A Shallow-Water Model of the Diurnal Dryline

Abstract

This study explores the diurnal variation in the movement and structure of the dryline using a one-dimensional shallow-water model. The model is adapted to test some common theories of dryline motion including the diurnal variation in surface friction, static stability, inversion erosion, and momentum mixing aloft. These mechanisms of diurnal variation are first studied individually and then in unison. A diurnal variation in the surface friction produces a model dryline that moves westward during the day (in disagreement with observations) and has a southerly wind maximum near midnight. A diurnal variation in the static stability produces a model dryline that steepens in slope and moves eastward during the day and then surges westward at night with a southerly wind maximum 6 to 9 h after the minimum stability. Inversion erosion during the day produces a nearly vertical model dry front that moves eastward during the day with surface southwesterlies. At sunset the model dryline surges westward with a southerly wind maximum before midnight. A diurnal variation of the momentum mixing aloft has no significant effect on the model dryline. Results show that the combined case with a diurnal variation of surface friction, inversion erosion, and static stability with terrain most accurately describes the observed dryline system. The westward surge depicted in the model is compared to the flow evolution of the corresponding dam-break problem for a rotating fluid.