Mesoscale Coastal Processes during GALE IOP 2

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Abstract
During Intensive Observation Period 2 of the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment, a number of mesoscale phenomena were observed with special and conventional observing systems over the land and coastal waters. This study involved analysis of these data for the period 24–26 January 1986 in order to define the structure and dynamics of three features: the coastal front; a shallow cyclone that propagated along the coastal front, modifying it as it moved northward; and a low-level jet that formed in the strong coastal pressure-gradient field. The coastal front formed in an existing pressure trough over the Gulf Stream as a result of both ageostrophic deformation and differential diabatic heating. There existed considerable variability in the frontal strength and position on both the mesoalpha and mesobeta scales. The level of strongest frontogenesis was near the surface, with frontolysis calculated above 950 mb. The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) over the Gulf Stream was conducive to cyclon... Abstract During Intensive Observation Period 2 of the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment, a number of mesoscale phenomena were observed with special and conventional observing systems over the land and coastal waters. This study involved analysis of these data for the period 24–26 January 1986 in order to define the structure and dynamics of three features: the coastal front; a shallow cyclone that propagated along the coastal front, modifying it as it moved northward; and a low-level jet that formed in the strong coastal pressure-gradient field. The coastal front formed in an existing pressure trough over the Gulf Stream as a result of both ageostrophic deformation and differential diabatic heating. There existed considerable variability in the frontal strength and position on both the mesoalpha and mesobeta scales. The level of strongest frontogenesis was near the surface, with frontolysis calculated above 950 mb. The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) over the Gulf Stream was conducive to cyclon...

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