A modeling study of the effects of baroclinicity on the structure of the interacting atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers
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The Department of Aerospace Engineering seeks to instruct the design, analysis, testing, and operation of vehicles which operate in air, water, or space, including studies of aerodynamics, structure mechanics, propulsion, and the like.
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The Department of Aerospace Engineering was organized as the Department of Aeronautical Engineering in 1942. Its name was changed to the Department of Aerospace Engineering in 1961. In 1990, the department absorbed the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics and became the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. In 2003 the name was changed back to the Department of Aerospace Engineering.
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Ames National Laboratory is a government-owned, contractor-operated national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), operated by and located on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
For more than 70 years, the Ames National Laboratory has successfully partnered with Iowa State University, and is unique among the 17 DOE laboratories in that it is physically located on the campus of a major research university. Many of the scientists and administrators at the Laboratory also hold faculty positions at the University and the Laboratory has access to both undergraduate and graduate student talent.
The Department of Agronomy seeks to teach the study of the farm-field, its crops, and its science and management. It originally consisted of three sub-departments to do this: Soils, Farm-Crops, and Agricultural Engineering (which became its own department in 1907). Today, the department teaches crop sciences and breeding, soil sciences, meteorology, agroecology, and biotechnology.
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The Department of Agronomy was formed in 1902. From 1917 to 1935 it was known as the Department of Farm Crops and Soils.
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The Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences offers majors in three areas: Geology (traditional, environmental, or hydrogeology, for work as a surveyor or in mineral exploration), Meteorology (studies in global atmosphere, weather technology, and modeling for work as a meteorologist), and Earth Sciences (interdisciplinary mixture of geology, meteorology, and other natural sciences, with option of teacher-licensure).
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The Department of Geology and Mining was founded in 1898. In 1902 its name changed to the Department of Geology. In 1965 its name changed to the Department of Earth Science. In 1977 its name changed to the Department of Earth Sciences. In 1989 its name changed to the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences.
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- Department of Geology (1902-1965)
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Abstract
The effects of baroclinicity on the air and ocean boundary layers under conditions for strong dynamical (compared to thermodynamic) forcing are studied by use of a numerical model of air-sea interaction, which consists of a closed system of equations including equations of motion, turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent exchange coefficient, local turbulent length scale, and assumptions of fixed stratification and aroclinicity in both the atmosphere and ocean. Baroclinicity is incorporated into the equations of motion by specifying horizontal gradients of air temperature in the atmosphere and seawater density in the ocean. Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different magnitudes and directions of baroclinicity and of atmospheric stratification on the dynamical and turbulent structure of the interacting boundary layers. The results of the simulations demonstrate that certain levels of baroclinicity produce double maxima in the K profiles in the atmosphere and ocean. Baroclinic effects change the dominant components of the turbulent kinetic energy in both air and sea boundary layers from shear production and dissipation for dimensionless heights and depths of less than 0.1 (about 20% of the height or depth of the boundary layer at zero surface heat flux) to shear production and buoyant destruction for dimensionless heights and depths greater than 0.1. The results show that the most significant effects of baroclinicity in the air and sea boundary layers are the increases in turbulent exchange coefficient, turbulent kinetic energy budget, shear stresses, and dimensionless wind and wind-induced current in the regions of the boundary layers far from the interface. The results of the simulations also show that for fixed stratification and baroclinicity, surface quantities (e.g., friction velocity, drag coefficient, and geostrophic drag coefficient) are affected more by surface heat flux than by baroclinicity, whereas the opposite is true for characteristics of the whole boundary layer (e.g., boundary layer height and angle between the geostrophic wind and surface stress). Our results show good agreement with the few observations that have been taken where baroclinicity has been reported.
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This article is published as Ly, Le Ngoc, and Eugene S. Takle. "A modeling study of the effects of baroclinicity on the structure of the interacting atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 93, no. C7 (1988): 8203-8214. DOI:10.1029/JC093iC07p08203. Posted with permission.