The Principles of Laboratory Modeling of Stratified Atmospheric Flows over Complex Terrain

Abstract

Laboratory modeling provides a reasonably quick and relatively inexpensive method for investigating stratified air Row around mesoscale topography. Quantitative results for stratified flow over complex terrain may be obtained from suitably designed experiments. This paper collects together information about this technique that has been obtained in recent years by various authors. The associated dimensionless parameters and their relative importance are discussed. The principal parameter is Nh/U, which determines whether the flow is lee-wavelike or blocked-flowlike, and this in turn determines the importance and scaling of the various dynamical terms. The techniques are now readily applicable to quantitative environmental and engineering fluid transport problems. Two examples of practical applications with real complex topography are briefly described. The first involves a separation eddy in stable conditions in light winds near Melbourne, Australia. The second describes the investigation of effect of lee waves on the suitability of a particular site for an international airport in Hong Kong.