Wind profiles scaled with 2 velocity scales

Which scaling works better, the mean or the maximum velocity?

Overall scaling wind profiles with the mean velocity below the jet was more sucessful than with the jet's maxium velocity.
The scaling works well on June 7, 11, 17, 21, and 23.  These flights scale better with the mean velocity than with the jet maximum velocity (below).
The mean velocity scaling works for a certain range of differences in air-sea temperature (0 to 2 C) on June 12, 19,  and July 1.  On June 12, it works within each temperature range.
The scaling wasn't very successful for June 02 and 26.
On June 11, 19, and 26 scaling with the mean velocity was marginally more sucessful than scaling with the jet max velocity.
The only flight which scaled better with the maximum than the mean was June 29.

Scaling with a mean velocity

In the table below are wind profiles scaled to collapse onto a single profile.
The velocity is scaled with the mean velocity below the jet. The altitude is scaled with the altitude of the jet maximum. The color of each profile shows the air-sea temperature difference (C), with the air temperature from the profile's bottom and the SST from the radiomenter at the profile's bottom.

I chose this velocity scale because I need a rough way to parameterize the 10m velocity in terms of the mean velocity (for use in the friction term in a layer-averaged momentum equation.)  It looks sensible to say "the lowest velocities are about 75% of the layer-averaged velocity" for the days where the scaling was sucessful.

The first graph ("All") shows all the profiles together.
The second graph ("Grouped") groups the profiles by air-sea temperature difference.
 
Point Conception Point Sur Cape Mendicino Cape Blanco
June 19 
All 
Grouped 		 June 02 
All 
Grouped		 June 07 
All 
Grouped		 July 01 
All 
Grouped
June 23 
All 
Grouped		 June 11 
All 
Grouped		 June 12 
All 
Grouped
June 29 
All 
Grouped		 June 17 
All 
Grouped		 June 26 
All 
Grouped
June 21 
All 
Grouped

Scaling with jet's maximum velocity

Now the wind profile is scaled with the jet's maximum velocity.  As before the profiles are grouped ("Grouped") by the air-sea temperature difference.
 
Point Conception Point Sur Cape Mendicino Cape Blanco
June 19 
Grouped 		 June 02 
Grouped		 June 07 
Grouped		 July 01 
Grouped
June 23 
Grouped		 June 11 
Grouped		 June 12 
Grouped
June 29 
Grouped		 June 17 
Grouped		 June 26 
Grouped
June 21 
Grouped
 

The data on this page is unpublished. If it is used please cite the author Kathleen Edwards, the Center for Coastal Studies, and the Coastal Waves group at Scripps Insitution of Oceanography.

Please send comments or questions to me at kate@coast.ucsd.edu