A laboratory investigation of land and sea breeze regimes

A laboratory experiment has been performed to simulate land and sea breeze (LSB) flows occurring in the atmosphere in the absence of a mean geostrophic wind (pure breeze). The experiment has been carried out in a temperature-controlled water tank. Three CCD video cameras have been utilised to acquire the images of the flow field produced by temperature gradients. Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) is applied to evaluate the velocity field in a vertical section of the tank illuminated by a laser light sheet. Furthermore, temperature-time histories have been carried out by means of a thermocouple array positioned along a vertical profile. The system has been employed to generate and analyse the global circulation and the dynamics of the sea breeze front.