Abstract
Numerical experiments using a regional meteorological model with sensible heat flux (SHF) from the ground being varied were conducted for summertime local circulations over Osaka to investigate the effects of SHF on the variability of local-scale winds. It was shown that the decrease in SHF increased the surface level pressure, resulting in smaller pressure gradient. This led to weaker wind speeds at 10 m and 850 hPa, in particular reducing the frequency of strong winds. The weakening of wind speeds at 10 m contributed to the reduction in the intensity of the horizontal convergence at 10 m. Consequently, the wind speed maxima of the mean vertical winds and their height also decreased, causing decrease in the intensity and height of the horizontal divergence at 850 hPa. Therefore, these results indicated that the SHF modification affected the three-dimensional atmospheric circulation.
