Analysis of the vertical wind profile at the Alcantara Launch Center using Principal Components Analysis

The objective of this study is to perform a vertical wind profile analysis using radiosonde data at the Alcantara Launch Center (ALC), using the multivariate statistical technique of the Principal Components Analysis (PCA), to verify if there is a presence of flows in the vertical wind profile. These flows may characterize local circulations and be associated with sea breeze-type circulations, and may also be associated with synoptic mesoscale level circulations, such as Low-Level Jets (LLJ). The results showed that in the first three components in the nocturnal period there is a presence of LLJ, with 85% of the variance explained. The occurrence of LLJ presented typical heights in the components, the first one with a height of 800 meters (average direction 60 to 70 degrees), the second with a height of 400 meters (mean direction 40 to 50 degrees) and the third with 200 meters average 50 to 60 degrees). These LLJs may be associated with processes related to the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) at night, such as maximum wind inversion and breezes