|
Participants
Institute of Marine and Coastal Studies, Rutgers University
Scott M. Glenn | Louis Bowers
Centers for Environmental Prediction, Rutgers University
Richard Dunk | Luke Oman
National Weather Service, Mount Holly, NJ
Alan Cope | Gary Szatkowski
Masters Thesis:
Bowers, L (2004)
The Effect of Sea Surface Temperature on New Jersey Sea Breeze Dynamics
(PowerPoint) Thesis: Part (1) | (2)
Links:
Operational RU COOL WRF Model Forecasts
RU COOL Sea Breeze Tutorial
Offshore Wind Analysis
National Weather
Service (Mount Holly, NJ)
COMET
UMDNJ
Office of
the New Jersey State Climatologist
|
The New Jersey Sea Breeze and the relationship to Coastal Upwelling

Overview
The sea breeze is a well-known phenomenon which affects coastal areas
primarily during the warm season. It is driven by the temperature
difference between land and sea, which typically peaks during the
afternoon hours with maximum diurnal heating of the land. Effects
of the sea breeze include local changes in temperature, humidity,
wind speed, wind direction, cloud cover, and sometimes precipitation.
These changes can be significant for operational forecasting of weather
conditions for the public, as well as for more specialized users in
the aviatrion and marine communities.
During the Spring and Summer months, the leading edge of the sea
breeze is often observed by the National Weather Service's WSR-88D
operational radar at Ft. Dix, NJ (KDIX) as a fine line of reflectivity.
Typically, this line forms near the shore in early afternoon and progresses
some distance inland during the rest of the day. The shape and movement
of this sea breeze "front" can vary considerably from day to day,
depending mainly on the degree of heating and on the synoptic scale
wind patterns.
One less recognized factor which may be important in the daily evolution
of the sea breeze is the distribution of sea surface temperature along
and near the shore. During prolonged periods of southwesterly synoptic-scale
flow, it is common to observe the "upwelling" of colder water from
below the ocean surface. This upwelling can produce near-shore pockets
of water that are 5 to 10 deg C (or more) colder than the surrounding
ocean. Observational evidence, e.g., radar imagery, suggests that
land areads of southwesterly synoptic-scale flow, it is common to
observe the "upwelling" of colder water from below the ocean surface.
Areas adjacent to these cold pockets of upwelling are favored for
the initial development of the sea breeze, and this subsequently affects
the movement and orientation of the sea breeze front.
The COMET Cooperative Project looked at this interaction using the
Regional Atmospheric Modeling System.
Site
Map
This map outlines the area in which the Regional Atmospheric Modeling
System (RAMS) was run during the COMET project.

COMET RAMS Model Case Studies
Case Studies from June/July 2000
Choose a date from the calendar below!
Case Studies from 1994-1999
1994-1999


|