Wind profiler observations of mountain waves and rotors during T-REX

Abstract

A network of three boundary layer radar wind profilers is used to study characteristics of mountain waves and rotors and to explore the utility of such a network. The data employed were collected as part of the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX), which took place in Owens Valley, California, in early 2006. The wind profilers provide a continuous time-height representation of wave and rotor structure. During intensive observing period 3 (IOP 3), the profiler network was positioned in an L-shaped configuration, capturing key features of the mountain waves and rotor, including the boundary layer vortex sheet (or shear layer), turbulence within this shear layer, the classical lower turbulence zone (LTZ), and wave motion above the LTZ. Observed features were found to be in good agreement with recent high-resolution numerical simulations. Using the wind profiler with superior time resolution (Multiple Antenna Profiler Radar), a series of updraft-downdraft couplets were observed beneath the first downwind wave crest. These are interpreted as signatures of subrotors. Such detailed observations of subrotors are rare, even though subrotors are believed to be a common feature of rotor circulations in Owens Valley. During IOP 6, the network was repositioned to form a line across the valley. A simple algorithm was used to determine the amplitude, wavelength, and phase of the primary wave over the valley and to observe their changes over time and height. In the IOP-6 case, the wavelength increased over time, the phase indicated an eastward-shifting wave crest, and the amplitude increased with height and also varied over time. © 2011 American Meteorological Society.