Ocean
Horizontal Array Turbulence Study (OHATS) is part of an ongoing
effort to investigate wind-wave interactions and improve our ability to
assess the impacts on weather forecasts and climate variability. The investigation
utilizes the Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) located off the coast of Martha's
Vineyard as a platform for the continuous collection of atmospheric and
ocean surface data.
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this
project investigates the physical processes that generate and/or modulate
the turbulent transfer of momentum, heat, and mass through the atmospheric
surface layer. Of primary interest is the investigation of how wind-generated
waves and swell influence the marine surface layer and air-sea fluxes. The
ultimate goal is to improve how these wave-induced processes are simulated
in numerical models.
In the summer of 2004, researchers from WHOI and NCAR
deployed an array of 18 sonic anemometers at the ASIT and suspended it below
the 12-meter platform. The suspended array is composed of two levels with
9 sonics each at about 5 and 5.5 meters (16-17 feet) above mean sea level.
Three laser altimeters were also deployed from the platform in a 2-meter
triangle to collect information on the underlying wave field. Data collection
from these arrays began in early August 2004. Measurements will continue
to be collected to capture a wide range of conditions.
OHATS brings together researchers from the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Pennsylvania State University (PSU),
and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). NCAR investigators
are funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) as well as NSF. Collectively,
these researchers have experience and interest in wind-wave coupling, surface-layer
turbulence, turbulent flux measurements, and large-eddy simulation (LES).
|