Open AccessEffects of Atmospheric Stability on Wave and Energy Propagation in the Troposphere
Author(s) -
Simon P. Alexander,
Toshitaka Tsuda,
Jun-ichi Furumoto
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.774
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1520-0426
pISSN - 0739-0572
DOI - 10.1175/jtech2046.1
Subject(s) - troposphere , depth sounding , environmental science , atmospheric instability , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric sounding , inversion (geology) , altitude (triangle) , atmosphere (unit) , radar , atmospheric temperature , wind speed , meteorology , geology , physics , paleontology , telecommunications , oceanography , geometry , mathematics , structural basin , computer science
The very high frequency (VHF) middle and upper atmosphere radar radio acoustic sounding system (MU-RASS) in Shigaraki, Japan, is able to provide tropospheric virtual temperature data with high temporal resolution on the order of a few minutes. The objective of this paper is to test the usefulness of MU-RASS as a tool for examining high-frequency changes in atmospheric stability and its effects on wave and energy propagation. For this study, temperature and wind data below 8-km altitude during a 2-day campaign period in October 2001 were used. A long-lasting inversion layer at 3.5-km altitude dominated the observation period. Large vertical wind perturbations with periods of less than 30 min were observed inside this inversion layer. Wavelet analysis was used to identify the dominant wave period for calculating the wind and temperature variances. The temperature variance characteristics exhibited a combination of the horizontal and vertical wind variance characteristics. In conclusion, the high temporal resolution of the MU-RASS enabled the study of short time-scale wind and temperature perturbations. These perturbations were related to the atmospheric stability, wave propagation, and energy in the troposphere, demonstrating the usefulness of the MU-RASS for this kind of study.