Observations of diurnal variation in a cloud-capped marine boundary layer

Observations are presented of the turbulent structure of a cloud-capped boundary layer during the 1987 FIRE marine stratocumulus project. The measurements were made from San Nicolas Island, off the coast of California, using instruments attached to the cable of a tethered balloon. A marked diurnal v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the atmospheric sciences 1991-06, Vol.48 (12), p.1474-1482
Main Author: HIGNETT, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Convection, turbulence, diffusion. Boundary layer structure and dynamics
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Meteorology
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Observations are presented of the turbulent structure of a cloud-capped boundary layer during the 1987 FIRE marine stratocumulus project. The measurements were made from San Nicolas Island, off the coast of California, using instruments attached to the cable of a tethered balloon. A marked diurnal variation is demonstrated through a direct comparison of observations made around local noon and approximately 12 hours later. Emphasis is given to the decoupling of the boundary layer during the morning into a separate cloudy layer and surface mixed layer.
ISSN:0022-4928
1520-0469
DOI:10.1175/1520-0469(1991)048<1474:OODVIA>2.0.CO;2