Abstract
This work presents the detailed characterization of sea breeze (SB) over the Rayong coastal area, one of the most rapidly developed and highly industrialized areas during the last decade in Thailand, using observation data analysis and fine-resolution (2 km) mesoscale meteorological modeling with incorporation of new land cover and satellite-derived vegetation fraction data sets. The key characteristics considered include frequency of SB occurrence, sea-breeze day (SBD) identification, degree of inland penetration, and boundary layer development. It was found that SBs occur frequently in the winter due mainly to relatively large land–sea temperature contrasts and minimally in the wet season. Monthly mean SB onset and cessation times are at around 12–15 local time (LT) and 18–21 LT, respectively, and its strength peaks during the early- to mid-afternoon. Monthly SB hodographs generally exhibit clockwise rotations, and SB inland penetration (at PCD-T tower) ranges widely with the monthly means of 25–55 km from the coast. Mesoscale MM5 modeling was performed on two selected SBDs (13 January and 16 March 2006), on which the SBs are under weak and onshore strong influences from background winds, respectively. Simulated near-surface winds and temperature were found to be in fair-to-acceptable agreement with the observations. The SB circulation along the Rayong coast is clearly defined with a return flow aloft and a front on 13 January, while it is enhanced by the onshore background winds on 16 March. Another SB along the Chonburi coast also develops separately, but their fronts merge into one in the mid-afternoon, resulting in large area coverage by the SB. Simulated planetary boundary layer height over the land area is significantly affected by a thermal internal boundary layer (TIBL) induced by an SB, which is found to be low near the coast and increases toward the front (up to 800–1,000 m along the Rayong coast).
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Acknowledgments
The authors sincerely thank the Pollution Control Department, the Department of Energy Development and Efficiency, the Land Development Department, and the Thai Meteorological Department for providing local data, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (US) for the availability of the MM5 model, and the National Centers for Environmental Protection (US) for the FNL Reanalysis and RTG SST data. The authors also thank Dr. Robert H. B. Exell and Dr. Chumnong Sorapipatana (JGSEE), Dr. Dusadee Sukawat (KMUTT), Mr. Nawarat Mitjit (PCD), and the two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions. Assistance by members at the JGSEE computational laboratory is acknowledged. This study was financially supported mainly by the JGSEE and the Thailand Research Fund (under Grant No. RDG5050016) and partially by the Postgraduate Education and Research Development Office (under Grant No. JGSEE/PROJECT/002-2011) and the National Research Council of Thailand (under Grant No. POR KOR 2550-46).
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Phan, T.T., Manomaiphiboon, K. Observed and simulated sea breeze characteristics over Rayong coastal area, Thailand. Meteorol Atmos Phys 116, 95–111 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-012-0185-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-012-0185-9