Frequency Spectra of Wind Velocity Fluctuations between 1 hour and 1 month in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over Equatorial Indonesia

Abstract

Frequency power spectra are analyzed from zonal and meridional wind velocities observed continuously in a height range below 2.5 km with the Kyoto University Boundary Layer Radar (BLR) in Serpong, Indonesia (6.4°S, 106.7°E). We find that (i) the spectral slope in a period range from a few hours to a few days is approximately -1; (ii) the power spectral densities in the rainy season are at least about two times larger than those in the dry season; (iii) the diurnal component is dominant both in dry and rainy seasons; (iv) components with periods of about 4 and 10 days are probably associated with mixed Rossby-gravity wavelike cloud clusters and Kelvin wavelike super cloud clusters, respectively; and (v) the power spectral amplitudes increase at least one order of magnitude from the bottom to the top of the equatorial Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL), and the values at the top of the PBL are comparable to those in the upper troposphere over mid-latitudes. The last feature suggests that the equatorial PBL is probably a major source of kinetic energy of the earth's atmosphere.