Modifications of a Valley Wind System by an Urban Area – Experimental Results.

Autor: Piringer, M., Baumann, K.
Zdroj: Meteorology & Atmospheric Physics; Dec1999, Vol. 71 Issue 1/2, p117-125, 9p
Abstrakt: The Austrian city of Graz at the south-eastern edge of the Alps frequently experiences wintertime stagnations during anticyclonic flow conditions, leading to high local concentrations of primary pollutants. This paper investigates the dominant three-dimensional local flow structures in the Graz region during a representative January stagnation period in 1998 using data obtained from a field experiment that supplemented the routine meteorological network with an array of sodars and tethersondes and a meteorological tower. Important modifications to the temperature and wind fields over Graz and its surroundings are attributed to both topographical and urban effects. The main modifications to the along-valley wind system in the Mur valley that runs through Graz from north to south are caused by near-surface temperature field differences between a warmer north and a cooler south part of the city and the regular development of a nighttime down-valley low-level jet and its upward lifting when crossing the city centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Complementary Index