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Title: Inversion Breakup in Small Rocky Mountain and Alpine Basins

Abstract

Comparisons are made between the post-sunrise breakup of temperature inversions in two similar closed basins in quite different climate settings, one in the eastern Alps and one in the Rocky Mountains. The small, high-altitude, limestone sinkholes have both experienced extreme temperature minima below -50°C. On undisturbed clear nights, temperature inversions reach to 120 m heights in both sinkholes, but are much stronger in the drier Rocky Mountain basin (24K versus 13K). Inversion destruction takes place 2.6 to 3 hours after sunrise and is accomplished primarily by subsidence warming associated with the removal of air from the base of the inversion by the upslope flows that develop over the sidewalls. Differences in inversion strengths and post-sunrise heating rates are caused by differences in the surface energy budget, with drier soil and a higher sensible heat flux in the Rocky Mountain sinkhole.

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
15020846
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-40165
KP1202010; TRN: US200521%%390
DOE Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Applied Meteorology, 43(8):1069-1082
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 43; Journal Issue: 8
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; CLIMATES; HEAT FLUX; HEATING RATE; LIMESTONE; REMOVAL; SOILS; SURFACE ENERGY; TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS

Citation Formats

Whiteman, Charles D, Pospichal, Bernhard, Eisenbach, Stefan, Weihs, P, Clements, Craig B, Steinacker, Reinhold, Mursch-Radlgruber, Erich, and Dorninger, Manfred. Inversion Breakup in Small Rocky Mountain and Alpine Basins. United States: N. p., 2004. Web. doi:10.1175/1520-0450(2004)043<1069:IBISRM>2.0.CO;2.
Whiteman, Charles D, Pospichal, Bernhard, Eisenbach, Stefan, Weihs, P, Clements, Craig B, Steinacker, Reinhold, Mursch-Radlgruber, Erich, & Dorninger, Manfred. Inversion Breakup in Small Rocky Mountain and Alpine Basins. United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2004)043<1069:IBISRM>2.0.CO;2
Whiteman, Charles D, Pospichal, Bernhard, Eisenbach, Stefan, Weihs, P, Clements, Craig B, Steinacker, Reinhold, Mursch-Radlgruber, Erich, and Dorninger, Manfred. 2004. "Inversion Breakup in Small Rocky Mountain and Alpine Basins". United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2004)043<1069:IBISRM>2.0.CO;2.
@article{osti_15020846,
title = {Inversion Breakup in Small Rocky Mountain and Alpine Basins},
author = {Whiteman, Charles D and Pospichal, Bernhard and Eisenbach, Stefan and Weihs, P and Clements, Craig B and Steinacker, Reinhold and Mursch-Radlgruber, Erich and Dorninger, Manfred},
abstractNote = {Comparisons are made between the post-sunrise breakup of temperature inversions in two similar closed basins in quite different climate settings, one in the eastern Alps and one in the Rocky Mountains. The small, high-altitude, limestone sinkholes have both experienced extreme temperature minima below -50°C. On undisturbed clear nights, temperature inversions reach to 120 m heights in both sinkholes, but are much stronger in the drier Rocky Mountain basin (24K versus 13K). Inversion destruction takes place 2.6 to 3 hours after sunrise and is accomplished primarily by subsidence warming associated with the removal of air from the base of the inversion by the upslope flows that develop over the sidewalls. Differences in inversion strengths and post-sunrise heating rates are caused by differences in the surface energy budget, with drier soil and a higher sensible heat flux in the Rocky Mountain sinkhole.},
doi = {10.1175/1520-0450(2004)043<1069:IBISRM>2.0.CO;2},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/15020846}, journal = {Journal of Applied Meteorology, 43(8):1069-1082},
number = 8,
volume = 43,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2004},
month = {Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2004}
}