The Triggering of Orographic Rainbands by Small-Scale Topography

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 1530-1549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Kirshbaum ◽  
George H. Bryan ◽  
Richard Rotunno ◽  
Dale R. Durran

Abstract The triggering of convective orographic rainbands by small-scale topographic features is investigated through observations of a banded precipitation event over the Oregon Coastal Range and simulations using a cloud-resolving numerical model. A quasi-idealized simulation of the observed event reproduces the bands in the radar observations, indicating the model’s ability to capture the physics of the band-formation process. Additional idealized simulations reinforce that the bands are triggered by lee waves past small-scale topographic obstacles just upstream of the nominal leading edge of the orographic cloud. Whether a topographic obstacle in this region is able to trigger a strong rainband depends on the phase of its lee wave at cloud entry. Convective growth only occurs downstream of obstacles that give rise to lee-wave-induced displacements that create positive vertical velocity anomalies wc and nearly zero buoyancy anomalies bc as air parcels undergo saturation. This relationship is quantified through a simple analytic condition involving wc, bc, and the static stability N 2m of the cloud mass. Once convection is triggered, horizontal buoyancy gradients in the cross-flow direction generate circulations that align the bands parallel to the flow direction.

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 2930-2947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A. C. Teixeira ◽  
José Luis Argaín ◽  
Pedro M. A. Miranda

Abstract The drag produced by 2D orographic gravity waves trapped at a temperature inversion and waves propagating in the stably stratified layer existing above are explicitly calculated using linear theory, for a two-layer atmosphere with neutral static stability near the surface, mimicking a well-mixed boundary layer. For realistic values of the flow parameters, trapped-lee-wave drag, which is given by a closed analytical expression, is comparable to propagating-wave drag, especially in moderately to strongly nonhydrostatic conditions. In resonant flow, both drag components substantially exceed the single-layer hydrostatic drag estimate used in most parameterization schemes. Both drag components are optimally amplified for a relatively low-level inversion and Froude numbers Fr ≈ 1. While propagating-wave drag is maximized for approximately hydrostatic flow, trapped-lee-wave drag is maximized for l2a = O(1) (where l2 is the Scorer parameter in the stable layer and a is the mountain width). This roughly happens when the horizontal scale of trapped lee waves matches that of the mountain slope. The drag behavior as a function of Fr for l2H = 0.5 (where H is the inversion height) and different values of l2a shows good agreement with numerical simulations. Regions of parameter space with high trapped-lee-wave drag correlate reasonably well with those where lee-wave rotors were found to occur in previous nonlinear numerical simulations including frictional effects. This suggests that trapped-lee-wave drag, besides giving a relevant contribution to low-level drag exerted on the atmosphere, may also be useful to diagnose lee-rotor formation.


1998 ◽  
Vol 355 ◽  
pp. 359-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. TAYLOR ◽  
N. PEAKE

The long-time limit of the response of incompressible three-dimensional boundary layer flows on infinite swept wedges and infinite swept wings to impulsive forcing is examined using causal linear stability theory. Following the discovery by Lingwood (1995) of the presence of absolute instabilities caused by pinch points occurring in the radial direction in the boundary layer flow of a rotating disk, we search for pinch points in the cross flow direction for both the model Falkner–Skan–Cooke profile of a swept wedge and for a genuine swept-wing configuration. It is shown in both cases that, within a particular range of the parameter space, the boundary layer does indeed support pinch points in the wavenumber plane corresponding to the crossflow direction. These crossflow-induced pinch points do not constitute an absolute instability, as there is no simultaneous pinch occurring in the streamwise wavenumber plane, but nevertheless we show here how they can be used to find the maximum local growth rate contained in a wavepacket travelling in any given direction. Lingwood (1997) also found pinch points in the chordwise wavenumber plane in the boundary layer of the leading-edge region of a swept wing (i.e. at very high flow angles). The results presented in this paper, however, demonstrate the presence of pinch points for a much larger range of flow angles and pressure gradients than was found by Lingwood, and indeed describe the flow over a much greater, and practically significant, portion of the wing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 6683-6693
Author(s):  
Enzo Papandrea ◽  
Stefano Casadio ◽  
Elisa Castelli ◽  
Bianca Maria Dinelli ◽  
Mario Marcello Miglietta

Abstract. Atmospheric gravity waves generated downstream by orography in a stratified airflow are known as lee waves. In the present study, such mesoscale patterns have been detected, over water and in clear-sky conditions, using the Advanced Infra-Red WAter Vapour Estimator (AIRWAVE) total column water vapour (TCWV) dataset, which contains about 20 years of day and night products, obtained from the thermal infrared measurements of the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) instrument series. The high accuracy of such data, along with the native 1 km×1 km spatial resolution, allows the investigation of small-scale features such as lee waves. In this work, we focused on the Mediterranean Sea, the largest semi-enclosed basin on the Earth. The peculiarities of this area, which is characterised by complex orography and rough coastlines, lead to the development of these structures over both land and sea. We developed an automatic tool for the rapid detection of areas with high probability of lee wave occurrence, exploiting the TCWV variability in spatial regions with a 0.15∘×0.15∘ area. Through this analysis, several occurrences of structures connected with lee waves have been observed. The waves are detected in spring, autumn and summer seasons, with TCWV values usually falling in the range of 15 to 35 kg m−2. In this article, we describe some cases over the central (Italy) and the Eastern Mediterranean Basin (Greece, Turkey and Cyprus). We compared a case of perturbed AIRWAVE TCWV fields due to lee waves occurring over the Tyrrhenian Sea on 18 July 1997 with the sea surface winds from the synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which sounded the same geographical area, finding a good agreement. Another case has been investigated in detail: on 2 August 2002 the Aegean Sea region was almost simultaneously sounded by both the second sensor of the ATSR series (ATSR-2) and the Advanced ATSR (AATSR) instruments. The AIRWAVE TCWV fields derived from the two sensors were successfully compared with the vertically integrated water vapour content simulated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical model for the same time period, confirming our findings. Wave parameters such as amplitude, wavelength and phase are described through the use of the Morlet continuous wavelet transformation (CWT). The performed analysis derived typical wavelengths from 6 to 8 km and amplitudes of up to 20 kg m−2.


2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jody M. Klymak ◽  
Robert Pinkel ◽  
Luc Rainville

Abstract Barotropic to baroclinic conversion and attendant phenomena were recently examined at the Kaena Ridge as an aspect of the Hawaii Ocean Mixing Experiment. Two distinct mixing processes appear to be at work in the waters above the 1100-m-deep ridge crest. At middepths, above 400 m, mixing events resemble their open-ocean counterparts. There is no apparent modulation of mixing rates with the fortnightly cycle, and they are well modeled by standard open-ocean parameterizations. Nearer to the topography, there is quasi-deterministic breaking associated with each baroclinic crest passage. Large-amplitude, small-scale internal waves are triggered by tidal forcing, consistent with lee-wave formation at the ridge break. These waves have vertical wavelengths on the order of 400 m. During spring tides, the waves are nonlinear and exhibit convective instabilities on their leading edge. Dissipation rates exceed those predicted by the open-ocean parameterizations by up to a factor of 100, with the disparity increasing as the seafloor is approached. These observations are based on a set of repeated CTD and microconductivity profiles obtained from the research platform (R/P) Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP), which was trimoored over the southern edge of the ridge crest. Ocean velocity and shear were resolved to a 4-m vertical scale by a suspended Doppler sonar. Dissipation was estimated both by measuring overturn displacements and from microconductivity wavenumber spectra. The methods agreed in water deeper than 200 m, where sensor resolution limitations do not limit the turbulence estimates. At intense mixing sites new phenomena await discovery, and existing parameterizations cannot be expected to apply.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 2867-2885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luwei Yang ◽  
Maxim Nikurashin ◽  
Andrew M. Hogg ◽  
Bernadette M. Sloyan

ABSTRACTObservations suggest that enhanced turbulent dissipation and mixing over rough topography are modulated by the transient eddy field through the generation and breaking of lee waves in the Southern Ocean. Idealized simulations also suggest that lee waves are important in the energy pathway from eddies to turbulence. However, the energy loss from eddies due to lee wave generation remains poorly estimated. This study quantifies the relative energy loss from the time-mean and transient eddy flow in the Southern Ocean due to lee wave generation using an eddy-resolving global ocean model and three independent topographic datasets. The authors find that the energy loss from the transient eddy flow (0.12 TW; 1 TW = 1012 W) is larger than that from the time-mean flow (0.04 TW) due to lee wave generation; lee wave generation makes a larger contribution (0.12 TW) to the energy loss from the transient eddy flow than the dissipation in turbulent bottom boundary layer (0.05 TW). This study also shows that the energy loss from the time-mean flow is regulated by the transient eddy flow, and energy loss from the transient eddy flow is sensitive to the representation of anisotropy in small-scale topography. It is implied that lee waves should be parameterized in eddy-resolving global ocean models to improve the energetics of resolved flow.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satria Candra Laksmana ◽  
A'rasy Fahruddin ◽  
Ali Akbar

The potential of hydro energy is very large both for large scale and for small scale. Until now, the need for energy continues to increase, so that energy is a very important element in the development of a country or a region. Cross-flow turbines are one type of turbine that is often used for PLTMH. In this study planning a cross-flow water turbine applied to the height and amount of water per second in the irrigation channel water flow, this water flow will rotate the turbine shaft to produce mechanical energy. With variations in the direction of the turbine flow direction, namely 30o, 35o, and 40o, and the same variation of water discharge 10,5 L / s, 21 L / s and 31,5 L / s to determine the effect on the rotation and the power produced. In this study with 12 turbine blades, 30o blade angle, 40o flow direction angle, and 31.5 L / s water discharge obtained the highest first stage turbine rotation value is 478 rpm. Whereas at the flow direction angle of 30o with the same water discharge which is 31.5 L / s so that the first stage of the turbine is obtained is 296 rpm.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 4222-4245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Kirshbaum ◽  
Richard Rotunno ◽  
George H. Bryan

Abstract A combination of idealized numerical simulations and analytical theory is used to investigate the spacing between convective orographic rainbands over the Coastal Range of western Oregon. The simulations, which are idealized from an observed banded precipitation event over the Coastal Range, indicate that the atmospheric response to conditionally unstable flow over the mountain ridge depends strongly on the subridge-scale topographic forcing on the windward side of the ridge. When this small-scale terrain contains only a single scale (λ) of terrain variability, the band spacing is identical to λ, but when a spectrum of terrain scales are simultaneously present, the band spacing ranges between 5 and 10 km, a value that is consistent with observations. Based on the simulations, an inviscid linear model is developed to provide a physical basis for understanding the scale selection of the rainbands. This analytical model, which captures the transition from lee waves upstream of the orographic cloud to moist convection within it, reveals that the spacing of orographic rainbands depends on both the projection of lee-wave energy onto the unstable cap cloud and the growth rate of unstable perturbations within the cloud. The linear model is used in tandem with numerical simulations to determine the sensitivity of the band spacing to a number of environmental and terrain-related parameters.


Author(s):  
Bo Wang ◽  
Yanhui Wu ◽  
Kai Liu

Driven by the need to control flow separations in highly loaded compressors, a numerical investigation is carried out to study the control effect of wavy blades in a linear compressor cascade. Two types of wavy blades are studied with wavy blade-A having a sinusoidal leading edge, while wavy blade-B having pitchwise sinusoidal variation in the stacking line. The influence of wavy blades on the cascade performance is evaluated at incidences from −1° to +9°. For the wavy blade-A with suitable waviness parameters, the cascade diffusion capacity is enhanced accompanied by the loss reduction under high incidence conditions where 2D separation is the dominant flow structure on the suction surface of the unmodified blade. For well-designed wavy blade-B, the improvement of cascade performance is achieved under low incidence conditions where 3D corner separation is the dominant flow structure on the suction surface of the baseline blade. The influence of waviness parameters on the control effect is also discussed by comparing the performance of cascades with different wavy blade configurations. Detailed analysis of the predicted flow field shows that both the wavy blade-A and wavy blade-B have capacity to control flow separation in the cascade but their control mechanism are different. For wavy blade-A, the wavy leading edge results in the formation of counter-rotating streamwise vortices downstream of trough. These streamwise vortices can not only enhance momentum exchange between the outer flow and blade boundary layer, but also act as the suction surface fence to hamper the upwash of low momentum fluid driven by cross flow. For wavy blade-B, the wavy surface on the blade leads to a reduction of the cross flow upwash by influencing the spanwise distribution of the suction surface static pressure and guiding the upwash flow.


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