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Notes: Abstract The SEMAPHORE (Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphère, Propriétés des Hétérogénéités Océaniques: Recherche Expérimentale) experiment has been conducted from June to November 1993 in the Northeast Atlantic between the Azores and Madeira. It was centered on the study of the mesoscale ocean circulation and air-sea interactions. The experimental investigation was achieved at the mesoscale using moorings, floats, and ship hydrological survey, and at a smaller scale by one dedicated ship, two instrumented aircraft, and surface drifting buoys, for one and a half month in October-November (IOP: intense observing period). Observations from meteorological operational satellites as well as spaceborne microwave sensors were used in complement. The main studies undertaken concern the mesoscale ocean, the upper ocean, the atmospheric boundary layer, and the sea surface, and first results are presented for the various topics. From data analysis and model simulations, the main characteristics of the ocean circulation were deduced, showing the close relationship between the Azores front meander and the occurrence of Mediterranean water lenses (meddies), and the shift between the Azores current frontal signature at the surface and within the thermocline. Using drifting buoys and ship data in the upper ocean, the gap between the scales of the atmospheric forcing and the oceanic variability was made evident. A 2 °C decrease and a 40-m deepening of the mixed layer were measured within the IOP, associated with a heating loss of about 100 W m−2. This evolution was shown to be strongly connected to the occurrence of storms at the beginning and the end of October. Above the surface, turbulent measurements from ship and aircraft were analyzed across the surface thermal front, showing a 30% difference in heat fluxes between both sides during a 4-day period, and the respective contributions of the wind and the surface temperature were evaluated. The classical momentum flux bulk parameterization was found to fail in low wind and unstable conditions. Finally, the sea surface was investigated using airborne and satellite radars and wave buoys. A wave model, operationally used, was found to get better results compared with radar and wave-buoy measurements, when initialized using an improved wind field, obtained by assimilating satellite and buoy wind data in a meteorological model. A detailed analysis of a 2-day period showed that the swell component, propagating from a far source area, is underestimated in the wave model. A data base has been created, containing all experimental measurements. It will allow us to pursue the interpretation of observations and to test model simulations in the ocean, at the surface and in the atmospheric boundary layer, and to investigate the ocean-atmosphere coupling at the local and mesoscales.

Notes: Abstract This study presents an experimental analysis from aircraft measurements above the Pyrenees chain during the PYREX experiment. The Pyrenees chain, roughly WE oriented, is a major barrier for northerly and southerly airflows. We present a case of southerly flow (15 October 1990) and three successive cases of northerly flows above the Pyrenees (14, 15 and 16 November 1990) documented by two aircraft. The aircraft have described a vertical cross section perpendicular to the Pyrenean ridge. This area is described via the thermodynamical and dynamical fields which have a horizontal resolution of 10 km. Three methods for computing the vertical velocity of the air are presented. The horizontal advection terms which play a role in the budget equations are also evaluated. The altitude turbulence zone of 15 October are shown via turbulent fluxes, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), dissipation rate of TKE and inertial length-scale. A comparison of results obtained by eddy-correlation and inertial-dissi-pation method is presented. The experimental results show a warm and dry downdraft for the southerly flow with large values for advection terms. All the mountain wave cases are also shown to present an important dynamical perturbation just above the Pyrenees at upper altitudes.

Notes: Summary The horizontal and vertical structure of the Tramontane wind is analyzed in this paper using the PYREX Data Base. Important aspects of the Tramontane description known or assumed by previous climatological studies are confirmed or modified from this analysis. However the main aim of this paper is to establish the importance of the Pyrenean orographic forcing as the main factor driving the intensity and distribution of the Tramontane wind. We do this in two ways: (1) computing the correlation between the surface and upper level winds and the orographic forcing, measured by the pressure drag, (2) comparing the tangential acceleration (obtained from two versions of a numerical model with different orography) to the acceleration derived from observation. We think we can confirm the brographic origin of the Tramontane wind.

Notes: Abstract The characteristics of the boundary layer over complex terrain (Lannemezan - lat.: 43.7° N and, long.: 0.7 ° E) are analyzed for various scales, using measurements obtained during the COCAGNE Experiment. In this first part, the dynamic characteristics of the flow are studied with respect to atmospheric stability and the relief at small (~20 km) and medium scales (~100 km). These relief scales depend on the topographical profile of the Lannemezan Plateau along the dominant axis of the wind (E-W) and the Pyrénées Mountains located at the south of the experimental site. The terrain heterogeneities have a standard deviation of ~48 m and a wavelength of ~2 km. The averaged vertical profiles of wind speed and direction over the heterogeneous terrain are analyzed. The decrease of wind speed within the boundary layer is greater than over flat terrain (WANGARA Experiment). However, a comparison between ETTEX (complex terrain) and COCAGNE vertical wind speed profiles shows good agreement during unstable conditions. In contrast, during neutral conditions a more rapid increase with normalized height is found with COCAGNE than with ETTEX and WANGARA data. The vertical profiles of wind direction reveal an influence of the Pyrénées Mountains on the wind flow. The wind rotation in the BL is determined by the geostrophic wind direction-Pyrénées axis angle (negative deviation) as the geostrophic wind is connected with the Mountain axis. When the geostrophic wind does not interact with the Pyrénées axis, the mean and turbulent wind flow characteristics (drag coefficient C D, friction velocity u *) depend on the topography of the plateau. When the wind speed is strong (〉6 m s -1), an internal boundary layer is generated from the leading edge of the Plateau.

Notes: Abstract For the heterogeneous site described in the first part, some aspects of the turbulent structure of the planetary boundary layer are studied. Using mixed-layer scaling, the normalized profiles are compared with those obtained over flat terrain during convective conditions. The measurements were made with the same instrumented aircraft at both sites. The dissipative and spectral length scales are smaller over complex terrain within the whole boundary layer. This is due to the shifting of the wavelength peak toward the high frequencies by dynamic turbulence. This last effect can also explain the increase of the dissipation rate ɛ over the heterogeneous site during strong wind conditions. The vertical profiles of sensible heat flux and temperature-water vapor correlation show a lack of entrainment process at the top of the boundary layer. This fact suggests that the investigated boundary layer is advected from the neighbouring plain over the complex site (plateau de Lannemezan).

Notes: Abstract Doppler sodar derived values of the temperature structure parameter C infT sup2 , the vertical velocity variance ¯′w 2, and the rate of dissipation of turbulent energy ɛ, were measured during unstable conditions above the Lannemezan heterogeneous site. The vertical profiles of these turbulent parameters, normalized by the classical convective scales are compared with those obtained using the same acoustic sounder above an homogeneous site during convective conditions. The typical decrease of C infT sup2 as Z -4/3 is partially verified on the heterogeneous site: for the lower levels, C infT sup2 exhibits an increase with Z whereas for the intermediate levels C infT sup2 . decreases as Z -4/3. For the upper levels, C infT sup2 increases with Z due to a signal-to-noise ratio lower than 1. The vertical profiles of ¯′w 2 above the two sites are rather similar. However, near the base of the convective inversion Z i , the values measured on the heterogeneous site are more scattered. The same scattering is also observed with the ɛ values; moreover, for the lower levels (Z〈0.17Z i ) the increase of ɛ as Z decreases is more important at the homogeneous site than at the heterogeneous one. It is suggested that these particular features observed at lower levels above the heterogeneous site are mainly related to a complex local boundary layer induced by the near environment of the sodar (vegetation and relief).