An Automobile Platform for the Measurement of Foehn and Gap Flows

Abstract

An instrument package to measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and position was designed to be quickly deployable on any automobile to be used for the study of gap and other orographically influenced flows. Differential GPS (global positioning system) measurements together with a distance counter gave the submeter accuracy of vertical position that was needed for observation of changes in the horizontal pressure field, which is an integral measure of the flow field aloft. A slantwise pressure reduction method was tailored for this application and verified with data from radio soundings. The automobile platform was successfully used during the field phase of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP) to classify flow states and observe hydraulic jumps in gap flows and to extend aircraft measurements to the ground.