Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer

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Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer Stephen Burk and Tracy Haack Naval Research Laboratory Monterey, CA

description

Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Stephen Burk and Tracy Haack Naval Research Laboratory Monterey, CA. Strength (  M). Height. top. Thickness (= top-base). base. Modified Refractivity, M. Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer. . Q. Height. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Page 1: Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Stephen Burk and Tracy HaackNaval Research Laboratory

Monterey, CA

Page 2: Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Refractivity in the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Hei

ght

Q

base

top

Strength (M)

Thickness (= top-base)

Modified Refractivity, M

Hei

ght

Potential Temperature &Specific Humidity

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COAMPSTM 27km grid

Cook & Burk, 1992, BLM, 58, 151-159.Burk & Thompson, 1997, JAM, 36, 22-31.Haack & Burk, 2001, JAM, 40, 673-687.Burk, Haack, Rogers, & Wagner, 2003, JAM, 349-367.

INDIA

SAUDIARABIA

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Wallops 2000EM PropagationField Experiment

from NSWCDD/TR-01/132

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COAMPSTM Wallops Island

DTG: 10-12 Apr 2000 Triple nest: 27-9-3 km Vertical: 40 levels

10-m Winds/SLPSST/SLP

DMDZ/THETA

Hei

ght (

m)

x = 3 km

x = 27 km

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April 10, 20001200 UTC

April 11, 20001200 UTC

April 12, 20001200 UTC

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EDH(m)

RH(%)

T(0C)

U(m/s)

Dots = COAMPSTM forecast values

Ta

IR

Obs from Davidson, NPS

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3 am LT10 Apr 2000

Norfolk*

Wallops

COAMPSTM SST and Ground Temperature

*284

297

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COAMPSTM Sensible Heat Flux (W/m2);near surface streamlines

11 Apr 2000

3 am LT 3 pm LT

0

0

0

60

20

-20

400

20

60

40

20

0

0

0

0

20

-20

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COAMPSTM Evaporation Duct Height (m)11 Apr 2000

3 am LT 3 pm LT

4

6 10

12

24

2

4

8

28

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base

top

Strength (M)

Modified Refractivity, M

Hei

ght

hourly fields from 00 UTC 11 Apr-2300 UTC 12 Apr 2000

Animation of two 24h COAMPSTM forecasts of:40m(shaded); 50m streamlines; & dM/dz = 0 isosurface (white)

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Horizontal: Evaporation Duct Height (shaded) & StreamlinesVertical: Potential Temperature (shaded & contoured)“Clouds”: Trapping Layer (DMDZ=0 isosurface)

0

1 km

North South

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M Crossection

(a)

M CrossectionShaded with dM/dz

(b)

1800 UTC 12 Apr 2000 COAMPSTM

Looking toward SE across Tidewater PeninsulaRed Isosurface dM/dz = 157 M-units/km subrefractionWhite isosurface dM/dz = 0 M-units/km trapping layer

(c)

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Mixing Ratio (g/kg), Shaded;Potential Temperature (K),contoured

1800 UTC 12 Apr 2000 COAMPSTM

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Duct parameters from COAMPSTM

1800 UTC 12 Apr 2000Wallops Island

Duct Base Height (m) Duct Thickness (m) Duct Strength (M-units)

0

100

200

300

400

500

0

100

200

300

0

3

6

9

12

15

18

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Summary

• COAMPSTM forecasts both evaporation ducts and elevated and/or surface based ducts

• To date, most modeling studies of refractivity/propagation have focused on subsidence dominated, strongly capped BL’s (e.g., CA coast in summer; Persian Gulf)

• Intensive Observation Periods of the Wallops-2000 propagation field experiment are addressed here using COAMPSTM at high resolution. Model refractivity will be inserted into propagation codes for comparison with prop measurements.

• New insights into refractivity structure in frontal regions are emerging

• Accurate forecasting of major synoptic features (e.g., frontal boundaries) can be of greater importance than extremely high model resolution in defining local refractive structure/ EM propagation conditions. Mesoscale ensembles may be very useful in this context.