Papers in Physical Oceanography and Meteorology
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Published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Published originally as Massachusetts Institute of Technology Meteorological Papers (1930-1932), this collection contains papers from Vol .1 No. 1 to Vol. 10 No. 4 (1930-1948).
ISSN: 0198-6821
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Browsing Papers in Physical Oceanography and Meteorology by Subject "Air masses"
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BookAmerican air mass properties(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1933-06) Willett, Hurd C.In this paper the term Air Mass is applied to an extensive portion of the earth's atmosphere which approximates horizontal homogeneity. The formation of an air mass in this sense takes place on the earth's surface wherever the atmosphere remains at rest over an extensive area of uniform surface properties for a suffciently long time so that the properties of the atmosphere (vertical distribution of temperature and moisture) reach equilibrium with respect to the surface beneath. Such a region on the earth's surface is referred to as a source region of air masses. As examples of source regions we might cite the uniformly snow and ice covered northern portion of the continent of North America in winter, or the uniformly warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Obviously the properties of an air mass in the source region will depend entirely upon the nature of the source region. The concept of the air mass is of importance not only in the source regions. Sooner or later a general movement of the air mass from the source region is certain to occur, as one of the large-scale air currents which we find continually moving across the synoptic charts. Because of the great extent of such currents and the conservatism of the air mass properties, it is usually easy to trace the movement of the air mass from day to day, while at the same time any modification of its properties by its new environment can be carefully noted. Since this modification is not likely to be uniform throughout the entire air mass, it may to a certain degree destroy the horizontal homogeneity of the mass. However, the horizontal differences produced within an air mass in this manner are small and continuous in comparison to the abrupt and discontinuous transition zones, or fronts, which mark the boundaries between air masses. Frontal discontinuities are intensified wherever there is found in the atmosphere convergent movement of air masses of different properties. Since the air masses from particular sources are found to possess at any season certain characteristic properties which undergo rather definite modification depending upon the trajectory of the air mass after leaving its source region, the investigation of the characteristic properties of the principal air mass types can be of great assistance to the synoptic meteorologist and forecaster. We owe this method of attack on the problems of synoptic meteorology to the Norwegian school of meteorologists, notably to T. Bergeron. Investigation of the properties of the principal air masses appearing in western Europe has been made in particular by O. Moese and G. Schinze. The purpose of this paper is to give the results of a similar investigation of the properties of the principal air masses of North America, and to comment on some of the striking differences which appear between conditions here and in Europe.
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BookDiscussion and illustration of problems suggested by the analysis of atmospheric cross-sections(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1935-07) Willett, Hurd C.The preparation of atmospheric cross-sections, in which the fields of the various meteorological elements are represented in the vertical plane containing a number of synoptic aerological soundings, has long been a part of the technique applied to the investigation of problems in synoptic meteorology. However, owing to the lack of adequate observational material, the number of such cross-sections prepared in the past has been very small. The method was applied only in a few cases chosen for careful analysis and study. Consequently no uniform technique of analysis of such cross-sections has been developed, nor have the possibilities of this method of synoptic investigation received much attention. In the fall of 1933 the author decided that the possibilities of the cross-section method of synoptic representation warranted the systematic preparation and analysis of a large number of cross-sections. For this purpose a number of periods during which the synoptic maps seemed to indicate interesting atmospheric developments, and for which numerous aerological observations were available, were chosen from the maps of the preceding two or three years for detailed cross-sectional study. In all, ten periods of from two to six days each were chosen, a total of 36 days, entailing the preparation of about 90 cross-sections, and the use of about 400 aerological soundings.