Observational Study of the Surface Layer at an Ocean-Land Transition Region

Medeiros, Luiz Eduardo; Magnago, Roberto de Oliveira; Fisch, Gilberto; Marciotto, Edson Roberto

doi:10.5028/jatm.v5i4.244

ABSTRACT:

High-frequency measurements of wind, and temperature were made during the dry season of 2008 to study the development of an internal boundary layer at the main Brazilian space launching centre, Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara at Alcântara, Maranhão, Brazil. Turbulence measurements taken at the coast, in two different points 227 m apart show different daily cycles of turbulent kinetic energy friction velocity (u _*), and buoyancy flux w’ T _ν'. Surface roughness change, surface heating change, and a gap in the natural vegetation seem to be the causes for the variation in these turbulent parameters. The mean wind cycle also shows distinct patterns. It seems that, first, internal boundary layers develop when the oceanic surface layer reaches the continent, and a second when the first internal boundary layer’s flow encounters the gap. A direct implication is that turbulence is not horizontally homogeneous and measurements taken at single places are not spatially representative. Knowing how turbulence varies spatially is necessary information to understand the diffusion of pollutants exhausted by rockets near the coast.

KEYWORDS:
Coast; Internal boundary layer; Sonic anemometer; Surface layer

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REFERENCES

Arya, S.P., 2001, Introduction to Micrometeorology. Academic Press, San Diego.
Case, J.L., Wheeler, M.M., Manobianco, J., Weems, J.W. and Roeder, W.P., 2005, A 7-yr climatological study of land breezes over the Florida spaceport. Journal of Applied Meteorology, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 340-356.
Elliot, W.P., 1958, The growth of the atmospheric internal boundary layer. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 1048-1054.
Fisch, G., Avelar, A.C., Marinho, L.P.B., Gielow, R., Girardi, R.M. and Souza, L.F., 2010, The internal boundary layer at the Alcântara space center: wind measurements, wind tunnel experiments an numeric simulations. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering (CWE2010), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA May 23-27, 2010.
Garratt, J.R., 1990, The internal boundary layer - A review. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 50, No. 1-4, pp. 171-203.
Gisler, C.A.F., Fisch, G. and Correa, S. C., 2011, Statistical analysis of wind profile in the surface layer at the Alcântara launching center. J Aerospace Management, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 193-202. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2011.03022411
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2011.03022411
Kaimal J.C. and Finnigan, J.J., 1994, Atmospheric boundary layer flows - their structure and measurement. Oxford University Press, New York.
Mahrt, L. and Vickers, D., 2005, Boundary-layer adjustment over small-scale changes of surface heat flux. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 116, No. 2, pp. 313-330.
Marciotto, E.R., Fisch, G. and Medeiros, L.E., 2012, Characterization of surface level wind in the Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara for use in rocket structure loading and dispersion studies. J Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 69-79. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2012.04014911
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2012.04014911
Marinho, L.M.B., Avelar, A.C., Fisch, G., Roballo, S.T., Souza, L.F., Ralf, G. and Girardi, R.M., 2009, Studies using wind tunnel to simulate the atmospheric boundary layer at the Alcântara Space Center. J Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 91-98. doi: 10.5028/jatm.200901019198
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.200901019198
Medeiros, L.E. and Fisch, G., 2012, Low atmospheric flow at Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA) and surrounding areas of the north part of the Maranhão State. In: Proceedings of the XVII Congresso Brasileiro de Meteorologia, Gramado, RS, Brazil.
Merceret, F.J., 2006, Rapid temporal changes of boundary layer winds. Journal of Applied Metorology and Climatology, Vol. 45, No. 7, pp. 1016-1020.
Moreira, D.M., Trindade, L.B., Fisch, G., Moraes, M.R., Dorado, R.M. and Guedes, R.L., 2011, A multilayer model to simulate rocket exhaust clouds. J of Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 41-52. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2011.03010311
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2011.03010311
Stull, R.B., 1988, An introduction to boundary layer meteorology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Walmsley, J.L., 1989, Internal boundary layer height formulae - a comparison with atmospheric data. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 47, No. 1-4, pp. 251-262.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Oct-Dec 2013

History

Received
21 Mar 2013
Accepted
26 July 2013

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[1] Arya, S.P., 2001, Introduction to Micrometeorology. Academic Press, San Diego.

[2] Case, J.L., Wheeler, M.M., Manobianco, J., Weems, J.W. and Roeder, W.P., 2005, A 7-yr climatological study of land breezes over the Florida spaceport. Journal of Applied Meteorology, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 340-356.

[3] Elliot, W.P., 1958, The growth of the atmospheric internal boundary layer. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 1048-1054.

[4] Fisch, G., Avelar, A.C., Marinho, L.P.B., Gielow, R., Girardi, R.M. and Souza, L.F., 2010, The internal boundary layer at the Alcântara space center: wind measurements, wind tunnel experiments an numeric simulations. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering (CWE2010), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA May 23-27, 2010.

[5] Garratt, J.R., 1990, The internal boundary layer - A review. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 50, No. 1-4, pp. 171-203.

[6] Gisler, C.A.F., Fisch, G. and Correa, S. C., 2011, Statistical analysis of wind profile in the surface layer at the Alcântara launching center. J Aerospace Management, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 193-202. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2011.03022411
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2011.03022411

[7] Kaimal J.C. and Finnigan, J.J., 1994, Atmospheric boundary layer flows - their structure and measurement. Oxford University Press, New York.

[8] Mahrt, L. and Vickers, D., 2005, Boundary-layer adjustment over small-scale changes of surface heat flux. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 116, No. 2, pp. 313-330.

[9] Marciotto, E.R., Fisch, G. and Medeiros, L.E., 2012, Characterization of surface level wind in the Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara for use in rocket structure loading and dispersion studies. J Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 69-79. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2012.04014911
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2012.04014911

[10] Marinho, L.M.B., Avelar, A.C., Fisch, G., Roballo, S.T., Souza, L.F., Ralf, G. and Girardi, R.M., 2009, Studies using wind tunnel to simulate the atmospheric boundary layer at the Alcântara Space Center. J Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 91-98. doi: 10.5028/jatm.200901019198
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.200901019198

[11] Medeiros, L.E. and Fisch, G., 2012, Low atmospheric flow at Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara (CLA) and surrounding areas of the north part of the Maranhão State. In: Proceedings of the XVII Congresso Brasileiro de Meteorologia, Gramado, RS, Brazil.

[12] Merceret, F.J., 2006, Rapid temporal changes of boundary layer winds. Journal of Applied Metorology and Climatology, Vol. 45, No. 7, pp. 1016-1020.

[13] Moreira, D.M., Trindade, L.B., Fisch, G., Moraes, M.R., Dorado, R.M. and Guedes, R.L., 2011, A multilayer model to simulate rocket exhaust clouds. J of Aerospace Technology and Management, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 41-52. doi: 10.5028/jatm.2011.03010311
» https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.2011.03010311

[14] Stull, R.B., 1988, An introduction to boundary layer meteorology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

[15] Walmsley, J.L., 1989, Internal boundary layer height formulae - a comparison with atmospheric data. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol. 47, No. 1-4, pp. 251-262.

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