Aplicação de teorias termodinâmicas às circulações de brisa utilizando simulações numéricas.

Abstract

In this work we test a thermodynamic theory for sea-land breeze coupled with valleymountain breeze through tri-dimensional numeric simulations. We verify the presence of such a breeze in Northeast Brazil’s east coast and perform experiments with and without the topography of the region. The expansion work related to the lower branch of this circulation is calculated. The results show that temperature contrast between two surfaces is important in forming the breezes. However, the atmosphere’s response to this contrast is not linear and depends on other factors. The inclination causes the pressure difference between two points to increase during the day and decrease during the night. This also occurs with the expansion work. Thus, with the topography the values of work are smaller for land breeze and larger for sea breeze. The contribution of the mountain to the intensity of the land breeze is non-linear with effects that can be either positive or negative. A typical value for the effective expansion work is of the order of 100 Jkg-1. In a general way, the results of the theory are robust.