Course Notes: Wind shear https://bmtc.moodle.com.au/mod/book/view.php?id=3766&chapterid...

Wind shear
Wind shear is manifested by a marked change in wind direction and/or speed as depicted in Figure 7.10.

Wind shear is often signatured by clouds moving in different directions at different levels and by smoke plumes rising vertically before
streaming off at acute angles. Waterspouts and tornados are manifestations of wind shear as are dust devils and gust fronts.

On a small-scale low-level wind shear is manifested as eddies and gustiness in the general wind flow. On the larger scale wind shear occurs
when two air masses moving at different speeds and/or from different directions come into contact, one sliding over the other.

Thunderstorm outflows, land/seabreezes, low-level jets, frontal systems, mountain waves and inversions are frequently associated with wind
shear capable of upsetting the flight of an aircraft.

An extreme example of low-level wind shear was experienced on an aircraft's approach to Hobart Airport on 21 January 1997, when a
shallow southeasterly wind change moved in beneath strong northwesterly winds. The aircraft experienced a wind change from 31531KT to
17911KT in the four seconds it took to descend from 736 feet to 704 feet. The wind shear was accompanied by severe turbulence that
caused great consternation to crew and passengers.

Wind shear caused by microbursts, in the vicinity of thunderstorms, has proved to be particularly hazardous to aircarft in the circuit areas of
aeordromes. Microbursts are discussed in detail in a later topic.

Significant wind shear is often encountered in the vicinity of and with frontal systems, low-level jets, strong and gusty surface winds,
temperature inversions, mountain waves, sea-breezes and near obstacles that deflect and block wind flow.

Although wind shear may be present at all levels in the atmosphere, its occurrence in the lowest 2000 feet is of particular importance to
aircraft landing and taking off. It can significantly impair aircraft performance and is particularly hazardous to aircraft approaching stalling
speeds, especially in large jets where the lag between applying and achieving thrust is most noticeable.

Wind shear is often evident at low levels when upper level winds are decoupled from low-level winds. Low-level inversions can cut off,
almost completely, the downward transfer of the horizontal wind energy or momentum to the boundary layer. Thus differences between
surface flow and that above an inversion can be large. An aircraft descending through an inversion as illustrated in Figure 7.11 would pass
through a zone of turbulence before experiencing a dramatic loss of lift and airspeed. In such a strong wind shear situation, significant
turbulence would be generated across the top of the inversion.

Figure 7.10: Wind shear induced by vertical acceleration in the same Figure 7.11: An aircraft initially flying into strong winds, experiences
direction or by a marked change in wind direction or both. some turbulence and loses lift as it descends into an inversion layer
where winds are light.

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