Identification

Title

Analyzing the synoptic-, meso- and local- scale involved in sea breeze formation and frontal characteristics

Abstract

Sea breeze (SB) frontal passages, the relevant factors influencing their formation and their interaction with local turbulence, are analyzed. To proceed, numerical simulations from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are compared with a comprehensive observational database from the Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research site, spanning a 10-year period (January 2001 to December 2010). The fine horizontal resolution of 2 km and the replication of the observational vertical levels allow for a more precise comparison. An algorithm based on objective and strict criteria was applied to both observations and simulations to select the SB events. By carrying out a filter-by-filter comparison, we find that the simulated large-scale conditions show a good rate of coincidence with the reanalysis (69%). Small biases in the large-scale wind direction, however, induce important deviations in the surface-wind evolution. Regarding mesoscale forcings, the land-sea temperature gradient is overestimated in average up to 4 K, producing stronger SB fronts in WRF. The analysis of the SB characteristics and impacts is carried out by classifying the events into three boundary-layer regimes (convective, transition, and stable) based on the value of the sensible-heat flux at the SB onset. The stronger SB in the model leads to enhanced turbulence particularly in the convective and transition regimes: The friction velocity, for instance, is overstated by around 50% at the SB onset. In addition, the arrival of the SB front enhances the stable stratification and gives rise to faster afternoon and evening transitions compared with situations solely driven by local atmospheric turbulence.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7fx7dnm

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2020-02-27T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact