Abstract
Turbulence data collected with the gust probe system on the NOAA P-3 aircraft over the polynya downwind of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea are used to study the fluxes of heat, momentum, and moisture from the polynya. The data also allow study of the effect of the topography of St. Lawrence Island on the atmospheric boundary-layer flow over the polynya and ultimately on ice production in the polynya. Two cases are studied: one (Feb. 15, 1982) where the topographic effects are minimal and the other (Feb. 18, 1983) where the topographic effects are dominant. Calculation of the surface drag coefficient, C D, for the Feb. 15, 1982 case over young grey/white ice gave a value of 1.2 × 10-3, which is in close agreement with previous results. The value of the drag coefficient for the grey/white ice regime on Feb. 18, 1983, where the upstream topography on St. Lawrence Island had an important influence on the flow over the polynya, was 3.2 × 10-3. It was determined that this higher value was related to the more efficient mixing of momentum downward by turbulent eddies generated by flow over and around the topography. The area-averaged heat transfer coefficient, C H, over the polynya was on the order of 1.1 × 10-3 for both days, but there were large variations in heat flux across the polynya due to variations in the flow caused by the topography. Conditional sampling techniques applied to the turbulence data showed that the fractional areas occupied by updrafts and downdrafts were 28% and 36%, respectively, and that these results were within the range of values found in previous studies for over-land and over-ocean conditions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andreas, E. L. and Murphy, B.: 1986, ‘Bulk Transfer Coefficients for Heat and Momentum over Leads and Polynyas’, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 16, 1875–1883.
Andreas, E. L., Paulson, C. A., Williams, R. M., Lindsay, R. W., and Businger, J. A.: 1979, ‘The Turbulent Heat Flux from Arctic Leads’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 17, 57–91.
Bean, B. R., Emmanuel, C. B., Gilmer, R. D., and McGavin, R. E.: 1975, ‘The Spatial and Temporal Variations of the Turbulent Fluxes of Heat, Momentum, and Water Vapor over Lake Ontario’, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 5, 532–540.
den Hartog, G., Smith, S. D., Anderson, R. J., Topham, D. R., and Perkin, R. G.: 1983, ‘An Investigation of a Polynya in the Canadian Archipelago, 3, Surface Heat Flux’, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 2911–2916.
Godowitch, J. M.: 1986, ‘Characteristics of Vertical Turbulent Velocities in the Urban Convective Boundary Layer’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 35, 387–407.
Greenhut, G. K.: 1981, ‘Analysis of Aircraft Measurements of Momentum Flux in the Subcloud Layer over the Tropical Atlantic Ocean during GATE’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 20, 75–100.
Greenhut, G. K. and Khalsa, S. J. S.: 1982, ‘Updraft and Downdraft Events in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Equatorial Pacific Ocean’, J. Atmos. Sci. 39, 1803–1818.
Greenhut, G. K. and Khalsa, S. J. S.: 1987, ‘Convective Elements in the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Part I: Conditional Sampling Statistics’, J. Climate Appl. Meteorol. 26, 813–822.
Grossman, R. L. and Bean, B. R.: 1973, ‘An Aircraft Investigation of Turbulence in the Lower Layers of the Marine Boundary Layer’, NOAA Technical Report ERL 291-WMPO 4, Boulder. CO, 166 pp.
Hicks, B. B. and Martin, H. C.: 1972, ‘Atmospheric Turbulent Fluxes over Snow’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 2, 496–502.
Khalsa, S. J. S. and Greenhut, G. K.: 1987, ‘Convective Elements in the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Part II: Entrainment at the Capping Inversion’, J. Climate Appl. Meteorol. 26, 824–836.
Khalsa, S. J. S. and Greenhut, G. K.: 1988, ‘Surface Forcing and Turbulence Structure in the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer during Fasinex’, Proc. of the AMS 7th Conference on Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction, Am. Meteorol. Soc., Boston, MA, 64–67.
Manton, M. J.: 1977, ‘On the Structure of Convection’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 12, 491–503.
McBean, G. A. and Paterson, R. D.: 1975, ‘Variation of the Fluxes of Momentum, Heat, and Moisture over Lake Ontario’, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 5, 523–531.
Merceret, F. J. and Davis, H. W.: 1981, ‘The Determination of Navigational and Meteorological Variables Measured by NOAA/RFC WP-3D Aircraft’, NOAA Technical Memorandum, ERL RFC-7. NOAA/OAO, Miami, FL, 21 pp.
Nicholls, S. and Readings, C. J.: 1979, ‘Aircraft Observations of the Structure of the Lower Boundary Layer over the Sea’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 105, 785–802.
Overland, J. E.: 1985, ‘Atmospheric Boundary Layer Structure and Drag Coefficients over Sea Ice’, J. Geophys. Res. 90, 9029–9049.
Pease, C. H.: 1987, ‘The Size of Wind-driven Coastal Polynyas’, J. Geophys. Res. 92, 7049–7059.
Reynolds, O.: 1895, ‘On the Dynamical Theory of Incompressible Viscous Fluids and the Determination of the Criterion’, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., London 186, 123–164.
Smith, S. D., Anderson, R. J., den Hartog, G., Topham, D. R., and Perkin, R. G.: 1983, ‘An Investigation of a Polynya in the Canadian Archipelago, 2, Structure of Turbulence and Sensible Heat Flux’, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 2900–2910.
Walter, B. A.: 1980, ‘Wintertime Observations of Roll Clouds over the Bering Sea’, Monthly Weather Rev. 108, 2024–2031.
Walter, B. A., Overland, J. E., and Gilmer, R. O.: 1984, ‘Air-ice Drag Coefficients for First-year Sea Ice Derived from Aircraft Measurements’, J. Geophys. Res. 89, 3550–3560.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Walter, B.A. A study of the planetary boundary layer over the polynya downwind of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea using aircraft data. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 48, 255–282 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00158327
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00158327