Book
USING QUIKSCAT SURFACE WIND MEASUREMENTS TO UNDERSTAND WINDSPEED VARIABILITY AND SURFACE FLUX IMPLICATIONS
01 Jan 2008
Abstract
Surface momentum and energy fluxes are non-linearly dependent on wind speed and are thus sensitive to its distribution. Our sensitivity studies have detected large momentum flux increases from using wind speed PDFs versus means. When accounting for feedbacks, significant surface flux changes are realized. Thus, neglecting to represent sub-gridscale winds within a GCM can lead to surface flux and climate biases. We have conducted an unprecedented wind speed PDF comparison between QuikSCAT and a state-of-the-art GCM. Our findings include positive mean wind speed biases in the northern hemisphere trades and southern hemisphere storm tracks. Seasonally-persistent negative shape and mean wind speed biases were found along the ITCZ. Parameterizing wind speed variability using an empirical formulation reduced these GCM biases. A wind speed PDF whose breadth is entirely a function of atmospheric stability should lead to further GCM improvements. Thus, the breadth of this physically-based wind speed PDF will be a function of turbulence kinetic energy. We hope to improve the modeled PDF with respect to observations in regions where modeled and observed mean wind speeds agree.
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Details
- Title
- USING QUIKSCAT SURFACE WIND MEASUREMENTS TO UNDERSTAND WINDSPEED VARIABILITY AND SURFACE FLUX IMPLICATIONS
- Creators
- S CappsC Zender
- Resource Type
- Book
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
- Identifiers
- 991019186789404721