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Turbulence Structure and Exchange Processes in an Alpine Valley: The Riviera Project. Rotach, Mathias W.; Calanca, Pierluigi; Graziani, Giovanni; Gurtz, Joachim; Steyn, Douw G.; Vogt, Roland; Andretta, Marco; Christen, Andreas; Cieslik, Stanislaw; Connolly, Richard; et al.

Abstract

During a special observing period (SOP) of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP), boundary layer processes in highly complex topography were investigated in the Riviera Valley in southern Switzerland. The main focus was on the turbulence structure and turbulent exchange processes near the valley surfaces and free troposphere. Due to the anticipated spatial inhomogeneity, a number of different turbulence probes were deployed on a cross section through the valley. Together with a suite of more conventional instrumentation, to observe mean meteorological structure in the valley, this effort yielded a highly valuable dataset. The latter is presently being exploited to yield insight into the turbulence structure in very complex terrain, and its relation to flow regimes and associated mean flow characteristics. Specific questions, such as a detailed investigation of turbulent exchange processes over complex topography and the validity of surface exchange parameterizations in numerical models for such surfaces, the closure of the surface energy balance, or the definition and meaning of the “boundary layer height,” are investigated using the MAP-Riviera dataset. In the present paper, we provide details on sites and their characteristics, on measurements and observational strategies, and on efforts to guarantee comparability between different instrumentation at different sites, and we include an overview of the available instrumentation. On the basis of preliminary data and first results, the main research goals of the project are outlined. Copyright 2004 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.

Item Metadata

Title
Turbulence Structure and Exchange Processes in an Alpine Valley: The Riviera Project.
Creator
Rotach, Mathias W.; Calanca, Pierluigi; Graziani, Giovanni; Gurtz, Joachim; Steyn, Douw G.; Vogt, Roland; Andretta, Marco; Christen, Andreas; Cieslik, Stanislaw; Connolly, Richard; De Wekker, Stephan F. J.; Galmarini, Stefano; Kadygrov, Evgeny N.; Kadygrov, Vladislav; Miller, Evgeny; Neininger, Bruno; Rucker, Magdalena; Van Gorsel, Eva; Weber, Heidi; Weiss, Alexandra; Zappa, Massimiliano
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Date Issued
2004-09
Description
During a special observing period (SOP) of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP), boundary layer processes in highly complex topography were investigated in the Riviera Valley in southern Switzerland. The main focus was on the turbulence structure and turbulent exchange processes near the valley surfaces and free troposphere. Due to the anticipated spatial inhomogeneity, a number of different turbulence probes were deployed on a cross section through the valley. Together with a suite of more conventional instrumentation, to observe mean meteorological structure in the valley, this effort yielded a highly valuable dataset. The latter is presently being exploited to yield insight into the turbulence structure in very complex terrain, and its relation to flow regimes and associated mean flow characteristics. Specific questions, such as a detailed investigation of turbulent exchange processes over complex topography and the validity of surface exchange parameterizations in numerical models for such surfaces, the closure of the surface energy balance, or the definition and meaning of the “boundary layer height,” are investigated using the MAP-Riviera dataset. In the present paper, we provide details on sites and their characteristics, on measurements and observational strategies, and on efforts to guarantee comparability between different instrumentation at different sites, and we include an overview of the available instrumentation. On the basis of preliminary data and first results, the main research goals of the project are outlined. Copyright 2004 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.
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2011-04-20
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0041881
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/33855
Affiliation
Science, Faculty of; Earth and Ocean Sciences, Department of
Citation
Rotach, Mathias W., Calanca, Pierluigi, Graziani, Giovanni, Gurtz, Joachim, Steyn, Douw G., Vogt, Roland, Andretta, Marco, Christen, Andreas, Cieslik, Stanislaw, Connolly, Richard, De Wekker, Stephan F. J., Galmarini, Stefano, Kadygrov, Evgeny N., Kadygrov, Vladislav; Miller, Evgeny, Neininger, Bruno, Rucker, Magdalena, Van Gorsel, Eva, Weber, Heidi, Weiss, Alexandra, Zappa, Massimiliano. 2004. Turbulence Structure and Exchange Processes in an Alpine Valley: The Riviera Project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 85(9) 1367-1385
Publisher DOI
10.1175/BAMS-85-9-1367
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Steyn, Douw G.
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International