A Climatological Analysis of the Warm-Season Wind Regimes of the Beaufort/Chukchi Seas Coasts
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources Natural Resources, School of 7-25-2012 A Climatological Analysis of the Warm-Season Wind Regimes of the Beaufort/Chukchi Seas Coasts William J. Baule University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss Part of the Climate Commons, and the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons Baule, William J., "A Climatological Analysis of the Warm-Season Wind Regimes of the Beaufort/Chukchi Seas Coasts" (2012). Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources. 51. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natresdiss/51 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Natural Resources, School of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. ! ! ! A CLIMATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WARM-SEASON WIND REGIMES OF THE BEAUFORT/CHUKCHI SEAS COASTS by William J. Baule! A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Major: Natural Resource Sciences Under Supervision of Professor Martha D. Shulski Lincoln, Nebraska August, 2012 ! ! ! ! A CLIMATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WARM-SEASON WIND REGIMES OF THE BEAUFORT/CHUKCHI SEAS COASTS William J. Baule, M.S. University of Nebraska, 2012 Advisor: Martha D. Shulski Climate records for wind speed, wind direction, and temperature are analyzed for the period from 1979-2009 for the Beaufort/Chukchi Seas region of the Arctic. Wind records have historically been subject to far fewer analyses than other meteorological variables, such as temperature or precipitation. This is particularly true for data sparse regions. Data were collected for a large area in the Beaufort/Chukchi Seas region, which includes portions of Russia, the United States, and Canada. Data from 250 stations were collected from a variety of networks throughout the region and uniformly quality controlled. Eight long-term stations were identified for data completeness and length of record. Climatologies were developed for these eight stations for wind speed, wind direction, and temperature for the period from 1979-2009. Trends in monthly and annual wind speed and temperature were examined. Results from the climatologies and trend tests were then compared to gridded output from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). Using a combination of data sets, a case study focusing on warm- season seas breezes in a smaller study area was performed for 2009. Climatologies show an Arctic climate with clear distinctions between coastal and interior locations for the variables analyzed and strong seasonal characteristics. Strong warming was evident at all locations, particularly in the late warm-season/early cold-season. Negative wind speed trends were observed at several locations, though seasonality was less evident. Biases in ! ! ! ! NARR were noted for variables analyzed. Trends in NARR temperature compared well with observations in sign and magnitude. Wind speed trends were not well represented. Further investigations into physical mechanism behind wind speed trends and differences in reanalysis are required. Sea breezes were found to occur around Deadhorse, Alaska in the summer of 2009. Frequency was highest in June (43% of days) decreasing through the warm season (26% of days). Direction and inland penetration of sea breezes appears to be related to the strength of the temperature gradient over the region. ! iv ! ! ! Acknowledgments I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Martha Shulski for serving as my advisor these past two years at UNL. Without her guidance, understanding, and patience this project would not have been possible. I very much appreciate her willingness to let me develop my own ideas regarding research and to pursue them. This undeniably helped me grow as a scientist and as an individual. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Ken Hubbard and Dr. Mark Anderson for their insightful comments and wealth of knowledge from which I was able to draw. I would also like to thank my friends in the School of Natural Resources and the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences for their support and friendship. Of these I would particularly like to thank: Eric Hunt, Adam Yarina, Katie Van Cleave, Crystal Bergman, Natalie Umphlett, and Brittany Potter. A special thank you goes to my wife Carla, whose love and support has gone a long way in helping me through graduate school. Finally, I would like to thank my parents Byron and Kathy Baule, for their never ending support throughout my life and educational career. This research was made possible by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Contract #0106CT39787. ! ! ! ! ! v! Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction, Background, and Objectives ........................................................ 1 1.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Background ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1. Wind Regimes and Trends ............................................................................................. 3 1.2.2. Sea Breeze ...................................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2. Data and Study Area ....................................................................................... 14 2.1. Study Area .......................................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Data ..................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1. Data Sets ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.2. Wind Data Processing .................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 3. Methods ........................................................................................................... 19 3.1. Long-Term Climatologies ................................................................................................... 19 3.2. Trend Analysis .................................................................................................................... 22 3.3. Sea Breeze Case Study ........................................................................................................ 25 Chapter 4. Results and Discussion .................................................................................... 28 4.1. Long-Term Climatologies ................................................................................................... 28 4.1.1. Near-Surface Wind Speed Climatology ....................................................................... 28 4.1.2. Near-Surface Wind Direction Climatology ................................................................. 33 4.1.3. Near-Surface Temperature Climatology ...................................................................... 36 4.1.4. Upper Air Climatology ................................................................................................ 37 4.2. Trend Test Results .............................................................................................................. 40 4.2.1. Wind Speed Trends ...................................................................................................... 40 4.2.2. Temperature Trend Analysis ........................................................................................ 47 4.3. North American Regional Reanalysis Comparison ............................................................ 50 4.3.1. Wind Speed Climatology and Trend Comparison ....................................................... 51 4.3.2. Temperature Climatology and Trend Comparison ...................................................... 55 4.3.3. Wind Direction Climatology Comparison ................................................................... 57 4.4. Sea Breeze Case Study ........................................................................................................ 59 Chapter 5. Summary and Conclusions .............................................................................. 63 References ......................................................................................................................... 68 Tables ................................................................................................................................ 73 Figures............................................................................................................................... 83 ! ! ! vi! List of Tables & Figures Tables Table 1. Networks available in primary study area, observational frequency, meteorological variables, and anemometer heights. ......................................................... 73 Table 2. List of upper air observing sites in the primary study area ................................