THE EFFECT OF COASTAL UPWELLING ON THE SEA-BREEZE CIRCULATION AT CABO-FRIO, BRAZIL - A NUMERICAL EXPERIMENT

The effect of coastal upwelling on sea-breeze circulation in Cabo Frio (Brazil) and the feedback of sea-breeze on the upwelling signal in th is region are investigated. In order to study the effect of coastal up welling on sea-breeze a non-linear, three-dimensional, primitive equat ion atmospheric model is employed. The model considers only dry air an d employs boundary layer formulation. The surface temperature is deter mined by a forcing function applied to the Earth's surface. In order t o investigate the seasonal variations of the circulation, numerical ex periments considering three-month means are conducted: January-Februar y-March (JFM), April-May-June (AMJ), July-August-September (JAS) and O ctober-November-December (OND). The model results show that the sea-br eeze is most intense near the coast at all the seasons. The sea-breeze is stronger in OND and JFM, when the upwelling occurs, and weaker in AMJ and JAS, when there is no upwelling. Numerical simulations also sh ow that when the upwelling occurs the sea-breeze develops and attains maximum intensity earlier than when it does not occur. Observations sh ow a similar behavior. In order to verify the effect of the sea-breeze surface wind on the upwelling, a two-layer finite element ocean model is also implemented. The results of simulations using this model, for ced by the wind generated in the sea-breeze model, show that the sea-b reeze effectively enhances the upwelling signal.