DROPS 2-Sea Breeze

During the week of March 11-15, 2012, a Purdue-sponsored research study was conducted in Venice, Florida addressing several student-conceived hypotheses about the sea breeze phenomenon. In order to observe the sea breeze phenomenon, pibals, Weather Transmitters (WXT), Mobile Automated Weather Station (MAWS) and a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) were used. Specifically, we recorded sea-breeze front depth, movement, and other impacts associated with sea breeze fronts. One of our hypotheses was that the depth of the sea breeze front is proportional to the distance that it moved inland. In theory a shallower sea breeze will be slower as compared to one with greater depth and therefore have more time to interact with the surface. This extended interaction time will make it more susceptible to frictional effects which greater limits the fronts ability to reach farther inland. Our array of surface instruments, in combination with the DOW was used to determine the distance that the front will reach inland. The instruments preferably were oriented perpendicular to the coast allowing us to track the sea breeze progression inland and any changes that occur. Range Height Indicator (RHI) radar scans from the DOW also allowed us to quantify the depth of the onshore component of the sea breeze, which has provided a better understanding of the scale of the circulation. After analyzing our data, we were able to conclude that there is a correlation to the depth of a sea breeze and the proportion it moved inland, as predicted in our hypotheses. Results on the other two hypotheses will be presented at the conference.