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A Three‐Dimensional Model of Airflow and Orographic Rainfall Enhancement
Author(s) -
Dore A. J.,
Choularton T. W.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49711850802
Subject(s) - orographic lift , airflow , orography , terrain , meteorology , geology , ridge , climatology , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , precipitation , geography , cartography , paleontology , engineering , mechanical engineering
A three‐dimensional model of airflow over hills has been used in conjunction with a two‐dimensional model of orographic rainfall enhancement. This development has allowed the accurate production of rainfall contour maps in areas of complex terrain. A comparison has been made, using a variety of atmospheric stability profiles, between the wind fields and rainfall distributions over a bell‐shaped hill and those over a two dimensional ridge of similar height. the results show that, in conditions of either stably stratified air or with an inversion layer aloft, three‐dimensional airflow effects can lead to much reduced rainfall over a bell‐shaped hill. It is shown that in such situations the use of a two‐dimensional approximation can introduce significant errors. an example is presented of the rainfall distribution in complex hill terrain over south Kintyre on the western coast of Scotland.