Florida East Coast Sea Breeze Evolution
Overview:
You will examine the evolution of a Florida east coast sea breeze by examining the evolution of the radar-detected thin line and radial velocities. Thinline characteristics can be used to infer the strength of the sea breeze front and how it evolves during the day.
1. You can analyze one of the following data sets:
- Set your DORADE_DIR environmental variable to /mnt/arch/cases/12aug91.
- Set your DORADE_DIR environmental variable to /mnt/arch/cases/02aug91.
3. Become familiar with the data set by examining the SUR scans at 0.3 degrees elevation throughout the entire day. After doing so, answer the following questions. Please included annotated graphics to support your answers.
- What is the large-scale flow direction on the day you chose?
- When do you first see the sea-breeze thin line along the coast?
- Does the coastal orientation affect the sea-breeze thin line structure? Explain.
- Does the sea breeze inland penetration speed vary throughout the day? Explain.
- Describe the evolution of the sea breeze frontal strength based on observations of the sea breeze thin line. Explain this evolution based on the concepts discussed in class.