Effects of Roll Vortices on Turbulent Fluxes in the Hurricane Boundary Layer

Boundary-layer secondary circulations or 'roll vortices' can have a significant influence on the turbulent exchange of momentum, sensible heat and moisture throughout the hurricane boundary layer. In this study, analyses of data from a WP-3D aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Boundary-layer meteorology 2008-08, Vol.128 (2), p.173-189
Main Authors: Zhang, Jun A, Katsaros, Kristina B, Black, Peter G, Lehner, Susanne, French, Jeffrey R, Drennan, William M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerodynamics
Air-sea interaction
Aircraft
Atmospheric boundary layer
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Atmospheric Sciences
Boundary layer
Boundary layers
Convection, turbulence, diffusion. Boundary layer structure and dynamics
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Fluid flow
Hurricane boundary layer
Hurricanes
Marine
Meteorology
Ocean-atmosphere interaction
Original Paper
Roll vortices
Rolls
Sensible heat
Storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms
Turbulence
Turbulent flow
Turbulent fluxes
Vortices
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Summary:Boundary-layer secondary circulations or 'roll vortices' can have a significant influence on the turbulent exchange of momentum, sensible heat and moisture throughout the hurricane boundary layer. In this study, analyses of data from a WP-3D aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are presented. As part of the Coupled Boundary Layer Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST)-hurricane experiment sponsored through the Office of Naval Research and NOAA's annual hurricane research program, flights were conducted to investigate energy exchange across the air-sea interface. We present the first in-situ aircraft-based observations of rolls in the hurricane boundary layer and investigate their influence on energy and momentum exchange. The rolls detected in Hurricane Isidore (year 2002) have a characteristic wavelength of about 900 m, in good agreement with analyses of data from a synthetic aperture radar image captured by the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT satellite in the same storm. Our analyses of the airborne data suggest that roll vortices may be a significant factor modulating the air-sea momentum exchange.
ISSN:0006-8314
1573-1472
DOI:10.1007/s10546-008-9281-2