UBC Faculty Research and Publications

Formulation of an Index for Sea Breezes in Opposing Winds. Porson, A.; Steyn, Douw G.; Schayes, G.

Abstract

A scaling analysis is conducted to explore the dependence of sea-breeze speed and inland occurrence in the presence of opposing winds on a set of dynamical parameters. The overall aim of the analysis is to develop an index for sea-breeze occurrence in the face of opposing winds, similar to the Biggs and Graves lake-breeze index. Most studies separate sea-breeze speed and sea-breeze inland occurrence or, at best, link the two in linear analyses. This work analyzes the output of a nonlinear numerical mesoscale model (in idealized simulations) using scaling methods commonly applied in observational studies. It is found that the scaled sea-breeze speed, in response to increasing magnitude of opposing wind, shows two distinct phases: a phase of increasing speed while the sea breeze progresses inland and a phase of sharply decreasing speed when the sea breeze is no longer detected inland. The analysis also allows the development of an index for sea-breeze inland occurrence. This index is an improvement over existing analyses through the use of nonlinear scaling and the use of surface heat flux as opposed to simpler land–sea temperature contrasts. Copyright 2007 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a web site or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (http://www.ametsoc.org/) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or copyright@ametsoc.org.

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