Abstract
The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System was used in two previous studies to simulate mesoscale circulations forced by surface heterogeneity in the Central U. S. and Amazonia. In this work, spectral analysis is used to compare the horizontal length scales of these simulated circulations with the scale of the surface heterogeneity. For both cases, the organized mesoscale circulations are confined within a preferred length scale range (10-20 km) that is significantly different from the dominant length scale of the surface heterogeneity. Multiscale landscape patchiness in these two regions tend to produce eddies at a wide range of scales, but the land-atmosphere interaction processes act as a medium-pass filter to select intermediate-scale circulations. This scale of response remains relatively unchanged despite significant day-to-day variations in the synoptic situation and the mean surface heat flux.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | GCP 15-1 - GCP 15-11 |
Journal | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |
Volume | 108 |
Issue number | 22 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 27 2003 |
Keywords
- 2-D Fourier transform
- Atmospheric length scale
- Mesoscale dynamics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geophysics
- Forestry
- Oceanography
- Aquatic Science
- Ecology
- Water Science and Technology
- Soil Science
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Earth-Surface Processes
- Atmospheric Science
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Space and Planetary Science
- Palaeontology