LEE WAVES OVER EUROPE

Authors

  • Matthias Eckardt

Keywords:

Meteorology, Climatology

Abstract

Lee waves resulting from airflow over mountains were first observerd and, in detail, described by glider pilots. Lee wave cloud bands on a length of up to several hundred kilometers downstream were detected in satellite images from the beginning of this new observation technique. An overview on criteria of formation of lee wave clouds and their characteristic scale and shape is presented. The reception area of the institute's satellite receiving station allows one to observe lee wave formation over whole Europe and small islands in the North Atlantic. On the basis of daily high resolution AVHRR images the mean monthly number of days with lee wave clouds for a number of regions is given and seasonal differences are shown. For the British Isles and Scandinavia the highest number of lee wave days is found.

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Issue

Vol. 21 No. 4 (1997)

Section

Articles

License

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