Project Ahupua'a: solar meteorological field measurements on the Island of Hawaii, summer 1978. 3. Trade wind interactions with local winds in South Kohala
Instrumented vans monitored meteorological elements related to solar energy in the leeward South Kohala district of the Island of Hawaii between 23 and 28 June 1978. This phase of Project Ahupua'a concentrated on sea breeze circulations and their interactions with synoptic scale winds. Supplementary data were collected as in previous phases. In addition, visual observations were made from Anaehoomalu Beach and from an automobile traversing the transect. Daily weather conditions were documented by ground-based photography. The study period was characterized by abnormally high tropospheric moisture content and passage of significant tradewind disturbances. Local weather variability was greater than in earlier phases of project Ahupua'a. Sea breeze intrusion was frequent below 300 m MSL, but occurred at higher elevations only in response to significant synoptic systems. Diurnal variations of measured parameters were strong and reflected diminished sea breeze influence above 300 m. Heating of lava surfaces drives local circulations through two opposing physical processes. Surface pressure gradients support sea breeze development while vertical transport of horizontal (trade wind) momentum creates intense downslope flows. A model of sea breeze variability is proposed. Under synoptic scale trade wind flow, clear skies permit maximum heating of the lava, enhancing vertical transports of horizontal momentum so that the sea breeze is overpowered. Synoptic scale cloudiness (moisture) and stability are moderating influences. A numerical experiment is proposed to test the model.
- Research Organization:
- Hawaii Univ., Honolulu (USA). Dept. of Meteorology
- OSTI ID:
- 5653704
- Report Number(s):
- UHMET-79-05
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
AVAILABILITY
DAILY VARIATIONS
DATA
DATA FORMS
GRAPHS
HAWAII
HUMIDITY
INFORMATION
INSOLATION
METEOROLOGY
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
RAIN
TABLES
USA
VARIATIONS
WEATHER
WESTERN REGION
WIND