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Cloud Evolution and the Sea Breeze Front

Cloud Evolution and the Sea Breeze Front. Jennifer Bewley Dept. of Marine and Environmental Systems Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL 32901. Overview. What is a sea breeze? What is a sea breeze front? Satellite Cloud Edge Radar Thin Line Why study sea breezes? Objectives

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Cloud Evolution and the Sea Breeze Front

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  1. Cloud Evolution and the Sea Breeze Front Jennifer Bewley Dept. of Marine and Environmental Systems Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL 32901

  2. Overview • What is a sea breeze? • What is a sea breeze front? • Satellite Cloud Edge • Radar Thin Line • Why study sea breezes? • Objectives • Method • Data • Synoptic Setting • Results • Conclusions • Questions

  3. Background Information • What is a sea breeze (SB)? • Differential heating between land and sea • Formation of a thermal low over the land and a thermal high over the water • A pressure gradient forms, air flows from high to low pressure • Creates the sea breeze • Opposite effect happens at night creating the land breeze • What is a sea breeze front (SBF)? • The leading edge of the sea breeze • A drop in temperature, a wind shift, and an increase in relative humidity occurs behind the front

  4. Sea Breeze Circulation Source: <http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/nsw/amfs/Sea%20Breeze.shtml>

  5. Background Info. Continued… • Satellite Cloud Edge • Seen on visible or infrared satellite images • A line of cumulus clouds, parallel to the shore, with no more clouds on the seaward side of the line of development

  6. Background Info. Continued… • Radar Thin Line • A region of enhanced radar reflectivity in the optically clear boundary layer detected by a sensitive Doppler radar • Intense mixing of land and marine air provides several interfaces capable of reflecting radio energy

  7. Why Study Sea Breezes? • Forecasting • Changes temperature, wind speed and direction, and relative humidity • Convection, Clouds, Turbulence • Climate Modeling • Formation of clouds • Renewable Energy • Wind and solar energy • Operationally, how can you accurately locate the SBF?

  8. Objectives • To compare the location of the satellite cloud edge to the surface sea breeze front and the location of the radar thin line • To analyze the differences in the location of the indicated features and create a possible vertical profile of the sea breeze front

  9. Method • Team Beach • Melbourne Beach • Measured air temperature, RH, and wind speed every 15 mins. • Sky observations, water temperature, wave height and period, salinity, and dissolved oxygen were taken every 30 mins. • Team FIT • Collected data

  10. Method Continued… • Team Mobile Unit • Traveled west on 192, attempting to transect the SBF • The mobile unit was equipped with a wind vane, cup anemometer, and radiometer. • Wind speeds, RH, air temperature, sky observations, percent cloud cover and wind direction were recorded.

  11. Method Continued…

  12. Data • Team Beach & Team Mobile Unit • Wind speed and direction • Team FIT • GOES 4 km visible satellite imagery • Melbourne NWS Doppler radar base reflectivity images • Other surface observations

  13. Synoptic Setting

  14. Synoptic Setting

  15. Synoptic Setting

  16. Results • Analyzed the progression of the cloud edge, thin line, and the surface fronts • Developed a model to find the relation of the features for each day

  17. Results Continued… May 25* = Strong easterly flow

  18. May 25

  19. May 26

  20. May 27

  21. Conclusions • The thin line precedes the surface front which precedes the cloud edge • The actual distances between these features vary and depend on several factors • Operationally, the satellite cloud edge may not always be a good indication of the location of the surface SBF • One improvement would be to have higher resolution data, especially satellite and radar imagery and more sampling sites

  22. Acknowledgements • A special thanks to… • Mr. Splitt for advising this project and aiding with the creation of figures • Mr. Leslie for the mobile renewable energy station • Andrew Condon for the synoptic maps • All the MFP students and TA’s for helping with the data collection

  23. Questions?

  24. Brian Zachry

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