Laserfiche WebLink
<br />23 <br /> <br />3,4 Modifications of Method Due to the Field Data <br /> <br />As noted previously, less than ideal field locations of the radio- <br /> <br />sondes require modifications in the method or the assumptions behind <br /> <br />the method. Minturn and Camp Hale locations require the modifications <br /> <br />in determining the water balance, cloud efficiencies and trajectories. <br /> <br />Ideally, the upwind station must be located upwind of the cloud. <br /> <br />Minturn's balloons, however, passed through the cloud. In the analysis <br /> <br />the assumption is made that the amount of cloud water advected is small <br /> <br />compared to the vapor advected (about 1 gram of vapor compared to less <br /> <br />than .1 grams of liquid and solid water per kg. of air (L.O. Grant, <br /> <br />personal communication) and can be neglected. This small error results <br /> <br />in an underestimation of precipitation because Fairplay, during the <br /> <br />time of the experiment, was not cloudy. <br /> <br />Balloon ascents from the Camp Hale site cause some problems. Be- <br /> <br />cause Camp Hale's balloons do not sample the air at its highest point, <br /> <br />but considerably upstream of that location, the high point of the tra- <br /> <br />jectories must be subjectively decided. For the lower air, the crest <br /> <br />of flow is assumed directly over the ridge line with the crest of flow <br /> <br />of the higher air following a slight negative slope (Scorer, 1967). <br /> <br />A third modification required by the non-ideal placement of radio- <br /> <br />sondes is the computation of downslope evaporation. Between Camp Hale <br /> <br />and Fairplay the air parcels ascend until they are roughly over the <br /> <br />top of the ridge and descend past the ridge. While the parcels are <br /> <br />ascending condensation takes place but during descent only evaporation <br /> <br />occurs. The water balance includes both these stages. To get the total <br /> <br />net condensation over the experimental area the water vapor added to the <br />