Mountain Meteorology Fundamentals and Applications [1st ed.] 0195132718, 9780195132717, 9780198030447

Table of contents :
Contents......Page 12
Part I: Mountain Climates......Page 18
1.1. Latitude......Page 20
1.2. Altitude......Page 21
1.4. Regional Circulations......Page 24
2. Mountain Climates of North America......Page 28
2.1. The Appalachians......Page 30
2.2. The Coast Range, the Alaska Range, the Cascade Range, and the Sierra Nevada......Page 32
2.3. The Rocky Mountains......Page 35
2.4. Between the Mountains......Page 36
Part II: An Introduction to the Atmosphere......Page 40
3.1. Atmospheric Scales of Motion......Page 42
3.2. Atmospheric Composition......Page 43
4.1. Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere......Page 48
4.2. Temperature......Page 50
4.3. Atmospheric Stability......Page 55
4.4. The Atmospheric Boundary Layer and the Surface Energy Budget......Page 59
5.1. Atmospheric Pressure......Page 66
5.2. Winds......Page 77
6.1. Air Mass Source Regions and Trajectories......Page 90
6.2. Fronts......Page 91
7.1. Clouds......Page 98
7.2. Fogs......Page 111
8.1. Types of Precipitation......Page 116
8.3. Measuring Precipitation......Page 118
8.4. Formation of Precipitation......Page 119
8.5. Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Precipitation......Page 122
8.6. Icing......Page 128
8.7. Mountain Thunderstorms......Page 129
9.1. Weather Maps......Page 144
9.2. Forecasting Guidelines......Page 145
9.3. Weather Information: Data Collection and Dissemination......Page 146
9.4. Obtaining Professional Forecasts for Major Federal Projects......Page 155
Part III: Mountain Winds......Page 156
10.1. Three Factors that Affect Terrain-Forced Flows......Page 158
10.2. Flow over Mountains......Page 163
10.3. Flow around Mountains......Page 175
10.4. Flows through Gaps, Channels, and Passes......Page 178
10.5. Blocking, Cold Air Damming, and Obstruction of Air Masses......Page 182
10.6. On the High Plains: The Low-Level Jet......Page 185
11. Diurnal Mountain Winds......Page 188
11.1. The Daily Cycle of Slope and Along-Valley Winds and Temperature Structure......Page 189
11.2. Modification of Diurnal Mountain Winds by Variations in the Surface Energy Budget......Page 196
11.3. Disturbances of the Daily Cycle by Larger Scale Flows......Page 199
11.4. The Four Components of the Mountain Wind System......Page 203
11.5. Diurnal Mountain Winds in Basins......Page 214
11.6. Diurnal Mountain Winds over Plateaus......Page 215
11.7. Other Local Thermally Driven Wind Systems......Page 216
Part IV: Selected Applications of Mountain Meteorology......Page 220
12.1. Classification and Regulation of Air Pollutants......Page 222
12.2. Air Quality Studies and Air Pollution Models......Page 226
12.3. Wind Speed and Air Pollution Concentrations......Page 229
12.4. Stability, Inversions, and Mixing Depth......Page 230
12.5. Synoptic Weather Categories and Air Pollution Dispersion......Page 235
12.6. Mountainous Terrain and Atmospheric Dispersion......Page 238
12.7. Assessing Air Pollution Potential in Mountain Terrain......Page 252
13. Fire Weather and Smoke Management......Page 254
13.1. The Fire Environment......Page 256
13.2. Fuel Moisture Content......Page 258
13.3. Fire Weather in Complex Terrain......Page 259
13.4. Critical Fire Weather......Page 271
13.5. Prescribed Fire and Smoke Management......Page 276
13.6. Monitoring Fire Weather and Smoke Dispersion Parameters......Page 283
14. Aerial Spraying......Page 290
14.1. Overview of Aerial Spraying......Page 292
14.2. Meteorological Factors that Affect Aerial Spraying Operations......Page 296
14.3. Spray Deposition......Page 302
14.4. Additional Considerations in Complex Terrain......Page 303
14.5. Collection of Meteorological Data......Page 305
14.6. Computer Modeling......Page 310
14.7. Integration of Meteorological Information into Operations......Page 312
References......Page 316
A. Formulas......Page 320
B. Psychrometric Tables......Page 324
C. Sources of Information on Weather Monitoring and Instrumentation......Page 325
D. Units, Unit Conversion Factors, and Time Conversions......Page 326
E. Solar Radiation on Slopes......Page 329
F. Additional Reading......Page 336
G. METAR and TAF Code Abbreviations......Page 338
A......Page 342
C......Page 343
D......Page 345
F......Page 346
G......Page 347
I......Page 348
L......Page 349
M......Page 350
P......Page 351
S......Page 352
T......Page 354
W......Page 355
Abbreviations and Acronyms......Page 358
A......Page 360
B......Page 361
C......Page 362
D......Page 363
F......Page 364
H......Page 365
L......Page 366
O......Page 367
R......Page 368
S......Page 369
T......Page 370
W......Page 371
Z......Page 372