Frequency response corrections for eddy correlation systems

Simplified expressions describing the frequency response of eddy correlation systems due to sensor response, path-length averaging, sensor separation and signal processing are presented. A routine procedure for estimating and correcting for the frequency response loss in flux and variance measurements is discussed and illustrated by application to the Institute of Hydrology's Hydra eddy correlation system.The results show that flux loss from such a system is typically 5 to 10% for sensible and latent heat flux, but can be much larger for momentum flux and variance measurements in certain conditions.A microcomputer program is included which, with little modification, can be used for estimating flux loss from other eddy correlation systems with different or additional sensors.     

Boundary-layer effects on cold fronts at a coastline

The present note discusses one physical mechanism which may contribute to cold air channelling, manifest as a frontal bulge on a surface-analysis chart, in the coastal region of Victoria in southeast Australia. This involves the modification of boundary-layer air in both offshore (prefrontal) and onshore (postfrontal) flow, and the effect on cross-frontal thermal contrast. The problem is discussed in terms of a north-south-oriented cold front behaving as an atmospheric gravity current, propagating along an east-west-oriented coastline, in the presence of a prefrontal offshore stream.     

Spectra of temperature derivatives in the atmospheric surface layer

Measured spectra ofθ _x,θ _y,θ _z, the derivatives of temperature in streamwise, lateral and vertical directions, respectively, indicate that the spectral densities ofθ _z andθ _y are nearly similar but significantly different from the spectral density ofθ _x. The high-frequency parts of the three spectra satisfy, in a qualitative sense, local isotropy requirements. In the high-frequency end of the inertial subrange, the relative behaviour of spectra ofθ _x,θ _y andθ _z is also consistent with local isotropy.     

Numerical simulation of the development of vortices over the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau

Summary Some of the vortices which develop over the Tibetan plateau during summer give rise to severe weather over eastern China. These weather developments can be difficult to forecast, but have been simulated successfully in a recently developed numerical model. It will be shown that different vortices respond differently to topographic effects, to nonlinear processes and to sensible and latent heating in their formation, maintenance, and motion. Elevated terrain appears to enhance the influence of thermodynamic processes, block airflow, and increase frictional dissipation.Sensible heating sometimes collaborates with topography in blocking cold air intrusions and is not only a function of terrain elevation but also of the synoptic situation. Without the input of latent heating, vortices over the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau tend to degenerate.

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Numerische Simulation von Wirbelbildungen über dem Hochland von Tibet

Zusammenfassung Einige der sich im Sommer über dem Hochland von Tibet entwickelnden Wirbel verursachen Unwetter in Ostchina. Die Vorhersage dieser Entwicklung kann schwierig sein, sie werden aber von einem kürzlich vorgestellten numerischen Modell erfolgreich simuliert. Es wird gezeigt, daß verschiedene Wirbel verschieden auf die Orographie, auf nichtlineare Vorgänge sowie auf fühlbare und latente Wärme in ihrer Entstehung, Erhaltung und Bewegung reagieren. Ein Hochland scheint den Einfluß thermodynamischer Vorgänge zu verstärken, Strömungen zu blockieren und die Reibungsdissipation zu steigern.Die fühlbare Wärme verhindert manchmal gemeinsam mit der Topographie Kaltlufteinbrüche, hängt aber nicht nur von der Hochland-sondern auch von der synoptischen Situation ab. Ohne latente Wärme neigen Wirbel über dem Ostteil des Hochlandes von Tibet zur Degeneration.

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With 22 Figures     

Interannual variation of Gulf Stream heat transport in a high-resolution model forced by reanalysis data

The variability present in a 1/6th degree Atlantic ocean simulation forced by analysed wind stress and heat flux over a 20-year period is investigated by means of heat transport diagnostics. A section is defined which follows the Gulf Stream and its seaward extension, and transport of heat across this section is analysed to reveal the physical mechanisms responsible for intergyre heat exchanges on a variety of time scales. Heat transport across another section that crosses the Gulf Stream is also diagnosed to reveal the temporal behaviour of the gyre circulation. The Ekman response to wind stress variations accounts for the annual cycle and much of the interannual variability in both measures. For the intergyre heat transports, cancellation by transient-mean flow terms leads to a very weak annual cycle. Transient eddies account for approximately half the total intergyre transport of 0.7 Petawatts. They also account for a significant fraction of the interannual variability, but separate experiments with repeated-annual-cycle forcing indicate that the transient eddy component of the heat transport variability is internally generated. Links between the intergyre transport, the wind-driven gyre circulation, the surface heat budget and the atmospheric North Atlantic Oscillation are discussed.     

Atmospheric circulation and storminess derived from Royal Navy logbooks: 1685 to 1750

This paper is concerned with the use of Royal Navy ships’ logbooks for the period 1685 to 1750, thereby embracing the oldest members of this documentary series that extends to the present day. The geographic range of the undertaking is confined to the English Channel and its western approaches where the abundance of logbooks for this period allows for the abstraction of a daily series of wind force and direction data. These are verified and processed for inclusion in a database from which indices are derived for air circulation patterns based on the frequency of winds from north, east, south and west quarters, and of gale frequency, based on the contemporary terminology of wind force. The methods by which the data are abstracted and processed are described, as is the nature of the raw data and source material. The results provide a uniquely detailed insight into the changing patterns of air circulation over this critical period that marked the transition from the depths of the Little Ice Age in the late seventeenth century. Attention is also drawn to the changing nature of gale frequency, which revealed a notable decrease over the study period. Associations between changing circulation patterns and temperature regimes are also explored.