Data · dataset · 2026
Wave-induced boundary layer separation in the lee of the Medicine Bow Mountains. Part I: Observations
Listed in National Center for Atmospheric Research
Two cases of mountain waves, rotors, and the associated turbulence in the lee of the Medicine Bow Mountains in southeastern Wyoming are investigated in a two-part study using aircraft observations and numerical simulations.
Description
In Part I, observations from in situ instruments and high-resolution cloud radar on board the University of Wyoming King Air aircraft are presented and analyzed. Measurements from the radar compose the first direct observations of wave-induced boundary layer separation.
The data from these two events show some striking similarities but also significant differences. In both cases, rotors were observed; yet one looks like a classical lee-wave rotor, while the other resembles an atmospheric hydraulic jump with midtropospheric gravity wave breaking aloft. High-resolution (30 x 30 m2) dual-Doppler syntheses of the two-dimensional velocity fields in the vertical plane beneath the aircraft reveal the boundary layer separation, the scale and structure of the attendant rotors, and downslope windstorms.
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In the stronger of the two events, near-surface winds upwind of the boundary layer separation reached 35 m s-1, and vertical winds were in excess of 10 m sâ1. Moderate to strong turbulence was observed within and downstream of these regions. In both cases, the rotor extended horizontally 5-10 km and vertically 2-2.5 km.
Horizontal vorticity within the rotor zone reached 0.2 s-1. Several subrotors from 500 to 1000 m in diameter were identified inside the main rotor in one of the cases.
Links
Get the data
- Publisher page n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7p84dfd ↗
documentation · download · from data ucar edu
Where it is published
- data.ucar.edu /dataset/wave-induced-boundary-layer-separation-in-the-lee-of-t… ↗
National Center for Atmospheric Research dataset page
landing page · from data ucar edu
Catalogue records · 1
- CKAN API data.ucar.edu/api/3/action/package_show?id=16723051-a609-425e-970b-a90cfe24c… ↗
metadata API · from data ucar edu
Topics
- From keywords
- Earth & Environmental Science · Ocean & Atmospheric Science
- Inferred from text
- Physical geography and environmental geoscience 74%
Provenance · 1 source records, 8 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Center for Atmospheric Research | 16723051-a609-425e-970b-a90cfe24c49e | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| concepts[field].anzsrc:group:3709 | enrichment · data ucar edu | taxonomy-embedding@1.1.0 | title+keywords+description (74%) |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:ocean-atmospheric | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| created_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /notes |
| publication_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /title |
| updated_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 |