Analysis of TODWL PBL Wind Profiles Over Monterey Bay: Towards Ground Truth Winds for WindSAT and Other Remote Sensors
Abstract
Under this project we analyzed data from the TOWDL (Test of Wind Doppler Lidar) data acquired from February-March, 2002 and February, 2003 over and near Monterey Bay, CA to characterize the coherent structures and to compare them to our simple models of PBL roll vortices. This information is crucial for developing Cal/Val strategies and will help advance our fundamental understanding of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). A good model of the inhomogeneous flow at the proper footprint scales is essential to correct interpretation of surface comparison data. In many cases the inherent variability in Cal/Val may be in the natural turbulent and coherent structure nature of the winds rather than in the sensor signal. Since the satellite surface wind sensors appear to detect surface stress rather than surface wind, the variability in the surface stress, which is a nonlinear function of the surface wind, must be understood.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 29, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA481982
Entities
People
- Ralph C. Foster
- Robert A. Brown
Organizations
- University of Washington