Atmospheric Fluctuations Which Lead to Trackable Radar Signals in the Marine Boundary Layer.

Abstract

A description and rough cataloguing of the dominant types of fluid dynamic features which may be expected to yield trackable radar targets in the atmospheric boundary layer is provided. Conditions favorable for target motion relative to the ambient wind velocity are discussed. One particularly interesting type of wave generated target is that involving Kelvin-Helmholtz wave breaking which occurs when a wave of sufficient amplitude passes through a slightly stable fluid shear layer. This type of wave breaking is examined numerically using A.R.A.P.'s second-order closure turbulence model. This normalized computation allows the evolution of the radar pattern for this particular type of event to be interpreted in terms of the temperature, humidity, and velocity across a particular shear zone, and the wave speed of the triggering internal wave.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA107523

Entities

People

  • C. P. Cerasoli
  • H. Segur
  • R. I. Sykes
  • W. S. Lewellen

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Boundary Layer
  • Buoyancy
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Convection
  • Differential Equations
  • Doppler Effect
  • Measurement
  • Meteorology
  • Phase Velocity
  • Radar
  • Turbulence
  • Turbulent Mixing
  • Wave Phenomena
  • Wind Shear
  • Wind Velocity

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics