The Marinada is a

fall wind A fall wind is a type of downslope wind. Like katabatic winds, it is driven by the flow of an elevated, high-density (usually cold) air mass into a lower-density (warmer) air mass, but the term fall wind is restricted to the cases where the cold ai ...

occurring mostly during summer in the

Urgell Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Upper Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Ponent, Catalonia (Spain), forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Urgel ...

region of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. It blows from the south-east and usually arrives in the late afternoon. It is known by local people as a relief from the summer heat.

Usage

The term Marinada may sometimes be used in Catalan to refer to a

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...

in the general sense. However, it is in the inland comarcas of Catalonia that the term is most commonly used, and refers to this specific

(which originates from a sea breeze).

Mechanisms

The Marinada originates from the flow of a cool marine air mass in the eastern

Ebro basin The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a del ...

(as indicated by its name). This marine air mass is first driven inland by the sea breeze during the morning and early afternoon. If there is no strong background wind, it reaches the top of the

Catalan Pre-Coastal Range The Catalan Pre-Coastal Range () is a system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System. Its main axis runs between the Catalan Transversal Range and the Ser ...

around mid-afternoon. At this stage, the cool and dense marine air mass is neighbouring the continental air mass of the Ebro basin, which is hot and lighter since it has been strongly heated by the sun. The difference in density correlates with a difference in pressure, which accelerates the marine air into the Ebro basin, creating the Marinada. The flow of the Marinada is similar to the flow of water over a dam, and the marinada is therefore close to the ground. The vertical extent of the Marinada is about 200m high, and the wind speed at 2m is between 4 and 7 m/s. Cross-section of Marinada fall wind

References

{{reflist Winds