Yale group to study atmospheric 'tsunamis'

Yale researchers have recently received funding from the National Science Foundation to observe, describe and explain severe atmospheric turbulence over mountains, and the effect of "gravity waves" on the stratosphere.

The project, "Terrain-induced Rotors Experiment" (T-Rex), will launch this March and April in the vicinity of the Sierra Nevada Range in California. Professor Ronald B. Smith in the Geology and Geophysics Department at Yale will accompany a team to the project led by Vanda Grubisic of the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada. Grubisic previously received her PhD from Yale in 1995.

The first goal of the project is to measure properties of these whirlwinds, or rotors, that form in the lee of major mountain ranges. The Owens Valley, just east of the Sierras, is one of the most common places on earth for such phenomena. These rotors have been responsible for many aircraft accidents over the years.

The second goal of T-Rex is to monitor the "gravity waves" generated by the mountains and the rotors as they spread upwards into the stratosphere. An atmospheric "gravity wave" bears some resemblance to an ocean wave or tsunami, except that it moves vertically away from its generating source.

The T-Rex project installed a dense array of weather stations, balloon launching sites and laser Doppler sensors to map the three-dimensional structure of the rotors. In addition, two instrumented research aircraft -- from the University of Wyoming and the Meteorological Office in the UK -- will be surveying the skies, hoping to get close, but not too close, to the rotors.

As a gravity wave enters the stratosphere five to 30 miles above the Earth it amplifies, steepens and then breaks down into turbulence -- like an ocean wave crashing on a beach. According to current theory, this wave breakdown can transport pollutants into the upper air and add momentum that promotes the slow north-to-south overturning of the stratosphere. Study of this process requires a research aircraft with unusual range and altitude capability.

"Commercial jets flying at 35,000 feet are generally below the level of major turbulence -- like riding the crest of a wave," said Smith. "At higher altitudes, where gravity waves break up, the air turbulence is like a wave crashing on the beach."

T-Rex will be the first atmospheric science project to utilize a remarkable addition to the nation's fleet of research aircraft -- a Gulfstream V. Recently purchased by the National Science Foundation for $80 million and managed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, it is well suited to the T-Rex objectives. It can reach altitudes of 50,000 feet and stay aloft for more than 12 hours. Equipped with state-of the-art instruments measuring winds, turbulence, temperature, humidity, pressure, ozone, aerosol and carbon monoxide, it will carry out 12 stratosphere-probing flights during T-Rex.

Source: Yale University

Related stories:

MIT designs 'invisible,' floating wind turbines
An MIT researcher has a vision: Four hundred huge offshore wind turbines are providing onshore customers with enough electricity to power several hundred thousand homes, and nobody standing onshore can see them. The trick? The wind turbines are floating on platforms a hundred miles out to sea, where the winds are strong and steady.
Deep-sea oil rigs inspire MIT designs for giant wind turbines
An MIT researcher has a vision: Four hundred huge offshore wind turbines are providing onshore customers with enough electricity to power several hundred thousand homes, and nobody standing onshore can see them. The trick? The wind turbines are floating on platforms a hundred miles out to sea, where the winds are strong and steady.
Fujitsu Develops World's First GaN HEMT Able to Cut Power in Standby Mode and Achieve High Output
Fujitsu today announced the development of a new type of gallium nitride (GaN)-based high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) that features a new structure ideal for use in amplifiers for microwave and millimeter-wave transmissions, frequency ranges for which usage is expected to grow.
Researchers Study Coastal Hazards of Increasing Wave Heights, Rising Sea Levels
(PhysOrg.com) -- While hurricanes Gustav and Ike were pummeling the Gulf Coast with rains and record flooding, researchers at Oregon State University were studying why wave heights in the Pacific Ocean have been increasing in recent years and how this phenomenon –coupled with global warming – might affect coastal erosion, flooding and development along the Pacific Northwest coast.
'60s generation is heading for conventional old age
Britain's post-war baby boomers, associated throughout their lives with social change, are failing to break new ground in their approach to growing old.
Turf wars: Sand and corals don't mix
When reef fish get a mouthful of sand, coral reefs can drown. That's the latest startling evidence to emerge from research into the likely fate of reefs under climate change and rising sea levels, at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS).
Future of flagship Mars mission up in the air
(AP) -- Will NASA's flagship mission to Mars fly next year? The space agency could decide as early as Friday whether to cancel, delay or proceed with plans to launch a nuclear-powered, SUV-size rover to the red planet.
Brilliantly bright light source is one step closer to reality, says scientist
(PhysOrg.com) -- A brilliantly bright light source that can examine the detail of atoms at a microscopic level is one step closer, thanks to the adoption of a Europe-wide convention, says a leading scientist from Imperial College London.

News discussion:

Space & Earth science news