Investigations of scalar transfer coefficients in fog during the Coupled Boundary Layers and Air Sea Transfer experiment : a case study

The uncertainty in the determination of the momentum and scalar fluxes remains one of the main obstacles to accurate numerical forecasts in low to moderate wind conditions. For example, latent heat fluxes computed from data using direct covariance and bulk aerodynamic methods show that there is good agreement in unstable conditions when the latent heat flux values are generally positive. However, the agreement is relatively poor in stable conditions, particularly when the moisture flux is directed downward. If the direct covariance measurements are indeed accurate, then they clearly indicate that the bulk aerodynamic formula overestimate the downward moisture flux in stable conditions. As a result, comparisons of the Dalton number for unstable and stable conditions indicate a marked difference in value between the two stability regimes. Investigations done for this thesis used data taken primarily at the Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) during the Coupled Boundary Layers and Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST) Experiment 2003 from the 20-27 August 2003. Other data from the shore based Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) and moored buoys in the vicinity of the ASIT were also incorporated.

Department dc:contributor.department

Joint Program in Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Crofoot, Robert Farrington

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• James B. Edson.

• /Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Joint Program in Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.
• Ocean Engineering.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39165

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39165