The Land‐Sea Breeze of the Red Sea: Observations, Simulations, and Relationships to Regional Moisture Transport

Abstract

Unique in situ observations of atmospheric conditions over the Red Sea and the coastal Arabian Peninsula are examined to study the dynamics and regional impacts of the local land‐sea breeze cycle (LSBC). During a 26‐month data record spanning 2008–2011, observed LSBC events occurred year‐round, frequently exhibiting cross‐shore wind velocities in excess of 8 m/s. Observed onshore and offshore features of both the land‐ and sea‐breeze phases of the cycle are presented, and their seasonal modulation is considered. Weather Research and Forecasting climate downscaling simulations and satellite measurements are used to extend the analysis. In the model, the amplitude of the LSBC is significantly larger in the vicinity of the steeper terrain elements encircling the basin, suggesting an enhancement by the associated slope winds. Observed and simulated conditions also reflected distinct gravity‐current characteristics of the intrinsic moist marine air mass during both phases of the LSBC. Specifically, the advance and retreat of marine air mass was directly tied to the development of internal boundary layers onshore and offshore throughout the period of study. Convergence in the lateral moisture flux resulting from this air mass ascending the coastal topography (sea‐breeze phase) as well as colliding with air masses from the opposing coastline (land‐breeze phase) further resulted in cumulous cloud formation and precipitation.

Interaction of Dust Aerosols with Land/Sea Breezes over the Eastern Coast of the Red Sea from LIDAR Data and High-resolution WRF-Chem Simulations

“…Figure 6a shows the diurnal cycle climatology (2015/16) of station-measured surface wind speed at the study site. The surface winds reach a peak around noon UTC (15:00 local time) for all seasons except winter, consistent with the results of Davis et al (2019). The aforementioned sea breezes cause these wind peaks in the afternoon.…”

“…This warm air mass rises due to convection, creating a local low pressure at the surface. The cooler and more moist air over the Red Sea then flows towards the low pressure, thus forming sea breezes (Simpson, 1994;Miller et al, 2003;Davis et al, 2019). During the night, this flow is reversed to form land breezes, when the land surface temperature cools quicker than the sea surface temperature.…”

“…CC BY 4.0 License. the entire Arabian Peninsula (Davis et al, 2019). The salient features of the land and sea breezes over the study region are presented in Fig.…”

“…The sea and land breezes that occur during the day and night, respectively, are the dominant drivers of local airmass circulations (Jiang et al, 2009). Sea breezes facilitate the transport of moisture inland and contribute to the formation of cumulus clouds and mesoscale convection (Davis et al, 2019). The land and sea breezes can themselves also generate dust emissions from the coastal regions (e.g., Crouvi et al, 2017), and also interact with atmospheric dust aerosols in multiple ways.…”

High Resolution WRF Simulations for the Tel‐Aviv Metropolitan Area Reveal the Urban Fingerprint in the Sea‐Breeze Hodograph

“…Later, it was shown that topography and surface inhomogeneity may lead to anticlockwise rotating hodographs (Alpert et al, 1984;Kusuda & Alpert, 1983). The time-dependent surface wind hodograph has been used as a mean to study and analyze sea-breeze dynamics and in some cases has demonstrated structural and rotational properties that are more complex than in the BSB model (Abatan et al, 2014;Ascario et al, 2018;Bajamgnigni Gbambie & Steyn, 2013;Coulibaly et al, 2019Coulibaly et al, , 2020Davis et al, 2019;Huang et al, 2016;Moisseeva & Steyn, 2014;Steyn & Kallos, 1992).…”