Multi‐Instrument Observations of Prolonged Stratified Wind Layers at Iqaluit, Nunavut

Data collected between October 2015 and May 2016 at Environment and Climate Change Canada's Iqaluit research site (64°N, 69°W) have revealed a high frequency (40% of all days for which observations were available) of stratified wind layer events that occur from near the surface up to about 7.2 ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGeophysical research letters Vol. 45; no. 3; pp. 1654 - 1660
Main Authors Mariani, Zen, Dehghan, Armin, Gascon, Gabrielle, Joe, Paul, Hudak, David, Strawbridge, Kevin, Corriveau, Julien
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 16.02.2018
Subjects
Arctic atmospheric structure
Climate change
Density stratification
Doppler lidar
Doppler radar
Doppler sonar
Evolution
Height
High frequency
Lidar
Meteorological conditions
Precipitation
Profiles
Radar
Radiosondes
remote sensing
Sea level
Stratification
stratified layers
Vertical profiles
Wind
Wind direction
wind profile
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Summary:Data collected between October 2015 and May 2016 at Environment and Climate Change Canada's Iqaluit research site (64°N, 69°W) have revealed a high frequency (40% of all days for which observations were available) of stratified wind layer events that occur from near the surface up to about 7.2 km above sea level. These stratified wind layers are clearly visible as wind shifts (90 to 180°) with height in range‐height indicator scans from the Doppler lidar and Ka‐band radar and in wind direction profiles from the Doppler lidar and radiosonde. During these events, the vertical structure of the flow appears to be a stack of 4 to 10 layers ranging in vertical width from 0.1 to 4.4 km. The stratification events that were observed occurred predominantly (81%) during light precipitation and lasted up to 27.5 h. The integrated measurement platforms at Iqaluit permitted continuous observations of the evolution of stratification events in different meteorological conditions. Key Points Doppler lidar, radar, radiosonde, and water vapor lidar observations have detected frequent and prolonged stratified wind layers A multilayered stratified wind structure was identified 40% of observed days between October 2015 and May 2016 over Iqaluit, Canada The stratified wind structure consisted of 4‐10 layers 0.1‐4.4 km thick spanning the surface to 7.2 km a.s.l. and lasting up to 27.5 h
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1002/2017GL076907