The Øresund Experiment—A Nordic Mesoscale Dispersion Experiment Over a Land-Water-Land Area

Abstract

The atmospheric dispersion process and the modifications in the wind field across the 20-km-wide Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden were studied in this project. The meteorological observational network extended over an 80-km-wide cross section through the Øresund. The dispersion process was investigated by carrying out SF₆ tracer experiments, and the air trajectories were determined by tetroon flights. Emphasis was placed on the periods when the water surface was colder than the surrounding land, which in the experimental period typically occurred during daytime. Although the measuring program was intensified during the day, when tracer releases were carried out, a fairly large proportion of the meteorological measurements were carried out on a regular day-and-night basis throughout the whole experimental period. This yielded data for a large variety of meteorological situations. All data from the experiment will be made available for general use.