Climatology of internal gravity waves in the marine surface layer in a coastal environment. [Comparison with inland site]

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:5836622

SethuRaman, S; Nagle, C; Raynor, G S

The climatological variations of the occurrence of internal gravity wave events at a coastal site as compared with an inland site are discussed, and possible reasons for the differences are given. Stable atmospheric conditions that are conducive for the formation of internal gravity waves occur at all hours at a coastal site. At inland sites, stable conditions occur only during nights due to daytime surface heating by solar radiation. Thermal inertia of large bodies of water, on the other hand, prevents the formation of a diurnal cycle of heating and radiational cooling. During spring and early summer, cooler ocean water causes the formation of stable atmospheric layers near the surface when warmer air masses move in from land. Internal gravity waves tend to get generated and break in these layers and affect the transport and diffusive characteristics of the atmosphere. Meandering of plumes of materials released in the atmosphere during stable conditions is one affect. The internal waves seem to form in air masses with moderate wind speed in the range of 3 to 8 m sec/sup -1/ and have significant amplitudes. Mean periods of the waves were around 6 to 9 minutes.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-02-0016
• OSTI ID: 5836622
• Report Number(s): BNL-26841; CONF-800107-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500100* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CHEMISTRY
CLIMATES
COASTAL REGIONS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DAILY VARIATIONS
DIFFUSION
ENERGY TRANSFER
GRAVITY WAVES
HEAT TRANSFER
LAYERS
METEOROLOGY
PLUMES
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
STABILITY
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
TURBULENCE
VARIATIONS
WAVE PROPAGATION
WIND