Synoptic to Microscale Processes Affecting the Evolution of a Cold-Air Pool in a Northern New England Forested Mountain Valley

Abstract

AbstractThe formation of katabatic winds and pooling of cold air in mountain valleys impact air quality, precipitation type, and local ecosystem functions. Much is still poorly understood about the multiscale interaction of processes in a mature mixed-hardwood forest that cause the formation and evolution of cold-air pools (CAPs). Processes involved in the evolution of a CAP in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest valley in New Hampshire were investigated during a field campaign on 4–5 November 2015. Vertical profiles of temperature and humidity were measured along a 150-m-long tethered balloon in the center of the valley and were compared with temperature and wind observations on the surrounding slopes to identify and assess the impacts of multiscale processes on a CAP. A CAP formed rapidly during the afternoon of 4 November and attained its maximum depth of ~150 m by sunset. This maximum depth is likely a result of the topography of the valley. Warm-air advection (WAA) occurred during the second half of the night at high elevations, and warm air mixed downward into the valley. As a result, the vertical thermal gradient strengthened and static stability increased, which allowed the lowest part of the CAP to continue to radiatively cool while the upper part of the CAP was warmed and eroded by the WAA. Results suggest that the canopy acts as the primary cooling surface for air at night, which causes split katabatic flow: cold and fast flow above canopy and warmer and slower flow below canopy. Understanding these processes in sloped forests has implications for eddy covariance research and montane microclimates.