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Aircraft observations of land- and sea-breeze effects in Sydney.

Richard Manasseh , Jörg M. Hacker & Jason H. Middleton
School of Mathematics, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia.
The Flinders Institute for Atmospheric and Marine Sciences,
Adelaide, Australia

Current affiliation: CSIRO Advanced Fluid Dynamics Laboratory,
Melbourne, Australia
Also: Department of Aviation, University of New South Wales

Observations of meteorological and pollutant indicators were made from an instrumented light aircraft over metropolitan Sydney on a day in early autumn. The measurements comprised several low-level runs over the metropolitan area and the adjacent ocean in a triangular pattern. The data show early morning land-breeze flows moving pools of pollutant indicators offshore. In the late morning a weak sea-breeze is associated with a return of pollutant indicators inland. Overall, the observations highlight the complex nature of lower-level winds in the Sydney area. Circulation patterns, although driven in principle by a standard land/sea breeze system, were highly dependent on local topography. The early morning land-breeze is a cool katabatic wind that appears to drain into major river valleys, while the sea breeze is modified substantially by the local coastal and inland topography.

• Introduction
• Measurement system and strategy
• Observations
  • General
  • First aircraft circuit
  • Second aircraft circuit
  • Third aircraft circuit
  • Yacht measurements
• Interpretations
• Conclusion
• References
• About this document ...