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The effects of basic flow and topography on the development of the sea breeze over a complex coastal environment
Author(s) -
Nitis Theodoros,
Kitsiou Dimitra,
Klaić Zvjezdana Bencetic,
Prtenjak Maja Telišman,
Moussiopoulos Nicolas
Publication year - 2005
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 - 10.1256/qj.04.42
Subject(s) - mesoscale meteorology , sea breeze , parametrization (atmospheric modeling) , terrain , flow (mathematics) , meteorology , geology , airflow , climatology , prevailing winds , environmental science , oceanography , geography , cartography , mechanics , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , radiative transfer
The aim of the present study is the analysis and evaluation of the influence of both the complex terrain and land‐use on the formation of the sea breeze in a coastal environment. The Greater Rijeka Area, a region with complex topography and several islands, offers the opportunity to examine these relationships. According to the results, the MEMO model proved capable of simulating the mesoscale wind flow reasonably well. However, further investigation into the choice of some of the input model parameters and the parametrization employed was considered valuable as a means to improve model performance. For this reason, the influence of individual islands on the sea‐breeze structure was investigated, and the model results for two different land‐use databases were compared with the available measurements. The results indicated that the alteration of the model topography achieved by the removal of the islands from the Rijeka gulf had a significant impact on the simulated mesoscale circulation patterns, whereas the land surface heterogeneity had only a slight influence on the airflow. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society