Numerical Simulation of Marine Boundary Layer
in the Vicinity of Porto Santo During ASTEX

The CSU-RAMS (Regional Atmospheric Modeling System) is a primitive equation meso-microscale model developed at Colorado State University. The RAMS model is initialized using the 08Z, 12 June 1992 ASTEX sounding from Porto Santo. On this date stratocumulus clouds and drizzle were observed over the island. The simulation is run for six hours and the resulting model-produced fields are compared with observed properties of the marine boundary layer cloud characteristics, wind fields and precipitation. In a second simulation, the effects of island topography and surface heating are removed from the model in order to assess the influences of the island on the local wind fields and on the regional cloud layer properties.