Observational and Modeling Studies of the Mesoscale Land-Air-Sea Interaction Processes during GALE (1986)

沿海地区冬季气旋的快速发展和增强是一个重要的天气预报问题。沿东海岸，气旋风暴和锋面系统的发展经常发生在卡罗来纳州的沿海地区。这些天气系统可能导致人口稠密的东北走廊以冻雨、大雪、暴风雪和广泛的海岸侵蚀的形式出现恶劣天气。为了研究这些现象，美国国家科学基金会赞助了一项被称为大西洋低压起源实验（GALE）的深入实地调查。GALE的实地阶段是1986年冬季执行的一个为期两个月、由多个机构参与的项目。作为GALE的一部分，首席研究员在设计和实施一个网络方面发挥了重要作用，该网络用于研究海洋上空最低三公里的大气中热量和水分的再分配，即海洋边界层（MBL）。MBL和海气相互作用过程似乎在气旋的形成或现有气旋的增强中起着重要作用。迄今为止的分析表明，墨西哥湾流和陆海空界面在气旋风暴的增强和锋面系统的形成中都起着重要作用。边界层环流的低层强迫和边界层斜压不稳定性的增加似乎是风暴增强的主要机制。此外，还发现边界层的差异修正可能是某些海岸锋形成的主要机制。通过对GALE期间收集的数据的诊断研究和数值模拟，首席研究员将继续探索沿海气旋形成和气旋风暴增强的动力学。要解决的科学问题包括：在近海气旋形成过程中，地面强迫和上层强迫的相对贡献是什么？海岸锋生与早期气旋生的关系是什么？海岸曲率对近海气旋形成的影响是什么？陆面过程的日变化在海岸带的作用是什么？

The rapid development and intensification of winter cyclones in coastal regions presents a major weather forecasting problem. Along the eastern seaboard, the development of cyclonic storms and frontal systems often occurs along the coastal region of the Carolinas. These weather systems may lead to severe weather in the heavily populated Northeast Corridor in the form of freezing rain, heavy snowfall, blizzards and extensive coastal erosion. In order to study these phenomena, the National Science Foundation sponsored an intensive field investigation known as the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment (GALE). The field phase of the GALE was a two- month, multi-agency endeavor executed during the winter of 1986. As part of the GALE, the Principal Investigator was instrumental in designing and implementing a network to study the redistribution of heat and moisture in the lowest three kilometers of the atmopshere over the ocean which is known as the marine boundary layer (MBL). The MBL and ocean-atmosphere interaction processes appear to play an important role in the genesis of cyclones or in the intensification of an existing cyclone. Analysis to date has demonstrated the importance of the Gulf Stream and the land-air-sea interface in both the intensification of cyclonic storms and the formation of frontal systems. Low level forcing by boundary layer circulations and increase in baroclinic instability in the boundary layer appear to be primary mechanisms for storm intensification. Additionally, it has been found that differential boundary layer modification may be the main mechanism for the formation of some coastal fronts. Through diagnostic studies of the data collected during the GALE and numerical modeling the Principal Investigator will continue to explore the dynamics of coastal cyclogenesis and cyclonic storm intensification. Scientific questions to be addressed include: What is the relative contribution of surface forcing versus upper level forcing in offshore cyclogenesis? What is the relationship between the coastal frontogenesis and incipient cyclogenesis? What is the effect of coastal curvature on the offshore cyclogenesis? What is the role of the diurnal variation of the land processes on the coastal front?