Gravity Waves over New Zealand observed in DEEPWAVE:
Scales, Fluxes, Breaking and Impacts
Ronald. B. Smith of Yale University and the DEEPWAVE team
During the DEEPWAVE project in June and July 2014, the Gulfstream V research aircraft flew 97 legs over the complex Southern Alps of New Zealand and 150 legs over the Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean, mostly in the low stratosphere at 12.1km altitude. Improved instrument calibration, redundant sensors, longer flight legs, energy flux estimation and scale analysis revealed several new gravity wave properties. Over the sea, flight level wave fluxes mostly fell below the detection threshold. Over terrain, disturbances had characteristic mountain wave attributes of positive vertical energy flux (EFz), negative zonal momentum flux (MFx) and upwind horizontal energy flux (EFx). In some cases, the fluxes changed rapidly within an eight hour flight, even though environmental conditions were nearly unchanged. In this presentation, using observations and high resolution models, we investigate wave scale selection, flux variability, breakdown in the low stratosphere and penetration into the upper stratosphere. We compare computed gravity wave drag with GCM parametrizations and with potential vorticity generation.
Seminar will be webcast at: http://www.fin.ucar.edu/it/mms/fl-live.htm
Tuesday, 7 June 2016, 3:30 PM
Refreshments 3:15 PM
NCAR-Foothills Laboratory
3450 Mitchell Lane
Bldg 2 Main Auditorium (Rm1022)
