Observations and Numerical Model Simulations of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer in the Santa Barbara Coastal Region

Abstract

Observations of boundary-layer flow within the Santa Barbara region taken on 20 September 1985 revel the presence of a wide variety of flow features, including mesoscale wind vortices sea/land breezes, and thermally driven upslope/downslope winds. Details of these features, in particular the mesoscale vortices, are documented with dual-Doppler radar, Doppler sodar, aircraft, surface mesonet, and rawinsonde data. Numerical simulations of flow in the region using a mixed-layer model show good agreement with the observations. Model simulations indicate that sea-/land-roughness differences and planetary vorticity are of minor importance in forming the midchannel eddy (MCE), an eddy that is observed in the channel during the early morning hours. MCE formation is, however, shown to be strongly dependent on the initial stratification of the atmosphere, with more intense eddies forming as the stability increases. A second independent mechanism for MCE formation appears to be the interaction of drainage flows with the large-scale flow. A daytime vortex, known as the Gaviota eddy, occurs as the result of surface heating that generates a sea-breeze flow opposing the large-scale ambient flow.