An Overview of the ASCOT Multi-Laboratory Field Experiments in Relation to Drainage Winds and Ambient Flow

Abstract

Preliminary analyses of the Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain data were conducted by Pacific Northwest Laboratory to determine how the development and persistence of local nocturnal drainage flow are affected by large-scale (synoptic- and mesoscale) pressure and wind systems. The data were collected in the Geysers Geothermal Resource Area of California during July 1979, September 1980, and August 1981. Topics considered in this overview are the local wind cycle, migratory synoptic/mesoscale disturbances, marine-air intrusion, effect of ambient winds and turbulent mixing on drainage conditions, temperature-inversion variations, and transport and dispersion of fluorescent-particle tracer plumes.