Td. Sikora et al., Observations of a progressive warm-fresh oceanic front and a cool-moist atmospheric front at Duck, North Carolina, BOUND-LAY M, 100(2), 2001, pp. 349-361
This paper presents a unique set of observations of nearly coincident and p
rogressive oceanic and marine atmospheric boundary-layer (MABL) fronts in a
coastal zone. The event was observed during the afternoon of 12 May 1996 a
t the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research C
enter, Field Research Facility pier at Duck, North Carolina. The oceanic fr
ont was warm and fresh. Current variability accompanied the oceanic front.
A marked MABL front preceded the oceanic front by several minutes and had c
haracteristics of a sea-breeze front. This MABL front separated warmer and
dryer pre-frontal air from cooler and moister post-frontal air. Wind direct
ion and wind speed variability accompanied the MABL front. The sea-surface
roughness signatures of both fronts were detected by an X-band pulsed Doppl
er radar. Supporting data are used to identify each front detected by the r
adar and to calculate each front's velocity. In an attempt to explain the s
ea-surface roughness variations associated with each front, the radar data
are compared to corresponding variations in wind speed, wind direction, and
air-sea temperature difference.