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Observations of boundary-layer convection cells measured by dual-Doppler radar and echosonde, and by microbarograph array

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Abstract

Three-dimensional air motion, observed with radar in a convective planetary boundary layer under light wind conditions, is organized in cellular structures scaled from 2 to 5 km; simultaneous acoustic echosonde measurements indicate that near the ground there are smaller cells than those observable by the radar. At heights of 400 m, cell scales become as large as those observable by the radar. Pressure fluctuations at the ground measured with spatial pressure transducers, at the same time as the radar and echosonde observations, traveled at the same speed and direction as the radar volume-averaged wind. The length scale determined at the ground with pressure fluctuation data was between 1.2 and 2.4 km, smaller than the largest radar-measured motion scales.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NOAA/ERL/Wave Propagation Laboratory, Boulder, Colo., USA

    A. S. Frisch, R. B. Chadwick, W. R. Moninger & J. M. Young

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  1. A. S. Frisch
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  2. R. B. Chadwick
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  3. W. R. Moninger
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  4. J. M. Young
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Frisch, A.S., Chadwick, R.B., Moninger, W.R. et al. Observations of boundary-layer convection cells measured by dual-Doppler radar and echosonde, and by microbarograph array. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 10, 55–68 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218724

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218724

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