88th Annual Meeting (20-24 January 2008)

Wednesday, 23 January 2008
The lake shadow effect of lake breeze circulations and recent examples from GOES visible satellite imagery
Exhibit Hall B (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)
Frank S. Dempsey, Pickering, ON, Canada
Poster PDF (2.6 MB)
The lake shadow effect is a component of the lake breeze circulation caused by the cool and stable marine boundary layer flowing onshore and causing a cloud-free region close to the lakeshore. The lake shadow appears as a narrow band of cloudless sky parallel to the lakeshore and extending inland following the lake breeze front.

The lake shadow affects local convection and precipitation patterns, hydrology and agriculture, ground-level ozone production and air quality, and aviation. One impact on ground-level ozone production is the enhanced ozone photochemistry that can result where strong insolation combines with a residual layer of ozone precursor pollutants flowing onshore.

Some recent examples have been selected of the shadow effect of the Great Lakes as they appear on GOES visible satellite imagery, along with some descriptions of the associated synoptic conditions, and with several examples of contrasting ground-level ozone observations near the Lake Michigan lake breeze front.

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