Thursday, 18 July 2002: 11:15 AM
Frontal generation of waves in the stable boundary layer: CASES-99 observations
The linear theory of geostrophic adjustment establishes
that imbalances in the
atmosphere will lead to the generation of a spectrum of
inertia-gravity waves. In mid-latitudes, inertia-gravity
waves will have periods ranging from about 4 minutes for
pure gravity waves to
twenty hours for pure inertial oscillations. A local Fourier analysis
technique is presented for identifying
motions at the inertial frequency in hourly boundary-layer
wind profiler data at mid-latitudes. This technique is then applied
to data from four boundary-layer wind profilers
and three sodars operated during the CASES-99 stable boundary
layer experiment. Evidence is presented that shows that inertial
oscillations with significant amplitudes occur regularly in the
atmospheric boundary layer, often coincident with
frontal passages. Two case studies involving frontal passages indicate
that ageostrophic imbalances associated with these frontal passages
ultimately lead to an asymptotic state in which inertial oscillations
can be identified. This sequence of events suggests that a
geostrophic adjustment process has occurred following the
frontal passage.
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