Evaluation of local similarity theory in the wintertime nocturnal boundary layer over heterogeneous surface

2016 ◽  
Vol 228-229 ◽  
pp. 164-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karmen Babić ◽  
Mathias W. Rotach ◽  
Zvjezdana B. Klaić
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Similarity Theory ◽  
Nocturnal Boundary Layer ◽  
Heterogeneous Surface ◽  
Local Similarity ◽  
Local Similarity Theory

scholarly journals The Critical Richardson Number and Limits of Applicability of Local Similarity Theory in the Stable Boundary Layer

2012 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey A. Grachev ◽  
Edgar L Andreas ◽  
Christopher W. Fairall ◽  
Peter S. Guest ◽  
P. Ola G. Persson
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Richardson Number ◽  
Similarity Theory ◽  
Local Similarity ◽  
Stable Boundary ◽  
Critical Richardson Number ◽  
Local Similarity Theory

scholarly journals The Cessation of Continuous Turbulence as Precursor of the Very Stable Nocturnal Boundary Layer

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (11) ◽  
pp. 3097-3115 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. H. Van de Wiel ◽  
A. F. Moene ◽  
H. J. J. Jonker
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Nocturnal Boundary Layer ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
Heat Extraction ◽  
Local Similarity ◽  
Temporary Reduction ◽  
Turbulent Friction ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Flow Acceleration

Abstract The mechanism behind the collapse of turbulence in the evening as a precursor to the onset of the very stable boundary layer is investigated. To this end a cooled, pressure-driven flow is investigated by means of a local similarity model. Simulations reveal a temporary collapse of turbulence whenever the surface heat extraction, expressed in its nondimensional form h/L, exceeds a critical value. As any temporary reduction of turbulent friction is followed by flow acceleration, the long-term state is unconditionally turbulent. In contrast, the temporary cessation of turbulence, which may actually last for several hours in the nocturnal boundary layer, can be understood from the fact that the time scale for boundary layer diffusion is much smaller than the time scale for flow acceleration. This limits the available momentum that can be used for downward heat transport. In case the surface heat extraction exceeds the so-called maximum sustainable heat flux (MSHF), the near-surface inversion rapidly increases. Finally, turbulent activity is largely suppressed by the intense density stratification that supports the emergence of a different, calmer boundary layer regime.

scholarly journals Coevolution of Down-Valley Flow and the Nocturnal Boundary Layer in Complex Terrain

2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1429-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. O. Pinto ◽  
D. B. Parsons ◽  
W. O. J. Brown ◽  
S. Cohn ◽  
N. Chamberlain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Similarity Theory ◽  
Inversion Layer ◽  
Great Salt Lake ◽  
Nocturnal Boundary Layer ◽  
Vertical Transport ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Transport And Mixing

Abstract An enhanced National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) integrated sounding system (ISS) was deployed as part of the Vertical Transport and Mixing (VTMX) field experiment, which took place in October of 2000. The enhanced ISS was set up at the southern terminus of the Great Salt Lake Valley just north of a gap in the Traverse Range (TR), which separates the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake basins. This location was chosen to sample the dynamic and thermodynamic properties of the flow as it passes over the TR separating the two basins. The enhanced ISS allowed for near-continuous sampling of the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) and low-level winds associated with drainage flow through the gap in the TR. Diurnally varying winds were observed at the NCAR site on days characterized by weak synoptic forcing and limited cloud cover. A down-valley jet (DVJ) was observed on about 50% of the nights during VTMX, with the maximum winds usually occurring within 150 m of the surface. The DVJ was associated with abrupt warming at low levels as a result of downward mixing and vertical transport of warm air from the inversion layer above. Several processes were observed to contribute to vertical transport and mixing at the NCAR site. Pulses in the strength of the DVJ contributed to vertical transport by creating localized areas of low-level convergence. Gravity waves and Kelvin–Helmholtz waves, which facilitated vertical mixing near the surface and atop the DVJ, were observed with a sodar and an aerosol backscatter lidar that were deployed as part of the enhanced ISS. The nonlocal nature of the processes responsible for generating turbulence in strongly stratified surface layers in complex terrain confounds surface flux parameterizations typically used in mesoscale models that rely on Monin–Obukhov similarity theory. This finding has major implications for modeling NBL structure and drainage flows in regions of complex terrain.

Local similarity theory of convective turbulent layer using ‘spectral’ Prandtl mixing length and second moment of vertical velocity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Vulfson ◽  
Petr Nikolaev
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Velocity ◽  
Similarity Theory ◽  
Turbulence Theory ◽  
Local Similarity ◽  
Mixing Length ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Turbulent Layer ◽  
Second Moment ◽  
Basic Parameters ◽  
Local Similarity Theory

AbstractApproximations of the turbulent moments of the atmospheric convective boundary layer are constructed based on a variant of the local similarity theory. As the basic parameters of this theory, the second moment of vertical velocity and the ‘spectral’ Prandtl mixing length are used. This specific choice of the basic parameters allows us to consider the coefficient of turbulent transfer and the dissipation of kinetic energy of the Prandtl turbulence theory as the forms of the local similarity. Therefore, the obtained approximations of the turbulent moments should be considered as natural complementation to the semi-empirical turbulence theory. Moreover, within the atmospheric surface layer, the approximations of the new local similarity theory are identical to the relations of the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST). Therefore, the proposed approximations should be considered as a direct generalization of the MOST under free convection conditions. The new approximations are compared with the relations of the known local similarity theories. The advantages and limitations of the new theory are discussed. The comparison of the approximations of the new local similarity theory with the field and laboratory experimental data indicates the high effectiveness of the proposed approach.

scholarly journals Nocturnal Boundary Layer Erosion Analysis in the Amazon Using Large-Eddy Simulation during GoAmazon Project 2014/5

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 240
Author(s):  
Rayonil Carneiro ◽  
Gilberto Fisch ◽  
Theomar Neves ◽  
Rosa Santos ◽  
Carlos Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Large Eddy Simulation ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Nocturnal Boundary Layer ◽  
Enso Event ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Dry Period ◽  
Additional Energy ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Large Eddy

This study investigated the erosion of the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) over the central Amazon using a high-resolution model of large-eddy simulation (LES) named PArallel Les Model (PALM) and observational data from Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon) project 2014/5. This data set was collected during four intense observation periods (IOPs) in the dry and rainy seasons in the years 2014 (considered a typical year) and 2015, during which an El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event predominated and provoked an intense dry season. The outputs from the PALM simulations represented reasonably well the NBL erosion, and the results showed that it has different characteristics between the seasons. During the rainy season, the IOPs exhibited slow surface heating and less intense convection, which resulted in a longer erosion period, typically about 3 h after sunrise (that occurs at 06:00 local time). In contrast, dry IOPs showed more intensive surface warming with stronger convection, resulting in faster NBL erosion, about 2 h after sunrise. A conceptual model was derived to investigate the complete erosion during sunrise hours when there is a very shallow mixed layer formed close to the surface and a stable layer above. The kinematic heat flux for heating this layer during the erosion period showed that for the rainy season, the energy emitted from the surface and the entrainment was not enough to fully heat the NBL layer and erode it. Approximately 30% of additional energy was used in the system, which could come from the release of energy from biomass. The dry period of 2014 showed stronger heating, but it was also not enough, requiring approximately 6% of additional energy. However, for the 2015 dry period, which was under the influence of the ENSO event, it was shown that the released surface fluxes were sufficient to fully heat the layer. The erosion time of the NBL probably influenced the development of the convective boundary layer (CBL), wherein greater vertical development was observed in the dry season IOPs (~1500 m), while the rainy season IOPs had a shallower layer (~1200 m).

scholarly journals Nocturnal Boundary Layer Evolution and Its Impacts on the Vertical Distributions of Pollutant Particulate Matter

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 610
Author(s):  
Yu Shi ◽  
Lei Liu ◽  
Fei Hu ◽  
Guangqiang Fan ◽  
Juntao Huo
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Nitrate Concentration ◽  
Inversion Layer ◽  
Mixing Layer ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Nocturnal Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Environment ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Surface Inversion ◽  
Vertical Distributions

To investigate the evolution of the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) and its impacts on the vertical distributions of pollutant particulates, a combination of in situ observations from a large tethered balloon, remote sensing instruments (aerosol lidar and Doppler wind lidar) and an atmospheric environment-monitoring vehicle were utilized. The observation site was approximately 100 km southwest of Beijing, the capital of China. Results show that a considerable proportion of pollutant particulates were still suspended in the residual layer (RL) (e.g., the nitrate concentration reached 30 μg m−3) after sunset. The NBL height calculated by the aerosol lidar was closer to the top of the RL before midnight because of the pollutants stored aloft in the RL and the shallow surface inversion layer; after midnight, the NBL height was more consistent with the top of the surface inversion layer. As the convective mixing layer gradually became established after sunrise the following day, the pollutants stored in the nocturnal RL of the preceding night were entrained downward into the mixing layer. The early morning PM2.5 concentration near 700 m in the RL on 20 December decreased by 83% compared with the concentration at 13:34 on 20 December at the same height. The nitrate concentration also decreased significantly in the RL, and the mixing down of nitrate from the RL could contribute about 37% to the nitrate in the mixing layer. Turbulence activities still existed in the RL with the bulk Richardson number (Rb) below the threshold value. The corresponding increase in PM2.5 was likely to be correlated with the weak turbulence in the RL in the early morning.

scholarly journals Validation of farm-scale methane emissions using nocturnal boundary layer budgets

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (15) ◽  
pp. 21765-21802 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Stieger ◽  
I. Bamberger ◽  
N. Buchmann ◽  
W. Eugster
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Nocturnal Boundary Layer ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Emission Factors ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Tethered Balloon ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Balloon System

Abstract. This study provides the first experimental validation of Swiss agricultural methane emission estimates at the farm scale. We measured CH4 concentrations at a Swiss farmstead during two intensive field campaigns in August 2011 and July 2012 to (1) quantify the source strength of livestock methane emissions using a tethered balloon system, and (2) to validate inventory emission estimates via nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) budgets. Field measurements were performed at a distance of 150 m from the nearest farm buildings with a tethered balloon system in combination with gradient measurements at eight heights on a 10 m tower to better resolve the near-surface concentrations. Vertical profiles of air temperature, relative humidity, CH4 concentration, wind speed and wind direction showed that the NBL was strongly influenced by local transport processes and by the valley wind system. Methane concentrations showed a pronounced time course, with highest concentrations in the second half of the night. NBL budget flux estimates were obtained via a time–space kriging approach. Main uncertainties of NBL budget flux estimates were associated with instationary atmospheric conditions and the estimate of the inversion height zi (top of volume integration). The mean NBL budget fluxes of 1.60 ± 0.31 μg CH4 m-2 s-1 (1.40 ± 0.50 and 1.66 ± 0.20 μg CH4 m-2 s-1 in 2011 and 2012, respectively) were in good agreement with local inventory estimates based on current livestock number and default emission factors, with 1.29 ± 0.47 and 1.74 ± 0.63 μg CH4 m-2 s-1 for 2011 and 2012, respectively. This indicates that emission factors used for the national inventory reports are adequate, and we conclude that the NBL budget approach is a useful tool to validate emission inventory estimates.

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