Boudary Layer Turbulence, Remote Sensing
Dr. Foster's primary research interest is the dynamics of atmospheric planetary boundary layer (PBL) turbulence with an emphasis on improving PBL parameterization in global and mesoscale models. Of particular interest is the role of coherent structures on fluxes in the PBL and their effect on air-sea fluxes. Previous work has been primarily on theoretical models and numerical simulations of coherent structures and their effects.
The majority of his current research involves analysis of satellite remote sensing data products, especially scatterometer surface wind data and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of the ocean surface. The current scatterometers provide nearly global daily retrievals of the surface wind vectors over the world's oceans on 25 km footprints. Often clear signatures of atmospheric PBL eddies and organized flow are imaged by SAR as a result of the wind stress acting on the sea surface. He is currently working towards a better understanding of the air-sea momentum transfer and how it manifests in SAR imagery. A long-term goal is to integrate theoretical analyses, numerical simulation, observational and remote sensing studies in order to improve understanding of coherent structures and to incorporate their non-local effects in operational PBL parameterizations.
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