The Relationship between Overlying Synoptic-Scale Flows and Winds within a Valley

Whiteman, C. David; Doran, J. C.

doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1993)032<1669:trboss>2.0.co;2

Cited by 181 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Previous studies on the relationship between the smalland large-scale flow in complex terrain, (e.g. Whiteman and Doran, 1993;Kalthoff et al, 2003) have found significant differences between the two but have not explicitly included mesoscale flow structures as those studied here. The present investigation is confined to a relatively limited area roughly covering the western/seaward half of the Hordaland county, centrally situated at the southwest coast of Norway (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Multi-scale variability of winds in the complex topography of southwestern Norway

Jonassen¹,

Ólafsson

Reuder³

et al. 2012

Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography

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A B S T R A C T Multi-scale variability of winds in the complex terrain of southwestern Norway is investigated using up to 20 yr of observations from nine automatic weather stations and reanalysis data. Significant differences between the large-and local-scale winds are found. These differences are mainly governed by the large-scale topography of Southern Norway. Winds from the southeast and statically stable flow from the northwest are found to be significantly reduced at the ground level due to large-scale wake and blocking effects. Southwesterly and northeasterly winds are orographically enhanced. At a local scale, there are differences in the wind speed distributions between the surface stations, both in space and time. These differences can to a large extent be quantified in terms of the Weibull distribution function and associated with the respective geographical locations as discretised in four characteristic surface categories: offshore, inland, coast and mountain. The inland category is found to be associated with relatively low but variable wind speeds, whereas the coastal and offshore locations are dominated by more steady and stronger winds. The mountain wind speed distribution is fundamentally different from the others; it shares the variability with the inland locations but the higher average wind speed with the other categories.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Multi-scale variability of winds in the complex topography of southwestern Norway

Jonassen¹,

Ólafsson

Reuder³

et al. 2012

Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography

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show abstract

“…To identify the dominant mechanisms in our case, we first look at the relationship between the above-ridge winds and the near-surface channelled wind (Whiteman and Doran, 1993). The wind on the 850 hPa surface (above the ridge level) seen in Figs 10c, 10d, and 10e has a cross-mountain orientation that lends no support to the idea that the large scale flow could simply be diverted by the mountain barrier down the bay (forced channelling), or that there could be a downward transfer of momentum from the above-ridge flow large enough to drive the flow within the valley.…”

Section: Model Results and Validation A Wind Channellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies have investigated topographically induced flows, such as barrier jets and channelled, gap and downslope winds, some have identified the basic physical mechanisms behind their generation and evolution (e.g., Klemp and Lilly, 1975;Parish, 1982;Durran, 1986;Whiteman and Doran, 1993;Mayr et al, 2007). Whiteman and Doran (1993), for instance, summarized the mechanisms that produce channelled winds, namely, downward momentum transfer, thermally driven, pressure-driven, and forced channelling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whiteman and Doran (1993), for instance, summarized the mechanisms that produce channelled winds, namely, downward momentum transfer, thermally driven, pressure-driven, and forced channelling. These allowed for the explanation of the highly bidirectional wind regimes in valleys from climatological data available at relatively few locations: Frobisher bay (Nawri and stewart, 2006), The Owens Valley (Zhong et al, 2008), and the st. Lawrence River Valley (Carrera et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Simulating wind channelling over Frobisher Bay and its interaction with downslope winds during the 7–8 November 2006 wind event

2010

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“…This flow is a general geophysical fluid dynamical result and is observed in atmospheric flows (e.g. Whiteman and Doran, 1993) and laboratory flows as well as in the ocean.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the role of submarine canyons in deep-ocean exchange with the shelf

2009

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Abstract. Cross shelf-break exchange is limited by the tendency of geostrophic flow to follow bathymetric contours, not cross them. However, small scale topography, such as canyons, can reduce the local lengthscale of the flow and increase the local Rossby number. These higher Rossby numbers mean the flow is no longer purely geostrophic and significant cross-isobath flow can occur. This cross-isobath flow includes both upwelling and downwelling due to wind-driven shelf currents and the strong cascading flows of dense shelfwater into the ocean. Tidal currents usually run primarily parallel to the shelf-break topography. Canyons cut across these flows and thus are often regions of generation of strong baroclinic tides and internal waves. Canyons can also focus internal waves. Both processes lead to greatly elevated levels of mixing. Thus, through both advection and mixing processes, canyons can enhance Deep Ocean Shelf Exchange. Here we review the state of the science describing the dynamics of the flows and suggest further areas of research, particularly into quantifying fluxes of nutrients and carbon as well as heat and salt through canyons.

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The Relationship between Overlying Synoptic-Scale Flows and Winds within a Valley

Cited by 181 publications

References 7 publications

Multi-scale variability of winds in the complex topography of southwestern Norway

Multi-scale variability of winds in the complex topography of southwestern Norway

Simulating wind channelling over Frobisher Bay and its interaction with downslope winds during the 7–8 November 2006 wind event

A review of the role of submarine canyons in deep-ocean exchange with the shelf

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