Boundary Layer Coherent Structures, AASERT Supplement.
Abstract
It is apparent that a substantial portion of the air/sea fluxes of heat, moisture, and momentum is accomplished via intermittent processes (Khalsa and Greenhut 1985), processes that are rather poorly understood. Recently, Mahrt (1989) and Sikora and Young (1993) demonstrated that coherent structures in the marine boundary layer (MBL) are responsible for this flux-carrying intermittency. These coherent structure types include such secondary circulations as two-dimensional rolls (cloud streets), three-dimensional convective cells (thermals), and shear-driven eddies (billows) (Brown 1980). These features occur in different atmospheric boundary layer thermal stratification and shear regimes; some are forced primarily by thermal, and others by dynamic, mechanisms. Indeed, using the soaring patterns of birds, Woodcock (1975) determined the air/sea temperature differences and- 10 m wind speeds typically associated with these two- and three-dimensional responses. Our ultimate research goal, then, is to determine the mechanisms underlying the intermittency in air/sea fluxes produced by these coherent structure types.of Miguchi (1988).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 31, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA324696
Entities
People
- George S. Young
- Hampton N. Shirer
Organizations
- Pennsylvania State University