Numerical simulation of nocturnal drainage flows in an idealized valley-tributary system
During 1984 and 1988 a substantial amount of meteorological field data was collected in the Brush Creek valley area of western Colorado as a part of the Atmospheric Science in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) program. This field experiment was designed to investigate the characteristics of nocturnal drainage flows in valleys as well as valley tributaries and sidewalls. The data collected during the Brush Creek experiment has been used to study a variety of nocturnal flow phenomena including: velocity and thermal structure of slope and valley flows; mass, momentum and energy balances in valleys and tributaries; tracer transport and diffusion in valley drainage flows. In support of the Brush Creek experiments, several mesoscale modeling studies have been performed. The numerical studies dealt with various aspects of along-valley nocturnal drainage flow. However, a good deal of effort was expended studying tributary flows and their interaction with the along-valley wind system. These investigations generated considerable debate over the contribution of tributaries to the valley mass flux and the source of observed velocity oscillations in valley-tributary systems. In this study, results from simulations of nocturnal drainage in an idealized valley-tributary-plain system are presented.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 10150615
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-94-0251; CONF-940769-2; ON: DE94011684
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 6. conference on mesoscale processes,Portland, OR (United States),18-22 Jul 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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