II 'HVlV^lfV UG'tfAFilES CMNEGIE-MELLOMUNIVERSITY m'SBURGH,PENNSYLVANIA 15213 COASTAL METEOROLOGY AREVIEWOFTHESTATE OFTHE SCIENCE r . * *V _JL2 PanelonCoastalMeteorology CommitteeonMeteorologicalAnalysis,Prediction, andResearch BoardonAtmosphericSciences andClimate CommissiononGeosciences,Environment,andResources NationalResearchCouncil NATIONALACADEMYPRESS Washington,D,C. 1992 NOTICE: TheprojectthatisthesubjectofthisreportwasapprovedbytheGoverningBoard oftheNationalResearchCouncil,whosemembersaredrawnfromthecouncilsoftheNational AcademyofSciences,theNationalAcademyofEngineering,andtheInstituteofMedicine. Thisreporthasbeenreviewedbyagroupotherthantheauthorsaccordingtoprocedures approvedbyaReportReviewCommitteeconsistingofmembersoftheNationalAcademyof Sciences,theNationalAcademyofEngineering,andtheInstituteofMedicine. TheNationalAcademyofSciencesisaprivate,nonprofit,self-perpetuatingsocietyofdis- tinguishedscholarsengagedinscientificandengineeringresearch,dedicatedtothefurtherance ofscienceandtechnologyandtotheiruseforthegeneralwelfare. Upontheauthorityofthe chartergrantedtoitbytheCongressin1863,theAcademyhasamandatethatrequiresitto advisethefederalgovernmentonscientificandtechnicalmatters. Dr.FrankPressispresident oftheNationalAcademyofSciences. TheNationalAcademyofEngineeringwasestablishedin 1964,underthecharterofthe National Academy ofSciences,asaparallel organization ofoutstandingengineers. It is autonomousinitsadministrationandintheselectionofitsmembers,sharingwiththeNational AcademyofSciencestheresponsibilityforadvisingthefederalgovernment. TheNational AcademyofEngineeringalsosponsorsengineeringprogramsaimedatmeetingnationalneeds, encourageseducationandresearch,andrecognizesthesuperiorachievementsofengineers. Dr.RobertM.WhiteispresidentoftheNationalAcademyofEngineering. TheInstituteofMedicinewasestablishedin1970bytheNationalAcademyofSciencesto securetheservicesofeminentmembersofappropriateprofessionsintheexaminationofpolicy matterspertainingtothehealthofthepublic. TheInstituteactsundertheresponsibilitygiven totheNationalAcademyofSciencesbyitscongressionalchartertobeanadvisertothe federalgovernmentand,uponitsowninitiative,toidentifyissuesofmedicalcare,research, andeducation. Dr.KennethI.ShineispresidentoftheInstituteofMedicine. TheNationalResearchCouncilwasorganizedbytheNationalAcademyofSciencesin1916 toassociatethebroadcommunityofscienceandtechnologywiththeAcademy'spurposesof furtheringknowledgeandadvisingthefederalgovernment. Functioninginaccordancewith generalpoliciesdeterminedbytheAcademy,theCouncilhasbecometheprincipaloperating agencyofboththeNationalAcademyofSciencesandtheNationalAcademyofEngineeringin providingservicestothegovernment,thepublic,andthescientificandengineeringcommuni- ties. TheCouncilisadministeredjointlybybothAcademiesandtheInstituteofMedicine. Dr. FrankPressandDr.RobertM.Whitearechairmanandvicechairman,respectively,ofthe NationalResearchCouncil. SupportforthisprojectwasprovidedjointlybytheDepartmentoftheInterior,theNational OceanicandAtmosphericAdministration,theNationalScienceFoundation,theU.S.Army ResearchOffice,theU.S.ArmyAtmosphericSciencesLaboratory,theU.S.ArmyCorpsof Engineers(WaterwaysExperimentStation),theU.S.CoastGuard(R&DCenter),andtheU.S. NavyOfficeofNavalResearchunderGrantNo.N00014-90-J-4138. LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber91-68266 InternationalStandardBookNumber0-309-04687-4 Copyright1992bytheNationalAcademyofSciences S534 Copiesofthisreportareavailablefrom:NATIONALACADEMYPRESS,2101Constitu- tionAvenue,N.W.,Washington,DC20418 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Coverphoto: TheUnitedStatesatnight: From250milesabovetheearth,lightsofcitiesand townsoutlinedenselypopulatedcoasts. Complexweathercreatedbyadjoiningwaterandland surfacesaffectsover100millionueooleintheUnitedStates. PhotocourtesvoftheAirForce PANELONCOASTALMETEOROLOGY RICHARDROTUNNO(Chair),NationalCenterforAtmosphericResearch JUDITHA.CURRY,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity CHRISTOPHERW.FAIRALL,NationalOceanographicandAtmospheric Administration CARLA.FRIEHE,UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine WALTERA.LYONS,ColoradoStateUniversity JAMESE.OVERLAND,NationalOceanicandAtmospheric Administration ROGERA.PIELKE,ColoradoStateUniversity DAVIDP.ROGERS,ScrippsInstitutionofOceanography STEVENA.STAGE,FloridaStateUniversity PanelConsultants GARYL.GEERNAERT,OfficeofNavalResearch JOHNW.NIELSEN,TexasA&MUniversity Staff WILLIAMA.SPRIGG,StaffDirector IINIVFRSITYI COMMITTEEONMETEOROLOGICALANALYSIS, PREDICTION,ANDRESEARCH PETERV.HOBBS(Chair),UniversityofWashington JAMESA.COAKLEY,OregonStateUniversity DENNISG,DBAYEN,NationalOceanographicandAtmospheric Administration FRANCOEINAUDI,NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration J.MICHAELFRITSCH,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity EARLE.GOSSARD,UniversityofColorado VLTAYK.GUPTA,UniversityofColorado DONALDR.JOHNSON,UniversityofWisconsin,Madison THOMASW.SCHLATTER,NationalOceanicandAtmospheric Administration ROBERTJ.SERAFIN,NationalCenterforAtmosphericResearch LEONARDSNELLMAN,retired WARRENH.WHITE,WashingtonUniversity Staff WILLIAMA.SPRIGG,StaffDirector BOARDONATMOSPHERICSCIENCESANDCLIMATE JOHNA.DUTTON(Chair),PennsylvaniaStateUniversity JONF.BARTHOLIC,MichiganStateUniversity E.ANNHERMAN,Tri-Space,Inc. RAFAELL.BRAS,MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology MOUSTAFAT.CHAHINE,CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology ROBERTA.DUCE,TexasA&MUniversity THOMASE.GRAEDEL,AT&TBellLaboratories DAVIDD.HOUGHTON,UniversityofWisconsin,Madison EUGENIAKALNAY,NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration RICHARDS.LINDZEN,MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology SYUKUROMANABE,NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration GERALDR.NORTH,TexasA&MUniversity JAMESJ.O'BRIEN,FloridaStateUniversity JOANNESIMPSON,NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration ExOfficioMembers ERICJ.BARRON,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity PETERV.HOBBS,UniversityofWashington CHARLESE.KOLB,AerodyneResearch,Inc. DONALDJ.WILLIAMS,TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity Staff WILLIAMA.SPRIGG,StaffDirector COMMISSIONONGEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT,ANDRESOURCES M.GORDONWOLMAN(Chair),TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity ROBERTC.BEARDSLEY,WoodsHoleOceanographicInstitution B.CLARKBURCHEDEL,MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology PETERS.EAGLESON,MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology HELENM.INGRAM,UniversityofArizona GENEE.LIKENS,NewYorkBotanicalGarden SYUKUROMANABE,NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration JACKE.OLIVER,CornellUniversity PHILIPA.PALMER,E.I.duPontdeNemours&Company FRANKL.PARKER,VanderbiltUniversity/ClemsonUniversity DUNCANT.PATTEN,ArizonaStateUniversity MAXINEL.SAVITZ,AlliedSignalAerospaceCompany LARRYL.SMARR,UniversityofIllinois,Urbana-Champaign STEVENM.STANLEY,TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity SIRCRISPINTICKELL,RadcliffeObservatory KARLK.TUREKIAN,YaleUniversity IRVINL.WHITE,BattellePacificNorthwestLaboratories Staff STEPHENRATTIEN,ExecutiveDirector STEPHEND.PARKER,AssociateExecutiveDirector JANICEE.MEHLER,AssistantExecutiveDirector JEANETTESPOON,AdministrativeOfficer CARLITAPERRY,AdministrativeAssistant ROBINLEWIS,SeniorProjectAssistant Preface The unique weather and climate ofthe coastal zone, where the very differentpropertiesoflandandseameet, stronglyaffectpollutantcircula- tion,stormcharacteristics, airandseacurrentpatterns, andlocaltempera- tures. NearlyhalftheU.S.populationcurrentlylivesincoastalareas,1and thisnumberisexpectedtogrowinthenext20yearsfromabout110million tomorethan127millionpeople. Abetterunderstandingofcoastalmeteo- rologywouldthusbeofconsiderablebenefittothenation, sinceitaffects airpollution and disasterpreparedness; ocean pollution and safeguarding near-shore ecosystems; offshore oil exploration and drilling; military and merchantshipoperations;andahostofotheractivitiesaffectingcommerce, industry,transportation,health,safety,recreation,andnationaldefense. Asaresultofprogress inseveralareas ofmeteorologicalresearch, as well asthe developmentofnew technologies, opportunities now existfor significantadvancesinbothbasicunderstandingandforecastingofawide variety ofimportant coastal meteorological phenomena. In recent years new in situ and remote sensingmeasuringtechniques have becomeavail- ablethatcanbeusedtostudyandmonitorcoastalphenomenainconsider- able detail. Numerical models are now available with sufficiently small gridspacings to resolvemanycoastalmeteorologicalevents. Widespread availability ofsmallbutpowerful computerworkstations will permitboth DepartmentofCommerce(1990),FiftyYearsofPopulationChangeAlongtheNation's Coasts,1960-2010,NationalOceanService,NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministra- tion,Washington,D.C.,41pp. VIH CONTENTS researchstudiesandoperationalforecastingofimportantweatherphenome- na along coastlines, many ofwhich depend on specific aspects of local geographyandtopology. Thisreportreviewstheprogressthathasbeenmadeinrecentyearsby thesmallresearchcommunityengagedinstudiesofcoastalmeteorology. It isintendedtoguideresearchersintothoseareasinwhichtheireffortsmight bemostproductive. It shouldalsoalertpolicy makers, local and federal authorities,andprivateorganizationstothenewtoolsthatareavailablefor improvingthe safetyandefficiency ofoperating in and managing coastal regions. Followingageneralintroductiontothesubject,thisreportreviewsre- centprogressandcurrentunderstandingofcoastalmeteorologicalphenom- ena,includinglandandseabreezes,coastalfronts,orographiceffects,land- fallinghurricanes,airquality,andcoastaleffectsinthepolarregions. Gaps inknowledgeareidentified,andrecommendationsforadvancingbasicun- derstanding and applications are given at the end ofeach chapter. Final chapters address educational andhuman resource issues and highlight the newobservationalandmodelingtoolsthatcanbebroughttobearoncoastal meteorologicalresearchandoperations. On behalf ofthe Committee on Meteorological Analysis, Prediction, andResearch,Iwishtothankthepanelmembers,particularly the panel's chairman,RichardRotunno,fortheoutstandingjobtheyhavedoneinpro- ducing areportofvaluetobothscientistsandpolicymakers. Thanks are extendedtoAlanWeinsteinoftheOfficeofNavalResearchforhavingthe foresightto suggestthis study andforrecognizing the broad applications andinterestsincoastalmeteorologyamongseveralfederalagencies. Early collaboration with the Committee on the Coastal Ocean of the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board in helping to form the panel is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are also extended to John S. Perry and KennethBergmanforinitial staffsupportofthe study andto William A. Spriggforhelpingtoguidethereporttoitscompletion. PeterV.Hobbs,Chairman CommitteeonMeteorologicalAnalysis, Prediction,andResearch