NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided jointly by the Department of the Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Research Office, the U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Waterways Experiment Station), the U.S. Coast Guard (R&D Center), and the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research under Grant No. N00014-90-J-4138.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 91-68266
International Standard Book Number 0-309-04687-4
Copyright 1992 by the National Academy of Sciences
S534
First Printing, June 1992
Second Printing, August 1992
Copies of this report are available from:
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Printed in the United States of America
Cover photo: The United States at night: From 250 miles above the earth, lights of cities and towns outline densely populated coasts. Complex weather created by adjoining water and land surfaces affects over 100 million people in the United States. Photo courtesy of the Air Force Global Weather Central and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.
PANEL ON COSTAL METEOROLOGY
RICHARD ROTUNNO (Chair),
National Center for Atmospheric Research
JUDITH A. CURRY,
Pennsylvania State University
CHRISTOPHER W. FAIRALL,
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
CARL A. FRIEHE,
University of California, Irvine
WALTER A. LYONS,
Colorado State University
JAMES E. OVERLAND,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
ROGER A. PIELKE,
Colorado State University
DAVID P. ROGERS,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
STEVEN A. STAGE,
Florida State University
Panel Consultants
GARY L. GEERNAERT,
Office of Naval Research
JOHN W. NIELSEN,
Texas A&M University
Staff
WILLIAM A. SPRIGG, Staff Director
COMMITTEE ON METEOROLOGICAL ANALYSIS, PREDICTION, AND RESEARCH
PETER V. HOBBS (Chair),
University of Washington
JAMES A. COAKLEY,
Oregon State University
DENNIS G. DEAVEN,
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
FRANCO EINAUDI,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
J. MICHAEL FRITSCH,
Pennsylvania State University
EARL E. GOSSARD,
University of Colorado
VIJAY K. GUPTA,
University of Colorado
DONALD R. JOHNSON,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
THOMAS W. SCHLATTER,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
ROBERT J. SERAFIN,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
LEONARD SNELLMAN, retired
WARREN H. WHITE,
Washington University
Staff
WILLIAM A. SPRIGG, Staff Director
BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC AND CLIMATE
JOHN A. DUTTON (Chair),
Pennsylvania State University
JON F. BARTHOLIC,
Michigan State University
E. ANN BERMAN,
Tri-Space, Inc.
RAFAEL L. BRAS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MOUSTAFA T. CHAHINE,
California Institute of Technology
ROBERT A. DUCE,
Texas A&M University
THOMAS E. GRAEDEL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
DAVID D. HOUGHTON,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
EUGENIA KALNAY,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RICHARD S. LINDZEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
SYUKURO MANABE,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
GERALD R. NORTH,
Texas A&M University
JAMES J. O'BRIEN,
Florida State University
JOANNE SIMPSON,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Ex Officio Members
ERIC J. BARRON,
Pennsylvania State University
PETER V. HOBBS,
University of Washington
CHARLES E. KOLB,
Aerodyne Research, Inc.
DONALD J. WILLIAMS,
The Johns Hopkins University
Staff
WILLIAM A. SPRIGG, Staff Director
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN (Chair),
The Johns Hopkins University
ROBERT C. BEARDSLEY,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
B. CLARK BURCHFIEL,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PETER S. EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
HELEN M. INGRAM,
University of Arizona
GENE E. LIKENS,
New York Botanical Garden
SYUKURO MANABE,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
JACK E. OLIVER,
Cornell University
PHILIP A. PALMER,
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
FRANK L. PARKER,
Vanderbilt University/Clemson University
DUNCAN T. PATTEN,
Arizona State University
MAXINE L. SAVITZ,
Allied Signal Aerospace Company
LARRY L. SMARR,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University
SIR CRISPIN TICKELL,
Radcliffe Observatory
KARL K. TUREKIAN,
Yale University
IRVIN L. WHITE,
Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
JANICE E. MEHLER, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE SPOON, Administrative Officer
CARLITA PERRY, Administrative Assistant
ROBIN LEWIS, Senior Project Assistant
Preface
The unique weather and climate of the coastal zone, where the very different properties of land and sea meet, strongly affect pollutant circulation, storm characteristics, air and sea current patterns, and local temperatures. Nearly half the U.S. population currently lives in coastal areas,1 and this number is expected to grow in the next 20 years from about 110 million to more than 127 million people. A better understanding of coastal meteorology would thus be of considerable benefit to the nation, since it affects air pollution and disaster preparedness; ocean pollution and safeguarding near-shore ecosystems; offshore oil exploration and drilling; military and merchant ship operations; and a host of other activities affecting commerce, industry, transportation, health, safety, recreation, and national defense.
As a result of progress in several areas of meteorological research, as well as the development of new technologies, opportunities now exist for significant advances in both basic understanding and forecasting of a wide variety of important coastal meteorological phenomena. In recent years new in situ and remote sensing measuring techniques have become available that can be used to study and monitor coastal phenomena in considerable detail. Numerical models are now available with sufficiently small grid spacings to resolve many coastal meteorological events. Widespread availability of small but powerful computer workstations will permit both
research studies and operational forecasting of important weather phenomena along coastlines, many of which depend on specific aspects of local geography and topology.
This report reviews the progress that has been made in recent years by the small research community engaged in studies of coastal meteorology. It is intended to guide researchers into those areas in which their efforts might be most productive. It should also alert policy makers, local and federal authorities, and private organizations to the new tools that are available for improving the safety and efficiency of operating in and managing coastal regions.
Following a general introduction to the subject, this report reviews recent progress and current understanding of coastal meteorological phenomena, including land and sea breezes, coastal fronts, orographic effects, land-falling hurricanes, air quality, and coastal effects in the polar regions. Gaps in knowledge are identified, and recommendations for advancing basic understanding and applications are given at the end of each chapter. Final chapters address educational and human resource issues and highlight the new observational and modeling tools that can be brought to bear on coastal meteorological research and operations.
On behalf of the Committee on Meteorological Analysis, Prediction, and Research, I wish to thank the panel members, particularly the panel's chairman, Richard Rotunno, for the outstanding job they have done in producing a report of value to both scientists and policy makers. Thanks are extended to Alan Weinstein of the Office of Naval Research for having the foresight to suggest this study and for recognizing the broad applications and interests in coastal meteorology among several federal agencies. 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 Kenneth Bergman for initial staff support of the study and to William A. Sprigg for helping to guide the report to its completion.
Peter V. Hobbs, Chairman
Committee on Meteorological Analysis, Prediction, and Research