单体移经太行山西侧迎风坡受阻挡抬升而增强,越过山顶后与维持在太行山东侧的对流单体发生合并,从而导致对流云的强烈发展。     

GRAPES中地形重力波拖曳物理过程的引进和应用试验

在中国新一代全球中期/区域中尺度同化与预报系统(GRAPES)模式中引进了ECMWF地形重力波拖曳物理过程,填补了GRAPES全球中期数值预报系统中物理过程的空白。重新计算了地形重力波过程需要的地形静态资料数据,并与原ECMWF模式的地形静态参数进行了对比分析,验证了模式地形参数的正确性。利用GRAPES模式,进行了地形重力波拖曳物理过程影响的敏感性数值试验;结果表明:引进地形重力波拖曳过程以后,在存在大地形的区域,风场会发生变化,当纬向风遇到青藏高原时,一部分气流会产生爬坡效应而越过高原,使高原上空的西风气流减弱;另一部分气流会绕过高原,在高原的南侧产生绕流;随着模式积分时间的延长,风场变化会越来越明显,地形越复杂,风场的变化也越复杂;连续的模式积分试验结果显示,引进地形重力波过程,可以延长GRAPES模式的可用预报时效,提高了全球形势预报的准确率。通过对一次降水过程的模拟,对地形重力波过程影响降水预报的原因进行了简单分析。结果显示:引进地形重力波拖曳过程后,改变了大气流场的分布,使预报的流场更接近于大气真实状态,从而提高了降水预报的准确率。     

Hurricane winds on the territory of Georgia

The statistical structure of hurricane winds is studied using the data of observation at 50 meteorological stations in Georgia for the period of 1961–2008. Determined are the number of days and the duration of hurricane winds in different regions of the country. Studied are the empirical functions of their distribution and the areal limits.