Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Coexistence of Atmospheric Gravity Waves and Boundary Layer Rolls Observed by SAR

Xiaofeng Li * GST Inc., and NOAA/NESDIS, College Park, Maryland

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Weizhong Zheng IMSG, and NOAA/NCEP/EMC, College Park, Maryland

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Xiaofeng Yang Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

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Jun A. Zhang NOAA/AOML/Hurricane Research Division, and Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

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William G. Pichel NOAA/NESDIS/STAR, College Park, Maryland

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Ziwei Li Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

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Print Publication:
01 Nov 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-0347.1
Page(s):
3448–3459
Restricted access

Abstract

Both atmospheric gravity waves (AGW) and marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) rolls are simultaneously observed on an Environmental Satellite (Envisat) advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) image acquired along the China coast on 22 May 2005. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image covers about 400 km × 400 km of a coastal area of the Yellow Sea. The sea surface imprints of AGW show the patterns of both a transverse wave along the coastal plain and a diverging wave in the lee of Mount Laoshan (1133-m peak), which indicate that terrain forcing affects the formation of AGW. The AGW have a wavelength of 8–10 km and extend about 100 km offshore. Model simulation shows that these waves have an amplitude over 3 km. Finer-scale (~2 km) brushlike roughness features perpendicular to the coast are also observed, and they are interpreted as MABL rolls. The FFT analysis shows that the roll wavelengths vary spatially. The two-way interactive, triply nested grid (9–3–1 km) Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) simulation reproduces AGW-generated wind perturbations that are in phase at all levels, reaching up to the 700-hPa level for the diverging AGW and the 900-hPa level for the transverse AGW. The WRF simulation also reveals that dynamic instability, rather than thermodynamic instability, is the cause for the MABL roll generation. Differences in atmospheric inflection-point level and instability at different locations are reasons why the roll wavelengths vary spatially.

Supplemental information related to this paper is available at the Journals Online website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-0347.s1.

Corresponding author address: Xiaofeng Li, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NCWCP E/RA3, 5830 University Research Ct., Office 3216, College Park, MD 20740-3818. E-mail: xiaofeng.li@noaa.gov

Abstract

Both atmospheric gravity waves (AGW) and marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) rolls are simultaneously observed on an Environmental Satellite (Envisat) advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) image acquired along the China coast on 22 May 2005. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image covers about 400 km × 400 km of a coastal area of the Yellow Sea. The sea surface imprints of AGW show the patterns of both a transverse wave along the coastal plain and a diverging wave in the lee of Mount Laoshan (1133-m peak), which indicate that terrain forcing affects the formation of AGW. The AGW have a wavelength of 8–10 km and extend about 100 km offshore. Model simulation shows that these waves have an amplitude over 3 km. Finer-scale (~2 km) brushlike roughness features perpendicular to the coast are also observed, and they are interpreted as MABL rolls. The FFT analysis shows that the roll wavelengths vary spatially. The two-way interactive, triply nested grid (9–3–1 km) Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) simulation reproduces AGW-generated wind perturbations that are in phase at all levels, reaching up to the 700-hPa level for the diverging AGW and the 900-hPa level for the transverse AGW. The WRF simulation also reveals that dynamic instability, rather than thermodynamic instability, is the cause for the MABL roll generation. Differences in atmospheric inflection-point level and instability at different locations are reasons why the roll wavelengths vary spatially.

Supplemental information related to this paper is available at the Journals Online website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-12-0347.s1.

Corresponding author address: Xiaofeng Li, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NCWCP E/RA3, 5830 University Research Ct., Office 3216, College Park, MD 20740-3818. E-mail: xiaofeng.li@noaa.gov

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