The Nature of The Propagation of Sea Breeze Fronts in Central California

Abstract

An examination is made of the nature of propagation of sea breeze fronts in central California. From 15 to 30 September, 1987, the Land/Sea Breeze Experiment (LASBEX) provided a series of meteorological observations including sodar, lidar, rawinsonde, radiosonde and surface observations. Surface observations of opportunity were also available from local marine labs and airports. Using a very simple linear model, the speed and direction of the sea breeze front is investigated. The speed of frontal propagation varied from 1 m/s to 3 m/s. A correlation between the speed of frontal propagation and estimated surface heat flux is observed. The direction of frontal propagation tends to be up valley. Comparison of the frontal propagation vector with stations in the southern portion of Monterey Bay shows that the front is curved on the mesoscale.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA238635

Entities

People

  • Joseph A. Yetter Jr.

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Boundary Layer
  • California
  • Climate Change
  • Clouds
  • Convection
  • Data Acquisition
  • Geometry
  • Layers
  • Measurement
  • Meteorology
  • Observation
  • Pressure Gradients
  • Radiosondes
  • Satellite Imaging
  • United States
  • Wind

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Oceanography.
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.