28 DPR are THE ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE OVER THE PERUVIAN UPWELLING REGION By W. PETER WIRFEL FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32306 Reference FSU-MET-STU 80-1 also CUEA Technical Report No. 63 Prepared Under NSF Grants ATM77-02520 and OCE77~-27735 July 1980PREFACE During the last seven years, our group at Florida State University has been involved in documenting and interpret- ing the meteorological conditions over coastal upwelling regions, especially during the coastal upwelling experiments conducted by the Coastal Upwelling Ecosystems Analysis (CUEA) Program of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The field work and basic data reduction have been supported under the CUEA Program, while the more neteorological aspects, especially involving the marine inversions, have been supported by the Division of Atmospheric Sciences of the NSF. This report deals with the structural changes in the atmosphere during the CUEA field study off Peru during 1977. This report by W. Peter Wirfel represents his thesis sub- mitted for his M.S. degree in Meteorology at the Florida State University. As part of our continuing analysis of marine inversions over upwelling regions, future technical reports will deal with other aspects of the meteorological conditions off Peru, David W. Stuart Principal InvestigatorABSTRACT Aircraft soundings obtained from the JOINT II experi- ment conducted off the coast of Peru near Pisco during the fall of 1977 are used to examine the nature of the cool, moist marine layer and the subsidence inversion which caps it. Rawinsonde observations from Lima, Peru are used for comparison purposes. Results indicate that seasonal variations of the inver- sion dominate the atmospheric structure of the lower tropo- sphere over the region, During the summer, the inversion is weakest with its base located near 979 mb, but rises to 924 mb and becomes much stronger during the winter in response to movement of the subtropical high. The inversion slopes upward offshore at about 0.1 mb km’ as does the axis of maxinum winds located some 60 mb below the inversion base. The lowest 15 mb of the inversion constitutes a transition zone from the cool, moist marine air to the warm, dry subsident air above it. Comparisons between the data collected at Lima and the JOINT II region indicate that the seasonal transition from fall to winter occurs one month earlier at the JOINT II site, suggesting a downward slope of the inversion to the north. Changes in the height and strength of the inversion are much smaller offshore than at the coast. diACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study has been supported by the National Science Foundation, The aircraft data were gathered during JOINT IT, which was part of the Coastal Upwelling Ecosystem Analysis (CUEA) program of the International Decade of Ocean Explora- tion (IDOE), under Grant OCE 77-27735, Much of the data analysis was performed via Grant ATM 77-02520 with the Divi- sion of Atmospheric Sciences. Sincere appreciation is given to Dr. D. W. Stuart for his advice and encouragement throughout the preparation of this thesis, Recommendations by Drs. C. L. Jordan and R. C. Staley were very valuable in preparing the final version of this study, Special thanks are extended to H. Michael Goodman, Jack Parrish and Jay Albrecht for assisting in processing and plotting many of the mean diagrams presented in this thesis. Gratitude is extended to the National Center for Atmo- spheric Research (NCAR) who provided the Beechcraft Queen Air Aircraft and the initial proces ing of the data tapes. The Florida State University Computing Center provided use of the CDC Cyber 73 and 74 computers and Versatek plotter necessary for obtaining soundings contained in this text. Thanks are extended to Dewey Rudd for his competent drafting of many of the figures used in this study. iiiFinally, special thanks go to Julie Jarvis who had to put up with typing the first few drafts, and to Mrs. Janina Richards for typing the final copy of the manuscript. Last but not least, to Ken Campbell, Jeff Hawkins, Lee Moody, Jack Goodwin and Chuck Hunter, who never thought I would finish, I guess this shows that miracles can still happen, ivABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF TABLES . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS CHAPTER I. Ir. IIt. Iv. Vv. 5.5 5.6 5.7 VI. APPENDICES . AL INTRODUCTION . METEOROLOGY OF COASTAL PERU DATA REDUCTION TECHNIQUES REVIEW OF LIMA RAWINSONDE DATA . . . THE ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE AS REVEALED BY THE JOINT II EXPERIMENT Overview of aircraft program Significance of JOINT II soundings Data collection ee ts Description of the Macro-South flight pacientes 622826 eae Overall structure over the Macro-South region se Strong inversion days Weak inversion days SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Monthly mean soundings for Lima from December 1976 to November 1977 v Page ii iii vii ix 18 26 37 37 44 4s 46 47 69 84 98 103 104Page APPENDICES B. Lima monthly sounding means and standard deviations calculated with respect to therdnver sion eee sce es, TT C. Five millibar mean wind data for Points 1, 3, and 4 of the JOINT II experiment... 122 REFERENCES NE A BART A = bias gz VITA 134 vi JLIST OF TABLES Table Page 1, Standard deviations of temperature and relative humidity using 50 mb data - Lina, August 19778 cots as een es oS a7. Seasonal summary of the thermodynamic characteristics of the inversion for Lima from December 1976 to November 1977 y - pp WBTTE snss0A ¢ ayBtTy +g oanSty (0) 3uNLvyadWaL (9) 3un.va3aN3L 202 GI 91 bi Zi Ol 9 b ZO eb 9 B-OreZI: Broa. [ae eee ee" TTT TTT] O80! 8 8 43 (GW) aunss: 8 2 BEAU 6 A ONE RARER SE SS ies ad SPE Ey Gobbi be Li togg44 the temperature increase within the inversion is greater than 3°C at all three sounding points, then it is considered a strong inversion day. If it is less than 3°C at all three points it is a week inversion day. For the 1977 Macro-South data there were five strong days and four weak days. The other two days contained some points with a strong inversion and some with a weak inversion. Therefore these two flights did not fall into either category and were left out of the stratification study. Although only mean soundings are presented here, the individual soundings are presented in a data report by Wirfel and Stuart (1980), This data report contains the individual soundings for both Macro regions. 5.2 Significance of JOINT II soundings Although the observations are being combined into mean soundings, there are many limitations to the data which must he mentioned before interpreting the results. The Macro- South flights ere flown during all parts of the daylight hours from early morning to late afternoon, Thus the mean profiles are not representative of any one time. In addition the three soundings made on any given flight are not truly synoptic. ‘The soundings are spread over a two and a half hour period, Due to the above problems it is impossible to assess the space and time variability of the atmospheric structure over the JOINT II area with the data available. So no assessment of the extent of the diurnal variation of the inversion can be made. Also the fact that the JOINT II45 experiment was conducted during the seasonal transition further complicates the interpretation of the results. The observations from the JOINT II area will be com- pared to those from Lima in an attempt to note possible systematic similaritiés and differences between the atmos- pheric structures of the two areas. Besides the distance between the two locations there are other factors which will impede the ability to compare the two areas. Lima soundings were taken over the land while the aircraft soundings from the JOINT II pri ct were obtained over water. Therefore topographic influences at Lima as a result of solar heating of the land surface, will affect the temperature and humidity distribution in the low levels. Also there is a variable time difference between the observation times at the two lo ations. While the Lima soundings are taken at 0000 GMT (1900 LST), the JOINT I] aircraft soundings may have been taken up to 12 hours earlier, The combination effects will complicate the comparison process. 5.3 Data collection Previous studies by Moody (1979), Goodwin (1979), and Watson (1978), describe the strumentation and data record- ing rates for the NCAR Beechcraft Queen Air used in the JOINT 11 experiment. For the purposes of this study, it is sufficient to say the soundings were obtained from data col- lected every one second. Each sounding was obtained over an eleven-minute period as the plane ascended (descended) at a rate of 152 m (500 ft) per minute. The aircraft ascended46 (descended) in a straight line until about one-third up (down) and then turned 120° and flew the second third up (down) leg. Finally at the end of the second leg it turned 120° again and completed the sounding. The turns were all in the same direction so the bottom and the top of the sound- ing would occur over the same point. Upon receipt of the data tapes by Florida State Univer- sity (FSU), the one-second data were processed to obtain plots containing the sounding of the lower atmosphere. Figure 8 shows an example of two soundings obtained in this fashion. 5.4 flight pattern The eleven Macro-South flights all followed the same flight pattern, Figure 7 shows the flight track that was flown. The Queen Air departed from Pisco and flew towards Lomas. By the time it arrived near Lomas and ready to start the pattern the aircraft altitude was 1500 m, The pattern commenced with a descending sounding at Point 1 as the plane descended from 1500 m to near the surface. The Queen Air then flew Leg A at 152 m with a heading of 225° (normal to the coast) for about 110 km. The plane then turned towards the northwest and ascended to approximately 1500 m as it approached Point 3. At Point 3 the second sounding was taken as the aircraft des ended to about 15 m. Returning to the 152m level, the plane followed Leg C inbounds towards the coast with a heading of 45° obtaining a sounding at Point 4. the sounding at Point 4 was an ascending sounding. AfterAT reaching 1500 m, the sounding was completed and the plane re- turned to Pisco. The total time spent over the Macro-South area was about three hours. structure over the Macro-South region As with the case of Lima, the inversion over the JOINT 5.5 Overall! Il area was very persistent. Of the 33 soundings collected from the Macro-South region, all but two had a clearly de- fined inversion. The inversion was generally weakest early in the experiment and increased in intensity as the seasonal transition toward winter progressed. In presenting the overall structure of the Macro-South region, mean soundings averaged at every 5 mb, as well as means with respect to the base and top of the inversion will be used. The merits and deficiencies of both these methods were discussed in Chapter III, ‘The solid lines in figures 9a, 9b and 9c represent the overall 5 mb mean soundings of the temperature and dew point for Points 1, 3, and 4, respec- tively. The 5 mb mean soundings reveal the gross features of the lowest 1.5 km. ‘The mean inversions at Points 1 and 4 are quite weak while the inversion at 3 woll defined, with a temperature increase in the inversion of over 2°C in the mean, Besides the mean inversion which occurs somewhere be- tween 920 and 850 mb levels, a well defined surface inversion is also observed, Its depth is on the order of 150 m from the sea surface to about 990 mb. The reason for this inver- sion is two-fold. The process of coastal upwelling producos cold water near the coast which causes the sea surface48 edt. odar- oss ous os3 cos *sayBTIZ YINog-oADeW TTe - T IUTog Loz BuTpunos uvoy ‘eG oanBTy FUN LBYSGWSL a eee era oroo lS = 8 a8 Wet ache asec a call rit (eran era RAT A ee | ‘0001 4 FOS6 7 ie 4 +008 = LE 4 E 4 ° | E Ft pepper epepe tog SuNSsadd (aH)*sqYSTTZ YInog-orseW [Te - ¢ IUIog 107 Burpunos uwox ‘gg oandtg 2 Qegewszna s+ © af 1 1 ceo! = < ° a @ 49 9 a 808 ree 2 8 1 ewenneny ot Ai \ | / / / / (8k) aunssayd (3) 3unLuysdW3L 8 an Sie 2 6 3 Feoo1 ral Shi etisalat, Ee ie r Pott) -008 J | 1 | S“S2UBTTS Wanos-o19eW TTe - ¥ IUTOg 105 BUEpunos Uva "36 oan8ty { oN + @zxuoaorx noe Caine Se S88 Ne ce oe 2 Oe epee te Ceo hoe Se eae a i ad ire EAS etereleieed ea ooo i: Eooo1 2 iE 2 ose 4 } ose 7 4 a i ie q 7 So E a 006 = Kx SS 006 tH 7 ° . g : fe m q i Ec 3 ose 4 \ Fose 4 E j E q E tana. tpg 208 rer eee ogSL temperature and a shallow atmospheric layer above it to be cooled. Figure 10 from Zuta and Urquizo (1972) contains the mean sea-surface temperatures off the coast of Peru during autumn and shows the cold surface temperatures near the coast. This causes the surface inversion seen at Points 1 and 4, the two coastal point . At Point 3, 100 km offshore, the cold surface water (19°C) is not the cause of the surface inversion seen in Figure 9b. The surface inversion at Point 3 appears to be ue to the sparsity of observations at the 1010 and 1005 levels, not the cold surface temperatures Reviewing the 11 individual soundings for Point 3, only one sounding contained an isothermal structure near the surface. ALL the others had a close to normal lapse rate, so no sur- face inversion should be seen, But only a few soundings went all the way down to 1010 mb, Therefore, the surface inversion at Point s due to few observations being allowed to re- present the mean, thus biasing the results. The surface inversion is not the nain feature of interest and it is only mentioned here for completeness. synoptic charts for the South Pacific Ocean are generally of poor quality duc to the sparsity of data, but comparison of the daily 0000 GMT surface maps with climatological means in- dicates the Fall of 1977 was quite typical. Thus, as shown for Lima in Chapter IV, as the synoptic scale regime changes from summer to winter the structures of the soundings will be quite variable, The two coastal points (Figures 9a, 9c) have52 Figure 10. Map of average sea surface temperatures (SST's) off the coast of Peru during the Autumn season for the period 1928-1969 (after Zuta and Urquizo, 1972).53 nearly an isothermal structure indicating either a consis- tent weak inversion or large variations between individual soundings. Since at least five days are known to have strong inversions at all the points it becomes quite likely that the latter situation is present at the coast. At Point 3 however, the mean 5 mb inversion is stronger, suggesting that a more consistent pattern is present. This implies either Point 3 experiences the seasonal transition earlier than the coastal stations or,more likely, during the summer the inversion does not weaken as much offshore as near the coast. Figure 11 shows the mean sounding at Lima from March 21 8, the same period as the JOINT II field progran. Fron the 5 mb data the inversion is shown to be contained in the 980 to 950 mb layer, with a temperature increase of 0.5°C. This is in disagreement with the JOIN II results which place the mean inversion some $0 mb higher. Based on the results from Chapter IV, the inversion over the JOINT II area appears to be one month ahead of Lima, particularly at Points 1 and + Point 4 shows a weak inversion from 900 to 870 mb but its overall structure is nearly isothermal up to 850 mb. This isothermal structure is similar to what is climatologically expected for Lima this time of year (Fig. 2). The tempera- ture variation in the lowest 1500 m is only about 1°C, centered on a mean of 19.5°C, nearly identical to Enfield's 20 year climatological temperature profile for Lima. Points how larger temperature variations.54 RELATIVE HUMIDITY (PERCENT) 01 20 30,40 50 €0 70 80 90 100 700 LIMA MARCH 21-MAY 8 1977 TTT 780 300 eso. PRESSURE (M8) 909 TTT tT tooo F toes Hide Pd 0 2 4 6 6 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 TEMPERATURE (C) Figure 11, Lima mean sounding from March 21 to May 8, 1977, covering the dates of the JOINT II field experiment.55 Despite the fact that Point 4 has a nearly isothermal structure, it is quite similar to the sounding at Point 1 except that above about 980 mb the temperature at Point 4 is always warmer in the mean than at Points 1 or 3. Whether this is a result of observation at Point 4 being taken con- sistently later in the day when presumably more vertical mixing is occurring or whether it is due to an 800 m high bluff located at the coast causing increased mixing is uncer- tain, But it is a consistent pattern found throughout the flights. Taking the inversion by itself and isolating it from the rest of the atmosphere yields the dashed lines in Figures 9a, 9b, 9c and Figure 11, This mean inversion is based entirely on the characteristics of the base and top of the inversion. Table 4 contains a summary of the significant thermodynamic values for each of the three points and those for Lima. The means calculated with respect to the inversion base and top reveal, as expected, similar features to the 5 mb mean. But they give a better resolution to the characteristics of the inversion, Table 4 shows the inversion base at Lima to be nearly 60 mb lower than at any of the JOINT II locations. Although the depth of the inversion at all four locations is similar, all other parameters are different. In Chapter IV it was shown the largest changes at Lima came between April and May when the mean inversion base rose from 980 to 930 mb. The 930 mb level for Lima is close to that observed at the JOINT II site. Since the JOINT IT56 Table 4 Mean inversion structures calculated with respect to the inversion for all Macro-South flights and the corresponding period at Lima. JOINT II 1977 Lima Point 1 Point 3 Point 4 45 Day Mean Py -914.7(30.0) (mb) 912.4(26.6) 915.8 (17,2) | 974.3(21.3) P, «— 886.5( 34.6) 879.2(28.0) 891.3(18.6) | 940.4(32.6) AP -28,2(18.2) -33.2(14.7) — -24,5(16.4) | -33.9(23.0) T, —-16.6(2,8) (°C) :14.7(2.8) 17.6(2.1) | 18.6(2.1) T, 19.71.39 20.2(1.6) 20.8(1.6) 20.6(1.5) AT +3.1(2.5) #52 505.2) *3.2(2.1) | +2.0(1.4) Tap 13.5(2.1)(°C) _13.4(1.8) 13.3(1.9) | 16.4(--) Ta, 446(9.8) -3.8(11.7) 7.3(7.1) | 13.4(--) aTy — -8.9(9.1) -17.2(11.0) -6.0(7.2) -3.0(--) RH, 81-9(--) (8) 91. 76.8(--) 87.6(6.9) RH, 36.1(--) 19.4(--) 40.7(--) 62.7(13.2) ARH -45,8(--) -72.5(--) -36,1(--) | -24.9(14.6) os ! @, — 297.2(3.2) (°K) 295.5 (2.3) 298.2(2.6) | 293.8(1.7) % 303.2(3.3) 304. 303.9(2.4) |298.9(2.5) 40 #6.0(3.6) +8.9(3.9) +5.7(3.2) 5 C279 Top-Base87 observations are centered around mid-April this supports the earlier-mentioned one-month lag in the seasonal shift of the inversion between the JOINT II area and Lima. The standard deviations of the pressure and temperature for the 45 days of Lima and the eleven JOINT II flights shown in Table 4, particularly at Points 1 and 3, are quite similar, Surprisingly, the standard deviations for the pres- sures at Point 4 are considerably lower than at Point 1 or 3. This occurs despite the mean inversion being very weak. is probably the result of the inversion whether weak or strong occurring at the same general height day after day, but being smoothed over the 11 flights to yield a nearly isothermal structure. Comparing the three JOINT II locations shows Point 3, the offshore point, to be distinctly different from the coastal locations. There is a weak but noticeable upward slope to the inversion as one goes offshore, This is a well docu- mented occurrence off the west coast of North America and should be expected to be present off the west coast of South America, The 5 mb mean inversion at Point 3 is much better defined in the temperature and moisture fields than it is at the coast, The warming and drying are nearly twice as large as that seen at the coast. In fact, the overall sounding at Point 3 closely resembles the winter sounding seen at Lima. Structures of the type found at Points 1 and 4 are not ob- served over Lima until a month later. But Point 3 has a58 structure not seen until two months later at Lima. So in addition to the JOINT II coastal sounding being one month ahead of Lima, the offshore soundings appear to be at least two months ahead. This strongly suggests that offshore the seasonal changes act differently than at the coast and dif- ferently from Lima, Perhaps offshore the winter regime occurs throughout the year and only due to continental ef- ects does the inversion go through such large seasonal viariations at the coast, Despite the major differences between the soundings there are many similarities indicating that the same feature is being examined in all cases, For all three points as well as at Lima the inversion is about 30 to 35 mb thick. It is deepest at Point 3 where it is best defined. The tem- peratures atthe top of the inversion for all three JOINT II locations as well as at Lima are within 1.1°C of each other. This suggests that there is a downward slope to the inver- sion as one goes north as well as the earlier-mentioned upward slope as one goes offshore. The 5 mb mean moisture fields presented in Figures 9a, 9b, and. 9c show that conditions are different at the three locations. The high dew points and relative humidities at the inversion base at Point 3 support a very moist environ- ment, even in the mean. While Point 3 dries out considerably in the inversion, Points 1 and 4 remain relatively moist up to and through the inversion. This is similar to the pattern observed at Lina during Nay, nearly one month later than the59 mid-April mean date of the JOINT II experiment. The means calculated with respect to the inversion show larger drying within the inversion at all locations. From Table 4, Point 3 is seen to be very much like the Lima winter regime presented in Chapter IV, with the relative humidity at the inversion top dropping to under 20%. Points 1 and 4 have smaller relative humidity decreases, but still they are nuch larger than at Lima, The dew point tempera- tures at the inversion base for all three points are nearly identical. When the soundings were flown over the JOINT TI area it was generally clear near the coast, but by 90 km offshore a deck of stratus clouds was frequently observed. This implies very high humidities offshore and probably rapid changes in the thermal or moisture fields above the clouds to force them to remain so shallow. The dew point temperature at the inversion top at Lima is identical with that at the inversion base over the JOINT II area. Both the moisture and thermal fields are consistent in suggesting that the inversion at Lima is at least one month behind that at the JOINT II area, Lima is in the early fall season while the JOINT [I area appears to be approaching wintertime conditions, especially at Point 3. The wind field also shows interesting features. Figures 12a, 12b, and 12c contain the 5 mb u- and v-component mean wind for all Macro-South flights. The three figures show many similar features, starting with the winds increasing from the surface to 970 mb, and then a slow decrease to near60 Figure 12a, Mean wind profiles from 5 mb data - all Macro-South flights - Point 1.PRESSURE Ire) 61 PONENT Figure 12b, Mean wind profiles from $ mb data - all Macro-South flights - Point 3.62 Figure 12c. a 8s sree ins’ Mean wind profiles from 5 mb data - all Macro-South flights - Point 4. 650 00 102063 zero by the 880 to 850 mb levels. The resultant direction is from the southeast up to the point where the speeds de- crease to about zero, and then they nearly reverse direction The tabular version of the data is in Appendix C. Examining the profiles indicates the maximum wind speeds occur at Point 1 at 970 mb, Point 3 at 955 mb, and Point 4 at 985 mb This shows the axis of maximum winds slopes upward as one goes offshore. This is consistent with the shallow sloping of the inversion seen in the temperature and pressure fields. Despite the upward slope, all three locations have nearly 1 the same value for the maximum winds of about 12 ns” A comparison of the speeds of the JOINT II area with those of Lima show much weaker values at Lima. From the mean soundings in Appendix B the wind speeds are rarely above 6 ms"), The probable reason for these speeds being so much smaller than at the JOINT II area is topography and the asso- ciated frictional decrease of the wind. In general the Lima wind data at the inversion base and top are very weak, with as Chapter IV showed, the standard devations tending to be much larger than the mean and often reversing the direction of the wind field. Therefore the Lima winds will not be studied extensively. For the JOINT II area, however, the standard deviations in the wind field are not usually over- whelming compared to the mean The orientation of the coastline changes from a southeast to northwest line over the JOINT II area to a more south- southeast to north-northwest alignment near Lima. This is64 seen in the mean wind flow at Lima being fron the south- southeast, not from the southeast typically found at the JOINT II area, Figure 12b shows the cross-over point in the wind field from southeast to some northerly component occuring at a higher level at Point 3. Points 1 and 4 have the cross-over near 880 mb, while at Point 3 it does not occur until the 850 mb level. This also shows the upward slope of a bound- ary layer as one goes offshore. Comparing the wind profiles with the inversions, it was found the winds maintained their high speeds at all three points until they encountered the inversion. Thus the wind profiles in Figures 13a, 13b and 13c were created. They contain the mean wind profiles fron 20 mb below the mean inversion base to 40 mb above it. The major feature seen in all three figures is the large drop off of the winds within the inversion. The solid lines represent the mean u-compo- nent and its standard deviations while the dashed lines re- present the mean v-component and its standard deviation. By 15 to 20 mb above the inversion base all three soundings show the winds to be less than 50% of what they were below the inversion. Above the inversion the speeds renain low. In Chapter II this inversion was defined as being a subsidence inversion caused by slowly sinking air spreading outward. This air has low momentum, From the wind data it appears that the low momentum subsident air exists down to 15 to 20 mb above the“hs w UT spaods ‘21 eaoge qu op 02 aseq aya NoTaq qu 02 woig voTsroaut dy3 02 300dsor yITM paretnoTes suvep *T aUTog = STUBETJ Yynog-oxDeW [Te Loy soTTyoid purn uveW ‘ve oandTy BN ON Oe Ci Oy Og =O Ti alee ates T T A ae \ ke —}— \ —}—_ L \ Saeeaee l \ . \ | N 1 | 1 mrt b ir 7 “dWOO-A | Do 8—10l-rel-y hile. 02 Oe- oe- Ob-66 +,-S WUT speeds “af eAoge qu OF 02 aSeq 9Y3 MoTOG qu 0Z WOrZ WOTSXOAUT dy2 02 JoedseI YITN poreTNOTeS suBay ‘g qutog - SIUBITJ YInog-oxsey TTe LoF soTTord purm uwoy “qeT oanBry Pl 210) 18. Sar wee) 2" po. 9-. B= Ole ela Tol Taco Tenn 38¥8q L oe L oe ‘dW00-A | ¢gwoo-n L —4 ov*y-S WUT spoodg +31 oAoge qu of 02 aseq oY2 moTOq qu 0Z wO1z UOTSLOAUT dy 03 yoadsez YITM paqeTNoTes suBdW “p Tod - SAYBTIZ Ynos-osseW [Te 10¥ SoTTJoad purm uve ‘o¢] canst y Yl et (Ol 86 On be 80 Se-.'>= 9>. §- Ole v2ls T Le b Tle: T T T ecole T Jo 38¥8qg 6768 inversion base. Therefore, near the inversion base there exists a boundary layer between the high momentum. moist ma- rine air and low momentum dry subsident air. Although the wind data present a consistent pattern, the standard deviations for both components are fairly large, The magnitude of the standard deviations are quite similar implying there is no one area which has very different fea- tures from another area. The magnitude of the v-component to the u-component at Point 1 shows a slightly larger u-component, at Point 3 the u-component twice as large as the v-component, and at Point 4 the u-component is about the same as the v-component. Based on this it appears that Point 3 does not feel the effect of the orientation of the coastline as do the coastal soundings. Although all points show a large reduction of the wind speed within the inversion, the speeds at Point 3 do not de- crease as much as the others. This may be a result of the lack of topographic influences such as the coastal nountain ranges and the mixing of the air near the land. The winds at Lima during this 45-day period show unim- pressive results. There is very little variation of the u-component within the inversion (Appendix B), and the small decrease seen in the v-component is overwhelmed by the standard deviations. The mean wind appears to be from the southeast at both the base and top of the inversion, but the speeds are so small and the uncertainties so large that the results are highly questionable.69 The study of the overall structure has revealed many interesting relationships between the coastal and offshore soundings and between the JOINT II and Lima soundings. The next two sections will examine cases of strong inversion days and weak inversion days to see if by stratifying the data the same or different relationships occur. 5.6 Strong inversion days In order to qualify as a strong inversion day the tem- perature increase within the inversion at all three loca- tions must have been greater than 3°C. In JOINT II 1977, five flights were selected on this basis. They were Flights 8, 9, 29, 42 and 44 (Table 3). Although the inversion tend- ed to become stronger and better defined later in the period, Flights 8 and 9 had very strong inversions even though they occurred early in the program. Flights before and after these two showed much weaker inversions. An attempt was made to see if the synoptic patterns looked different on the days with strong inversions. From examination of the crude 0000 GMT surface and upper air maps it is difficult to note any systematic difference in the synoptic conditions between those found on the strong days and the overall synoptic conditions for the flight period. To observe such strong inversions one would expect to see the High closer to the JOINT II area thereby increasing the subsidence. No firm evidence of this was found. The only difference observed between the strong inversion days and the overall pattern was apparently less troughiness along70 the coast. The aircraft encountered similar weather as on the overall cases, with clouds about 90 kn offshore. An attempt was also made to compare the strong inversion days to different sea surface temperature regimes, but no clear pattern was obtained. Figures 14a, 14b and 14c contain the profiles of temper- ature and dew point temperature for the strong inversion days. The solid lines are for the 5 mb mean sounding, and the dashed lines represent the mean with respect to the inver- sion base and top. The tabular version of the mean with respect to the inversion is presented in Table 5. Looking at the 5 mb mean, all three locations show a well-defined inversion. Once again Point 3 has the sharpest inversion. Point 3 cools off most rapidly below the inversion, result- ing in the coldest temperatures at the inversion base. Once again Point 4 has warmer temperatures throughout the sounding than Points 1 or 3. As was the case for the overall soundings presented earlier, there is an upward slope to the inversion as one goes offshore. Table S shows the inversion rises by 10 to 15 mb, in the 110 km offshore leg. This slope is larger than observed in the overall structure. The inversion base on strong inversion days is slightly higher than for Lima even in the middle of winter. This suggests that the height of the inversion base decreases as one goes further north even during the winter since the strong inversion days are only occurring in late fall and the mean inversion probablyrey 3 a 3 a o 3 a 3 B a a B a a a a a OTE 2g 4 24 4 22 4 20 | 18 i | Fie 4 14 4 12 4 10 ~ 1 re | f row i. & ree } PP eg = be i, = 4 +2 4 pee 4 -0 4 “2 roo -6 4 -8 | 4 ~10 | “12 4 SET a 4 2 3 2 2 S B 6 a 8 8 a a & a 8 3 (au) aunsssud Mean sounding for Point 1 - Strong fnversion days. Figure lda,+sdep WoTstoauy Buo13g - ¢ IUTOd 10J BuTpunos weoy “qpT oanBTY (2) 3aNWyadW3aL 2 eo + © a Tee Ot et at oo x bata fee a Dy 12 on ree Le trl 3 a 3 ‘OO0T b a 3 a TOTTI tT (8M) 4unssaud osB | grrr a @ a a ee TT ot “dk3L "18da & w Srwowvuniuigu + oc s a 2 2 2 2 2 2 8 B 8 8 8 8 S a & a a 3 Os Tits 4 ret 4 22 4 \. -20 N a 4 Fi8 4 F168 14 biz 4 A -10 ~ 1 G 4 re iw 2 4 ts $ 1 & 1 re ] = { r2 qi | e | -o 1 - H-2 4 Ly J --8 | F-10 4 F-12 ETL TET ht & a o 3 2 8 8 a 8 8 8 3 8 8 8 (aw) aunssaud Mean sounding for Point 4 - Strong inversion days Figure 14c.74 Table 5 Mean strong inversion day structures calculated with respect to the inversion. JOINT II 1977 Point 1 Point 3 Point 4 PY 908.7 (10.0) (mb) 899.7(9.9) 917.0(12.8) P. 867.0(19.6) 867.8(15.9) 880.0(6.7) OP -41.7 (15.2) -31,9(11.4) -37.0(10.3) Ty 15.0(3.1)(°C) 1352.5) 16.5(2.2) Ty 20.1(1.4) 20.8(1.4) 21.1(2.2) aT +5,1(2.2) +7,.3(2.2) +4.8 (1.0) Tap 13.1(2.6)(°C) 13.0(2.5) 13.5(2.4) Tat -3,1(8.1) -8.5(10.6) 2.9(7.6) ATy -16,2(7.3) -21.5(10.0) -10.6(7.9) RH, 88.4(--) (b) 95.3(--) 83.7(--) RH, 20.2(--) 13.1(--) 30.4(--) ARH 68,2 (--) -82.2(--) 53,3 (--) % 296.1(3.2)(°K) 295.5(2.5) 296.8(2.4) o, 305.5(2.7) 306.1(2.6) 305.3(2.4) a0 +9.4(1.1) +10.6(2.1) +8.5(0.3) A = Top-Baserises more by mid-winter. The warming within the inversion ranges from 4.8°C at Point 4 to 7,3°C at Point 3, These values are similar to what is observed at Lima by mid-winter. Another interesting feature is the thickness of the inversion appears to de- crease offshore. At the coastal stations the mean depth is 39 mb, but offshore it is only 32 mb, The larger depth at the coast may be the result of interaction (mixing) with the land, But the standard deviations are large enough that this conclusion may not be valid. An attempt was made to examine the Lima rawinsonde data for the days of the strong inversions. It was found that on some days the inversion was strong and on others it was weak. No relationship was found between the JOINT II strong inver- sion days and the soundings from Lima. The moisture distribution, based on the 5 mb data, shows similar patterns at all three points. All the soundings are noist up to the inversion base and then they dry out within the inversion. Point 3 is very nearly saturated at the in- version base, similar to what is found at Lima during the winter. Within the inversion, Point 3 dries more quickly than Points 1 or 4, Once again the moisture and temperature fields at the offshore sounding resemble Lima during the winter months. Point 4 continues to show unusual behavior in that it consistently has the closest to isothermal structure below the inversion and dries out least within the inversion. Points 1 and 4, despite both being coastal locations, do not76 share the same atmospheric structure. This is probably due to the increased mixing at Point 4 due to topography and the later observation times. Above the inversion, Points 1 and 4 show an apparent increase in the moisture. This is prob- ably a result of only two of the five soundings reaching these levels. Table 5 contains data with respect to the inversion end shows features similar to the 5 mb means. Very moist condi tions exist at the inversion base and large drying takes place within the inversion. Point 3 has the wettest base and driest top with the relative humidities decreasing from 9 to 138 within the inversion, The dew point temperature at the inversion base at all three points is about 13,2°c, indicating the similarity of the moisture field at the three locations. This value is seen at the inversion base at Lima about mid-May. These values at the base are close to the dew points for all flights described earlier. The standard deviation for most temperature, pressure and humidity data are much less than for the overall struc- ture. This implies most of these observations are represen- tative of a similar phenomena. The temperature and moisture pattern seen during the strong inversion days is very simi- lar to that observed at Lima during the winter months. The S mb nean wind in Figures 15a, 1Sb and 15c shows speeds to be slightly stronger than for the overall struc- ture. Once again the axis of maximum winds tilts upward ranging from about 975 mb at the coast to 960 mb at Point 3,25 ota 7 Strong inversion days - Point 1. Mean wind profiles from 5 mb data - 15a. Figure 1SSPidFigure 15b. Mean wind profiles fron 5 mb data - Strong inversion days - Point 3,TeV CaRPaNEN! Figure 15. 79 Mean wind profiles from § mb data - Strong inversion days - Point 4.80 110 km offshore, The winds are basically from the southeast and maintain their large speed until encountering the inver- sion just as in the overall structure. There is no evidence that the winds at Lima behave any differently on the strong inversion days than on any other days. Figures 16a, 16b, and l6c show the mean winds with re- spect to the inversion base for the strong inversion days. For all three figures the.winds remain strong until they en- counter the inversion and then they drop rapidly. By 15 mb above the inversion base the speeds are near their smallest values. This is in complete agreement with the overall in- version case and further supports the idea that the lowest 15 mb within the inversion represents the boundary zone. At Point 3 the speeds do not drop off as much as at the coast, nor is there any indication that the flow is from any direction other than southeast. Returning to the $ mb mean of Figures 1$a, 15b, and 1Sc, all three locations do not have the winds reversing direction as was observed in the overall structure, The standard deviations for the strong days are quite small, especially at Point 3. This implies that when the inversion is strong, a persistent southeasterly flow can be expected, and at least for March, April and May of 1977, extends to a higher altitude than normal. As in the overall case, the drop in the wind speeds correlates well with the largest drying within the inversion. Once again by 15 mb above the inversion base the subsident air is found.aya MoTq qu oz Loy ud{sxoaut oy2 02 yD9dS0x YATM porepnoqe> sueey "T qUTog = Skep uotszoaut Buoaas 405 sattyord purm uvoy ‘egy oan3tg 21.01 8 9 b 2 O 2@- b- 9 B- OF 2I- bI- T1711 1-7 TT att 02 o 3svag 81 Ol- O@-82 “g78,¥ UF pecds ‘ar oxoqe qu gp 02 aseq Gud MOTO ait OZ wory uStSxoauT oys 03 yoodsox YITM poqwrnores SWPON “€ AUTOE - SAep uotsxoAUE Buoras 103 soqryoxd purm weoW *qoT oan8tg blo zi Ol 8 9 b 2 0 @ To 91 7 1 ae r a a ' ‘dWoo-A | 4+o 38v8q‘2r oAoge wy Op 02 9SKq oud MOTEq qu Z wory Worsxaauy oy2 01 aD0dSea YATM poqeTNoTe> sueon ‘> tod - Skep uoTssoaut Buoris 103 sottyord purm uvoy bl 21 Ol 8 9 b 2 O 2@- b g- B- Ol- ZI- soot santa os Tem Too84 5.7 Weak inversion days Four flights fell into the weak inversion category dur- ing JOINT If 1977, These were Flights 3, 5, 13 and 15. The weak inversions were observed only during the early part of the program. There was no noticeable change in either the synoptic patterns or the weather at the JOINT II site during the weak days, Figures 17a, 17>, end 17c contain the mean soundings for the three JOINT II locations. From the 5 mb data none of the locations show an inversion, Point 3 has the largest rate of cooling and has temperatures lower than the coastal stations. Points 1 and 4 have very similar soundings for both temperature and dew point. In contrast with the overall and strong inversion cases, the temperatures at Point 4 dur- ing the weak days are not consistently warmer than Point 1. Although four flights qualified as weak inversion days, not all individual soundings contained an inversion. There- fore the means calculated with respect to the inversion will lose some of their representativeness. Of the four flights only three of them had inversions at Points 3 and 4, Table 6 contains the mean calculated with respect to the inversion. Unlike the other cases, the inversion appears to slope down- ward as one goes offshore. But this is most likely a result of not picking the seme inversion on each day. In general, there is very little consistency between the offshore and coastal stations. Both coastal stations show a mean inver- sion nearly 15 mb deep, with evidence of a downward slope as‘skep UOTSTOAuT Yeo - T IUFOd LOF Burpunos uway eet ounB1y 2) FaMLeeadWSL See ete te eorana ? FT reese) It o T it 2 0 8 6 4 2 o- 2 i Roe: en eer ese TT 3 a 3 a a a TIT IT TT an B a 8 a (8H) 3unssaud TOTTI oT ait a a eels “dWaL *1@d86 “dWBL ‘sdop UOTSLOAUT YLON - ¢ ZUTOg TOF Sutpunos uwsw “qer oanBry 13) 3aNLee3sdWaL es as eagauzaa aye a gh Ne @e8 § fo = Ao Bluey SMO Borer es oer PoP Tet Te Tet TT te ieiele ete Sel eo, q E J c ooo eee EB ose e me EE e ee es a 3 = ose 4 E . T oo. mt TT TT Ec ee ee87 eWaL “10d ‘skvp UOTSIOAUT Yeoy - p UFO Loz BuTpunos ueoW ‘OL T ont Y 2) FUN LUNaaWSL oor no ina h ci a@+rna eerie Ee ni zag Aa a opt pis en a? Sear pee ate role bia a a a coor ogg ase cos LLL LP i tite tity titi iii ii iyi yt 3g a * % a STOTT TET TET TTT TTT LIT TTT IT TT TTT 4 8 a B a ose 9 a a TTT TTT a8 (aw) aunssadd88 Table 6 Mean weak inversion day structures calculated with respect to the inversion. JOINT II 1977 "Point 1 Point 3 Point 4 P, 914.0(51.1)(mb) 935.2(56.8) 904.1(23.8) Pe 898.9(45.0) 915,2(43.2) 896.7(24.3) ap -15.1(9.8) -20.0(13.6) — -7..4(3.1) Ty 18.5(1.5) (°C) Aa {2535 19.3(1.1) Ty, 19.5(1.5) 18.9(2.9) 20.4(0.8) sT +1.0(0.3) +0.8(0.5) +1.1(0.8) Tap 14279 C120) CG)ealaeeatL 9) 13.8(0.6) Tae 13.8(1.0) 11.6 (2.6) 13.3(0.7) {TG -0,9(1.5) -2,8(0.8) -0.5(0.8) Ry 78.8(--)(@) 7 Ba t-—) 70.4(--) RH. 69.6(--) 61.2(--) 62.7(--) RH -8.9(--) -17.7(--) -7.7(--) % 299.4 (3.4) (°K) 297.0(2.8) 301.0(1.1) &, 301.8(2.9) 299.6(1.1) 302. 8(1.8) 40 2.4(1.0) +2.6(1.7) +1.8(1.2) 4 = Top-Base89 one goes north, But the standard deviations for all three locations are so large, it is possible that the same fea- ture is not being examined on each of the days. There is also a problem that on any given day of being sure the same inversion is chosen at each location, The main inversion seems to have broken into several smaller and weaker inver- sions and it is very difficult to locate them. The warming within the inversion, when it is present, is only about 1°C. Although the inversion is very weak the mean base is about as high as during the other times. So apparently this weak inversion is still a winter-type inversion. Since JOINT II is 3° further south than Lima, it is nearer the High. Perhaps the JOINT II area always feels the influence of the High, and the inversion occurring at very low levels is an uncommon occurrence this far south. The 5 mb mean moisture pattern shows all three sound- ings to be quite moist. Only at Point 3 is there evidence of a drying pattern near 965 mb. If this is representative of where an inversion should be, why is none observed? It is unknown how representative these data are for studying the weak inversion case, As is expected the largest relative humidities are found at the inversion base. Table 6 shows the relative humidity at the base to range between 70 and 80% and only dries to 60 to 70% within the inversion. Point 3 has the highest relative humidity at the base and largest drying within the inversion. These values of relative humidity are more typical of Lima during the summer months.90 The 5 mb wind profiles in Figures 18a, 18b, and 18c show some unusual patterns. Points 1 and 4 show the expected southeasterly flow, but Point 3 has a nearly easterly flow. The vertical extent of the strong southeasterly flow is much less than for the strong inversion case. Also the speeds are slightly smaller. At all three points after the cross-over point the wind speeds pick up considerably. There is no re- cognizable pattern to the axis of maximum winds. The means with respect to the inversion are presented in Figures 19a, 19b, and 19c, If under three observations were available, no standard deviations are given, The winds through the inversion are quite different from the strong in- version case. At Point 1 the decrease is not as dramatic as seen earlier although there is a suggestion that 15 mb above the inversion base there is a speed minimun, At Point 3 there is no indication that the winds are encountering an inversion since neither the speeds or directions change much through the inversion, Point 4, however, shows the winds decreasing before encountering the inversion base. The switch over point occurs only about §$ mb above the inversion base. In general, a confused and inconsistent pattern emerges from an analysis of the wind field calculated with respect to the inversion on the weak inversion days. In addition to the mean winds, the standard deviations for the wind field are also quite different from those encoun- tered on the strong inversion days. At Point 1, very large standard deviations are observed throughout the region aroundFigure 18a. Mean wind profiles from 5 mb data - inversion days - Point 1. weakFigure 18b. 92 Mean wind profiles from 5 mb data - weak inversion days - Point 3.Figure 18c. 93 Mean wind profiles from 5 mb data - weak inversion days - Point 4.+y-S wut spaadg ‘a7 DAOGE qU OF 02 Seq aY2 MoTOq qu OZ WOry UOTSLOAUT 9Y2 03 yDEdseq YITA parernores suzaW “T aUtod - Skep woTsxauT YeoM Loy soTTFod pUTM uvoW ‘RET oAndTs zool 8 9 6 20 2 rr T \ 94“7.8 WUT sp anode AM OF 03 osvq ous NoLoq qu gz wory uotszoaut sya 01 395 PoaeTno [eo suvow *¢ 3UTog - SdUp UoTssoAUT Yeon 103 SoqTzord ol 2 Ol 8 9 6 2:0 2- b 9--g- ads dsor PUTA ol- sar yt ueayy “Q6T oxn8ty ™—1—T UE | a 4 TT 02 40 47 0e- doe- Ob-ty-8 wour spsodg tat SAOGE QU OP 02 eS¥q OY2 NOTE qu OZ WOLF UOTSIOAUT 942 03 ZD0dSoq YITH pegernopes suvoy “p aTog - Skep UOTSIOAUT Yom XOJ SaTtTyord PUTA WAN ‘96T eInBts zoo! 8 9.6 2 0 11 b- 9- B- Ol Zi- ble yfelentgies tT oe 4 96 Oe- of- Ov-97 the inversion but Points 3 and 4 only have large standard deviations above the base. Below the base the standard de- viations are quite small. The overall effect of this limited data suggests that on the weak inversion days, no consistent pattern emerges. This chapter has attempted to describe the character- istics of the atmospheric structure, particularly the struc- ture of the subs ence inversion, found over the JOINT II region from mid-March to early May of 1977. The data were used to investigate the offshore and alongshore variability of the inversion, In addition to defining the mean conditions observed, the data were grouped into two categories to inves- tigate the similarities and differences between two inversion regimes. In an attempt to relate the meso-scale JOINT II observa- tions to the larger synoptic scale, the JOINT II data were compared to soundings taken at Lima. Comparisons between these two areas yielded information on the seasonal variation of the inversion.CHAPTER VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS There were many limitations to this study. First, there were not enough reliable synoptic data available to correlate changes in the pressure field or the position of the subtropical High to structural changes over the JOINT II study area. Second, the JOINT II period of study covered only a 45 day period and the aircraft flights were flown only during the daylight hours. In addition the flights occurred during a seasonal transition so the data were not representative of any one season. Even visual observations from the aircraft were not sufficient to obtain a qualita- tive estimate of the strength of the inversion. The twenty year Climatology for Lima shows the mean monthly structure. However, Lima is only one rawinsonde station, and there is no way to measure how representative it is for the rest of coastal Peru, The upper air network over western South America is so sparse that no accurate picture of the coastal climate can be obtained. Attempts to compare the Lima and the JOINT II soundings met with several problems. First, there is the several hour time gap between the observation times. Second, the JOINT II sound- ings are flown offshore while Lima is 4 km inland. Last 9899 but not least, the coastal orientation of the two areas is different and the wind speeds at Lima are about half those for the JOINT II site, But despite these limitations, an attempt was made to study the JOINT II project separately, Lima separately, and to compare the two data sets since Lima is the only reference point available. Comparison between the JOINT II flights in Chapter V revealed several interesting features. There is an upward slope to both the axis of maximum winds and the base of the inversion in going offshore. The axis of maximum winds tilts upward by 15 mb over the 110 km offshore leg from 970 to 955 mb. The inversion base slopes upward by about 10 mb in going offshore, but it is located some 60 mb higher than the axis of maximum winds. ‘The offshore point consis- tently has the best defined and strongest inversion As expected there is drying within the subsidence inversion. For both the overall and strong inversion cases the offshore point, Point 3, has the lowest dew point tem- peratures within the inversion. ‘he coastal points (Points 1 and 4) rarely have similar structures. Point 4 consistent- ly has a more isothermal structure and is generally warmer than any other location. This is probably due to the com nation of the topography of the area and the later observa- tion time, The wind flow is generally from the southeast near the coast and more east-southeast further offshore. The strong southeasterly flow persists up to the base of the inversion100 with the offshore location experiencing slightly higher wind speeds. On the strong inversion days, the wind speeds are slightly larger and extend to a greater depth since the in- version is a little higher. Within the inversion the wind speeds weaken considerably. The lowest 15 mb of the inver- sion mark the boundary layer between the moist marine air below the inversion and the dry subsident air above it. The inversion is generally deeper at the coast, presumably a reflection of the greater mixing of the air due to surface heating. While the JOINT 11 experiment only extended over a 45 day period, a one year detailed study of the atmospheric structure over Lima provided insight about very strong sea- sonal changes to the inversion. The inversion is weak, shallow, and near the ground during the summer. During the fall the inversion quickly rises and increases in strength Winter, the longest season, reveals a very strong, deep and well-defined inversion, By spring, the inversion had weak- ened to half the strength found during winter, but was still nearly as deep, Due to the weak winds at Lina, the impres- sive decrease of winds within the lowest part of the inversion seen at the JOINT II site is absent at Lima. Despite the incomparability of the Lima and JOINT IT observations, comparing then provides interesting insights into possible relationships between the two locations. The JOINT II overall structure indicates a probable one month lag between the winter profiles seen at JOINT II and when101 they would be seen at Lima, Comparing the mean soundings between the two locations shows Lima to be experiencing fall conditions, while JOINT II is in early winter-type condi- tions. The overall and strong inversion periods also suggest a possible downward slope to the inversion as one goes north. The offshore sounding for JOINT II reflects a winter-type inversion most of the time. It is possible that due to a lack of continental influences offshore, the winter-type in- version is in place at least two months before it is consis- tently observed at Lima, The summary and conclusions offered here are subject to reinterpretation as new date become available. Up to this time, the JOINT II data set is the only extensive data set available other than what can be obtained from the existing rawinsonde network. Future field experiments are planned to examine more de- tailed aspects about the time and spatial variation of the inversion. Soundings will be taken at different locations along the coast to measure the alongshore variability. Of particular interest would be to see if the summer inversion is at the northern tip of the subsidence inversion and there is a slope northward to the inversion from when it leaves the High to when it reaches the ground. Soundings should be taken further offshore than those of the JOINT II experiment to examine the offshore variability. With the increased knowledge of the offshore and alongshore variability of the inversion, comparisons can be made with other upwelling102 regions, particularly the inversion structure in the Eastern North Pacific described by Neiburger (1961, 1960). Data collected from the "MET" flights are being analyzed in an attempt to describe the role of the land and sea breeze cir- culation on the atmospheric structure at the JOINT II site. Experiments should also be designed to examine the diurnal variations, with observations taken at the same location every three hours over a few day period to observe the con- tinuity of the inversion, These data would also provide more information on the role of the land and sea breeze circula- tion. In addition, some flights should be flown from Lima at the time rawinsondes are released to see how well the air- craft soundings agree with them, This study will undoubtedly be viewed in a different light as more observations are taken. During the next few years, soundings obtained from Project VACOM can be expected to address some of the problems mentioned above and will undoubtedly reveal new and previously unobserved structural features of the subsidence inversion along the Peruvian coast.APPENDICES104 APPENDIX A Monthly mean soundings for Lima from Decenber November 1977, 1976 to105 RELATIVE HUMIOITY (PERCENT) 700% PRESSURE (M8) 8 TTT 000 1025 Figure A-1, 010 20 30.40 50 60 70 80 90 100 MONTHLY MEAN DEC. 1976 J pies aoe 1 pduttititititi 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 TEMPERATURE (C) Lima monthly sounding - December 1976.106 RELATIVE HUMIDITY (PERCENT) PRESSURE (MB) 1028 Figure A-2. 010 20 30 40150 60 70 80 90 190 MONTHLY JAN. 1977 MEAN TTT TTT] J 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 TEMPERATURE (C) Lima monthly sounding - January 1977.PRESSURE (MB) 107 RELATIVE HUMIDITY (PERCENT) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90,100 700 a 00 850 900 950 1000 1026 CA 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 TEMPERATURE (C) Figure 4-3, Lima monthly sounding - February 1977,PRESSURE (M8) 108 RELATIVE HUMIDITY (PERCENT) 700th 750 TOT 800 TOT 850 900 TOTTI Tt 950 looo logs LL) gure A-4, O10 20 30 40 $0.60 70 80 20 109 MONTHLY \ MEAN MAR. 1977 2 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 TEMPERATURE (C) Lima monthly sounding - March 1977.109 RELATIVE HUMIDITY (PERCENT) © _10 20 30.40 50 60 70 80 90 100 E MONTHLY MEAN { E APR. 1977 cE q J E | soot 4 TTT 850 PRESSURE (MB) 900 950 F 1000 1o25 GhLo ue 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 TEMPERATURE (C) Figure A-5, Lima monthly sounding ~ April 1977.