Flow Over Flat Uniform Terrain

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Kaimal ◽  
J. J. Finnigan
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Statistical Properties ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
Governing Equations ◽  
Boundary Layer Turbulence ◽  
Locally Homogeneous ◽  
Averaging Time ◽  
Derivatives Of

We start with the simplest of boundary layers, that over an infinite flat surface. Here we can assume the flow to be horizontally homogeneous. Its statistical properties are independent of horizontal position; they vary only with height and time. This assumption of horizontal homogeneity is essential in a first approach to understanding a process already complicated by such factors as the earth's rotation, diurnal and spatial variations in surface heating, changing weather conditions, and the coexistence of convective and shear-generated turbulence. It allows us to ignore partial derivatives of mean quantities along the horizontal axes (the advection terms) in the governing equations. Only ocean surfaces come close to the idealized infinite surface. Over land we settle for surfaces that are locally homogeneous, flat plains with short uniform vegetation, where the advection terms are small enough to be negligible. If, in addition to horizontal homogeneity, we can assume stationarity, that the statistical properties of the flow do not change with time, the time derivatives in the governing equations vanish as well. This condition cannot be realized in its strict sense because of the long-term variabilities in the atmosphere. But for most applications we can treat the process as a sequence of steady states. The major simplification it permits is the introduction of time averages that represent the properties of the process and not those of the averaging time. These two conditions clear the way for us to apply fluid dynamical theories and empirical laws developed from wind tunnel studies to the atmosphere's boundary layer. We can see why micrometeorologists in the 1950s and 1960s scoured the countryside for flat uniform sites. The experiments over the plains of Nebraska, Kansas, and Minnesota (USA), Kerang and Hay (Australia), and Tsimliansk (USSR) gave us the first inklings of universal behavior in boundary layer turbulence. Our concept of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and its vertical extent has changed significantly over the last few decades.

scholarly journals The interdecadal worsening of weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in the Beijing area in relation to climate warming

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 5991-5999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoye Zhang ◽  
Junting Zhong ◽  
Jizhi Wang ◽  
Yaqiang Wang ◽  
Yanju Liu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Aerosol Pollution ◽  
The Government

Abstract. The weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in Beijing and its vicinity (BIV) in wintertime have worsened in recent years, particularly after 2010. The relation between interdecadal changes in weather conditions and climate warming is uncertain. Here, we analyze long-term variations of an integrated pollution-linked meteorological index (which is approximately and linearly related to aerosol pollution), the extent of changes in vertical temperature differences in the boundary layer (BL) in BIV, and northerly surface winds from Lake Baikal during wintertime to evaluate the potential contribution of climate warming to changes in meteorological conditions directly related to aerosol pollution in this area; this is accomplished using NCEP reanalysis data, surface observations, and long-term vertical balloon sounding observations since 1960. The weather conditions affecting BIV aerosol pollution are found to have worsened since the 1960s as a whole. This worsening is more significant after 2010, with PM2.5 reaching unprecedented high levels in many cities in China, particularly in BIV. The decadal worsening of meteorological conditions in BIV can partly be attributed to climate warming, which is defined by more warming in the higher layers of the boundary layer (BL) than the lower layers. This worsening can also be influenced by the accumulation of aerosol pollution, to a certain extent (particularly after 2010), because the increase in aerosol pollution from the ground leads to surface cooling by aerosol–radiation interactions, which facilitates temperature inversions, increases moisture accumulations, and results in the extra deterioration of meteorological conditions. If analyzed as a linear trend, weather conditions have worsened by ∼ 4 % each year from 2010 to 2017. Given such a deterioration rate, the worsening of weather conditions may lead to a corresponding amplitude increase in PM2.5 in BIV during wintertime in the next 5 years (i.e., 2018 to 2022). More stringent emission reduction measures will need to be conducted by the government.

Acquisition and Processing of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Data

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Kaimal ◽  
J. J. Finnigan
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Real Time Processing ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Averaging Time ◽  
Mean Variance ◽  
Atmospheric Variables

Much of what we know about the structure of the boundary layer is empirical, the result of painstaking analysis of observational data. As our understanding of the boundary layer evolved, so did our ability to define more clearly the requirements for sensing atmospheric variables and for processing that information. Decisions regarding choice of sampling rates, averaging time, detrending, ways to minimize aliasing, and so on, became easier to make. We find we can even standardize most procedures for real-time processing. The smaller, faster computers, now within the reach of most boundary layer scientists, offer virtually unlimited possibilities for processing and displaying results even as an experiment is progressing. The information we seek, for the most part, falls into two groups: (1) time-averaged statistics such as the mean, variance, covariance, skewness, and kurtosis and (2) spectra and cospectra of velocity components and scalars such as temperature and humidity. We discuss them separately because of different sampling and processing requirements for the two. A proper understanding of these requirements is essential for the successful planning of any experiment. In this chapter we discuss these considerations in some detail with examples of methods used in earlier applications. We will assume that sensors collecting the data have adequate frequency response, precision, and long-term stability and that the sampling is performed digitally at equally spaced intervals. We also assume that the observation heights are chosen with due regard to sensor response and terrain roughness. For calculations of means and higher order moments we need time series that are long enough to include all the relevant low-frequency contributions to the process, sampled at rates fast enough to capture all the high-frequency contributions the sensors are able to measure. Improper choices of averaging times and sampling rates can indeed compromise our statistics. We need to understand how those two factors affect our measurements in order to make sensible decisions on how long and how fast to sample.

Entry Flow in Straight and Curved Channels With Slender Channel Approximations

1977 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 666-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. G. Blottner
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Streamwise Velocity ◽  
Governing Equations ◽  
Core Flow ◽  
The Core ◽  
Curved Channels ◽  
Box Scheme ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Derivatives Of

The slender channel equations for laminar flow are solved downstream of the entrance of curved channels of variable height. The singularities at the entrance are removed with coordinate transformations which stretch the boundary layer and shrink the core flow. Initial conditions at the entrance are obtained from the governing equations with only the streamwise velocity specified. A modified box scheme is used to develop a finite-difference method which allows the derivatives of the dependent variables across the channel to be discontinuous at the interface between the boundary layer and core flow. Numerical results are presented for several channel geometries and entry conditions.

scholarly journals The interdecadal worsening of weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in the Beijing area in relation to climate warming

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoye Zhang ◽  
Junting Zhong ◽  
Jizhi Wang ◽  
Yaqiang Wang ◽  
Yanju Liu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Aerosol Pollution ◽  
The Government

Abstract. The weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in Beijing and its vicinity (BIV) in wintertime have worsened in recent years, particularly after 2010. The relation between interdecadal changes in weather conditions and climate warming is uncertain. Here, we analyze long-term variations of an integrated pollution-linked meteorological index (which is approximately and linearly related to aerosol pollution), the extent of changes in vertical temperature differences in the boundary layer (BL) in the BIV, and northerly surface winds from Lake Baikal during wintertime to evaluate the potential contribution of climate warming to changes in meteorological conditions directly related to aerosol pollution in this area; this is accomplished using NCEP reanalysis data, surface observations, and long-term vertical balloon sounding observations since 1960. The weather conditions affecting BIV aerosol pollution are found to have worsened since the 1960s as a whole. This worsening is more significant after 2010, with PM2.5 reaching unprecedented high levels in many cities in China, particularly in the BIV. The decadal worsening of meteorological conditions in the BIV can partly be attributed to climate warming, which is defined by more warming in the higher layers of the boundary layer (BL) than the lower layers. This worsening can also be influenced by the accumulation of aerosol pollution, to a certain extent (particularly after 2010), because the increase in aerosol pollution from the ground leads to surface cooling by aerosol-radiation interactions, which facilitates temperature inversions, increases moisture accumulations, and results in the extra deterioration of meteorological conditions. If analyzed as a linear trend, weather conditions have worsened by ~ 4 % each year from 2010 to 2017. Given such a deterioration rate, the worsening of weather conditions may lead to corresponding amplitude increase in PM2.5 in the BIV during wintertime in the next five years (i.e., 2018 to 2022). More stringent emission reduction measures will need to be conducted by the government.

The effect of Reynolds number on boundary layer turbulence

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. DeGraaff ◽  
Donald R. Webster ◽  
John K. Eaton
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Boundary Layer Turbulence

Frontogenesis and frontal arrest of a dense filament in the oceanic surface boundary layer

2017 ◽  
Vol 837 ◽  
pp. 341-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter P. Sullivan ◽  
James C. McWilliams
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Turbulent Mixing ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Surface Boundary ◽  
Horizontal Shear ◽  
Boundary Layer Turbulence ◽  
Filament Axis ◽  
Small Width ◽  
The Cross

The evolution of upper ocean currents involves a set of complex, poorly understood interactions between submesoscale turbulence (e.g. density fronts and filaments and coherent vortices) and smaller-scale boundary-layer turbulence. Here we simulate the lifecycle of a cold (dense) filament undergoing frontogenesis in the presence of turbulence generated by surface stress and/or buoyancy loss. This phenomenon is examined in large-eddy simulations with resolved turbulent motions in large horizontal domains using${\sim}10^{10}$grid points. Steady winds are oriented in directions perpendicular or parallel to the filament axis. Due to turbulent vertical momentum mixing, cold filaments generate a potent two-celled secondary circulation in the cross-filament plane that is frontogenetic, sharpens the cross-filament buoyancy and horizontal velocity gradients and blocks Ekman buoyancy flux across the cold filament core towards the warm filament edge. Within less than a day, the frontogenesis is arrested at a small width,${\approx}100~\text{m}$, primarily by an enhancement of the turbulence through a small submesoscale, horizontal shear instability of the sharpened filament, followed by a subsequent slow decay of the filament by further turbulent mixing. The boundary-layer turbulence is inhomogeneous and non-stationary in relation to the evolving submesoscale currents and density stratification. The occurrence of frontogenesis and arrest are qualitatively similar with varying stress direction or with convective cooling, but the detailed evolution and flow structure differ among the cases. Thus submesoscale filament frontogenesis caused by boundary-layer turbulence, frontal arrest by frontal instability and frontal decay by forward energy cascade, and turbulent mixing are generic processes in the upper ocean.

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