Meteorological measurements of the Meteor Crater Experiment(METCRAX) were used to analyze the characteristics of the thermally-induced flows over an enclosed crater(Arizona, USA). Despite its relatively small size, th...Meteorological measurements of the Meteor Crater Experiment(METCRAX) were used to analyze the characteristics of the thermally-induced flows over an enclosed crater(Arizona, USA). Despite its relatively small size, this crater acts as an effective wind shelter. Daytime upslope winds and nocturnal downslope flows are regularly observed on its west/east sidewalls. The times of diurnal wind-direction shift(i.e., around sunrise and sunset) were slightly mismatched between the sites based on the east and west sidewalls, owing to the crater's shadowing effects. Under conditions of relatively weak synoptic forcing, the nocturnal downslope flows prevail throughout the night, despite quite a low wind velocity near the surface. ?展开更多
基金supported by Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA05110104)support of the State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. LAPC-KF-2009-02)
文摘Meteorological measurements of the Meteor Crater Experiment(METCRAX) were used to analyze the characteristics of the thermally-induced flows over an enclosed crater(Arizona, USA). Despite its relatively small size, this crater acts as an effective wind shelter. Daytime upslope winds and nocturnal downslope flows are regularly observed on its west/east sidewalls. The times of diurnal wind-direction shift(i.e., around sunrise and sunset) were slightly mismatched between the sites based on the east and west sidewalls, owing to the crater's shadowing effects. Under conditions of relatively weak synoptic forcing, the nocturnal downslope flows prevail throughout the night, despite quite a low wind velocity near the surface. ?
