Characterization of sea/land breeze circulation along the west coast of Indian sub-continent during pre-monsoon season

• Published in: Atmospheric research 2010-03, Vol.95 (4), p.367-378
• Main Authors: Rani, S. Indira, Ramachandran, Radhika, Subrahamanyam, D. Bala, Alappattu, Denny P., Kunhikrishnan, P.K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Convective Boundary Layer; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; High-resolution Regional Model (HRM); Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, gases and Radiation Budget (ICARB); Marine; Meteorology; Sea Breeze Component; Sea/Land Breeze Circulation; Winds and their effects
• ISSN: 0169-8095; 1873-2895
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2009.10.009

High-resolution Regional Model is used to study the structure and dynamics of Sea/Land Breeze Circulation along west coast of Indian Sub-continent during pre-monsoon season. Both the observations from ocean and land are in agreement with the model simulations. From the model simulations, a time delay of 3 hours is observed in the onset of sea breeze over ocean and land (∼ 28 km from the sea/land interface). The two main components of the sea breeze circulation cell, the sea breeze flow in the lower levels and the return current in the upper levels are clearly modeled. The vertical extent of sea breeze circulation cell is ∼ 1 km and, the horizontal seaward and landward extensions are ∼ 100 and ∼ 75 km respectively from the sea/land interface. Within the sea breeze circulation cell, during daytime, a shallow mixed layer (600–800 m) over ocean and a convective mixed layer (1000–1200 m) over the land are observed. Observations and simulations verified the pre-assumption of the near neutral lapse rate existing over ocean and transferring to the onshore regions.