Stability effects on the profiles of vertical velocity and its variance in katabatic flow
The atmospheric katabatic flow in the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains has been monitored by a network of towers and sodars for several years as part of the Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) program. The dependence of the vertical component of motion, its variance, and the mean component of the wind perpendicular to the surface at the mouth of Coal Creek Canyon on surface cooling and channeling by winds above the canyon has been explored by using almost three years of data from the network. The magnitude of the near-surface temperature differences was found to decrease with increasing surface cooling in light winds, apparently because of increasing turbulence resulting when increasing winds interact with surface topography. The variance of vertical velocity exhibits three types of vertical profiles, corresponding to different cooling rates and external wind speeds. The mean variance was found to depend strongly on a locally derived Richardson number.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 10188499
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/ER/CP-82594; CONF-9410222-1; ON: DE95001126; TRN: 94:009637
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 7. international symposium on acoustic remote sensing and associated techniques of the atmosphere and oceans,Boulder, CO (United States),3-7 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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