Estimating the propagation velocity of atmospheric fronts from surface wind observations |
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| Authors: | Carl Anderson |
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| Institution: | Physical and Chemical Sciences, Department of Fisheries and Oceans , Bedford Institute of Oceanography , Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 4A2 |
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| Abstract: | Abstract Surface mesonet winds recorded at 10‐min intervals are used to estimate the propagation velocities of atmospheric fronts in East Coast winter storms during the Canadian Atlantic Storms Program (CASP). The frontal motion is modelled locally as the translation of a line across which there is an abrupt shift in wind direction. The mesonet is used to detect the propagation velocity of the windshift line. Frontal velocities estimated using mesonet winds for all cases in which fronts passed through the mesonet (two cold fronts and three warm fronts) are in close agreement with those deduced from synoptic charts. Recommendations are given for using the method as a research tool to estimate frontal motions in oceanographic studies of wind‐driven circulation. |
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