Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex Terrain
To investigate synoptic interactions with the San Andres Mountains in southern New Mexico, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to simulate several days in the period 2018–2020. The study domain was centered on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Serv...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/6/737 |
| _version_ | 1797530901020672000 |
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| author | Cory M. Payne Jeffrey E. Passner Robert E. Dumais Abdessattar Abdelkefi Christopher M. Hocut |
| author_facet | Cory M. Payne Jeffrey E. Passner Robert E. Dumais Abdessattar Abdelkefi Christopher M. Hocut |
| author_sort | Cory M. Payne |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To investigate synoptic interactions with the San Andres Mountains in southern New Mexico, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to simulate several days in the period 2018–2020. The study domain was centered on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service’s Jornada Experimental Range (JER) and the emphasis was on synoptic conditions that favor strong to moderate winds aloft from the southwest, boundary layer shear, a lack of moisture (cloud coverage), and modest warming of the surface. The WRF simulations on these synoptic days revealed two distinct regimes: lee waves aloft and SW-to-NE oriented Longitudinal Roll Structures (LRS) that have typical length scales of the width of the mountain basin in the horizontal and the height of the boundary layer (BL) in the vertical. Analysis of the transitional periods indicate that the shift from the lee wave to LRS regime occurs when the surface heating and upwind flow characteristics reach a critical threshold. The existence of LRS is confirmed by satellite observations and the longitudinal streak patterns in the soil of the JER that indicate this is a climatologically present BL phenomenon. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:36:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e35053cbd563478d94f2e382bcd130e3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:36:35Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-e35053cbd563478d94f2e382bcd130e32023-11-21T23:19:11ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332021-06-0112673710.3390/atmos12060737Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex TerrainCory M. Payne0Jeffrey E. Passner1Robert E. Dumais2Abdessattar Abdelkefi3Christopher M. Hocut4Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USABattlefield Environment Division, DEVCOM—Army Research Laboratory, White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002, USABattlefield Environment Division, DEVCOM—Army Research Laboratory, White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002, USADepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USADepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USATo investigate synoptic interactions with the San Andres Mountains in southern New Mexico, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to simulate several days in the period 2018–2020. The study domain was centered on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service’s Jornada Experimental Range (JER) and the emphasis was on synoptic conditions that favor strong to moderate winds aloft from the southwest, boundary layer shear, a lack of moisture (cloud coverage), and modest warming of the surface. The WRF simulations on these synoptic days revealed two distinct regimes: lee waves aloft and SW-to-NE oriented Longitudinal Roll Structures (LRS) that have typical length scales of the width of the mountain basin in the horizontal and the height of the boundary layer (BL) in the vertical. Analysis of the transitional periods indicate that the shift from the lee wave to LRS regime occurs when the surface heating and upwind flow characteristics reach a critical threshold. The existence of LRS is confirmed by satellite observations and the longitudinal streak patterns in the soil of the JER that indicate this is a climatologically present BL phenomenon.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/6/737synoptic interactionslongitudinal roll structuresconvective rollscomplex terrain |
| spellingShingle | Cory M. Payne Jeffrey E. Passner Robert E. Dumais Abdessattar Abdelkefi Christopher M. Hocut Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex Terrain Atmosphere synoptic interactions longitudinal roll structures convective rolls complex terrain |
| title | Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex Terrain |
| title_full | Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex Terrain |
| title_fullStr | Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex Terrain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex Terrain |
| title_short | Presence of Longitudinal Roll Structures during Synoptic Forced Conditions in Complex Terrain |
| title_sort | presence of longitudinal roll structures during synoptic forced conditions in complex terrain |
| topic | synoptic interactions longitudinal roll structures convective rolls complex terrain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/6/737 |
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