Mark Sghiatti, Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; and S. Pal, G. D. Emmitt, and S. F. J. De Wekker
Results are presented of in-situ airborne measurements performed during the first field experiment of The Mountain Terrain Atmospheric Modeling and Observations (MATERHORN) Program (at Dugway Proving Ground (Utah, USA) in Fall 2012. A Navy Twin Otter aircraft flew 6 missions of about 5 hours each during the daytime, collecting in-situ measurements of meteorological variables at 10 Hz over a steep isolated mountain of a horizontal and vertical scale of about 10 km and 1 km, respectively. Dynamically and thermally induced modifications of the CBL turbulent structure around Granite Mountain are documented including the presence of organized convective structures. It is hypothesized that the spatial variability of TKE and turbulent fluxes are associated with organized convective structures and flow convergence over the slopes and peak of Granite Mtn. Initial investigation supports this hypothesis, and shows distinct variations in the turbulent fluxes and TKE over the eastern and western slopes of Granite Mountain. In general, TKE and sensible heat fluxes decrease with height within the CBL with largest values found east of Granite Mountain and negligible values near the CBL height.
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