scholarly journals Mechanisms for Wind Direction Changes in the Very Stable Boundary Layer

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 2623-2637 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Finn ◽  
R. M. Eckman ◽  
Z. Gao ◽  
H. Liu

AbstractLarge, rapid, and intermittent changes in wind direction were commonly observed in low–wind speed conditions in the very stable boundary layer during the phase 2 of the Project Sagebrush field tracer study. This paper investigates the occurrence and magnitude of these wind direction changes in the very stable boundary layer and explores their associated meteorological factors. The evidence indicates that these wind direction changes occur mainly at wind speeds of less than 1.5 m s−1 and are associated with momentum and sensible heat fluxes approaching zero in low–wind shear conditions. This results in complete vertical decoupling. They are only weakly dependent on the magnitude of turbulence. The magnitude of the wind direction changes is generally greatest near the surface, because of the greater prevalence of low wind speeds there, and decreases upward.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodora Bello ◽  
Adewale Ajao ◽  
Oluwagbemiga Jegede

<p>The study investigates impact of wind speeds on the turbulent transport of CO<sub>2 </sub>fluxes for a land-surface atmosphere interface in a low-wind tropical area between May 28<sup>th</sup> and June 14<sup>th</sup>, 2010; and May 24<sup>th</sup> and June 15<sup>th</sup>, 2015. Eddy covariance technique was used to acquire turbulent mass fluxes of CO<sub>2</sub> and wind speed at the study site located inside the main campus of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife, Nigeria. The results showed high levels of CO<sub>2 </sub>fluxes at nighttime attributed to stable boundary layer conditions and low wind speed. Large transport and distribution of CO<sub>2 </sub>fluxes were observed in the early mornings due to strong wind speeds recorded at the study location. In addition, negative CO<sub>2 </sub>fluxes were observed during the daytime attributed to prominent convective and photosynthetic activities. The study concludes there was an inverse relationship between turbulent transport of CO<sub>2 </sub>fluxes and wind speed for daytime period while nighttime CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes showed no significant correlation.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: CO<sub>2 </sub>fluxes, Wind speed, Turbulent transport, Low-wind tropical area, Stable boundary layer</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (11) ◽  
pp. 3035-3047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. A. van der Linden ◽  
Peter Baas ◽  
J. Antoon van Hooft ◽  
Ivo G. S. van Hooijdonk ◽  
Fred C. Bosveld ◽  
...  

AbstractGeostrophic wind speed data, derived from pressure observations, are used in combination with tower measurements to investigate the nocturnal stable boundary layer at Cabauw, the Netherlands. Since the geostrophic wind speed is not directly influenced by local nocturnal stability, it may be regarded as an external forcing parameter of the nocturnal stable boundary layer. This is in contrast to local parameters such as in situ wind speed, the Monin–Obukhov stability parameter (z/L), or the local Richardson number. To characterize the stable boundary layer, ensemble averages of clear-sky nights with similar geostrophic wind speeds are formed. In this manner, the mean dynamical behavior of near-surface turbulent characteristics and composite profiles of wind and temperature are systematically investigated. The classification is found to result in a gradual ordering of the diagnosed variables in terms of the geostrophic wind speed. In an ensemble sense the transition from the weakly stable to very stable boundary layer is more gradual than expected. Interestingly, for very weak geostrophic winds, turbulent activity is found to be negligibly small while the resulting boundary cooling stays finite. Realistic numerical simulations for those cases should therefore have a comprehensive description of other thermodynamic processes such as soil heat conduction and radiative transfer.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 8903-8941
Author(s):  
A. E. Jones ◽  
P. S. Anderson ◽  
M. Begoin ◽  
N. Brough ◽  
M. A. Hutterli ◽  
...  

Abstract. The source of bromine that drives polar boundary layer ozone depletion events (ODEs) is still open to some debate. While ODEs are generally noted to form under conditions of a shallow stable boundary layer, observations of depleted air under high wind conditions are taken as being transport-related. Here we report observations from Antarctica in which an unusually large cloud of BrO formed over the Weddell Sea. The enhanced BrO was observed over Halley station in coastal Antarctica, providing an opportunity to probe the conditions within an active "bromine explosion" event. On this occasion, enhanced BrO and depleted boundary layer ozone coincided with high wind speeds and saline blowing snow. We derive a simple model to consider the environmental conditions that favour ODEs and find two maxima, one at low wind/stable boundary layer and one at high wind speeds with blowing snow. Modelling calculations aiming to reproduce the wider regional or global impacts of ODEs, either via radiative effects or as a halogen source, will also need to account for high wind speed mechanisms.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (14) ◽  
pp. 4639-4652 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Jones ◽  
P. S. Anderson ◽  
M. Begoin ◽  
N. Brough ◽  
M. A. Hutterli ◽  
...  

Abstract. The source of bromine that drives polar boundary layer ozone depletion events (ODEs) is still open to some debate. While ODEs are generally noted to form under conditions of a shallow stable boundary layer, observations of depleted air under high wind conditions are taken as being transport-related. Here we report observations from Antarctica in which an unusually large cloud of BrO formed over the Weddell Sea. The enhanced BrO was observed over Halley station in coastal Antarctica, providing an opportunity to probe the conditions within an active "bromine explosion" event. On this occasion, enhanced BrO and depleted boundary layer ozone coincided with high wind speeds and saline blowing snow. We derive a simple model to consider the environmental conditions that favour ODEs and find two maxima, one at low wind/stable boundary layer and one at high wind speeds with blowing snow. Modelling calculations aiming to reproduce the wider regional or global impacts of ODEs, either via radiative effects or as a halogen source, will also need to account for high wind speed mechanisms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (10) ◽  
pp. 3029-3046 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mortarini ◽  
D. Cava ◽  
U. Giostra ◽  
F. Denardin Costa ◽  
G. Degrazia ◽  
...  

Abstract Oscillations in the horizontal components of the wind velocity associated with oscillations in air temperature during low–wind speed episodes are ubiquitous in the stable boundary layer and are labeled as wind meandering. The meandering structure is recognizable by a clear negative lobe in the Eulerian autocorrelation functions of the horizontal wind velocity components and of the sonic temperature and by a corresponding peak at low frequency in the velocity components and temperature spectra. These distinctive features are used to isolate meandering occurrences and to study its properties in relation to the classical description of the planetary stable boundary layer. It is shown that the ratio of the variance of the wind velocity vertical component over the variance of the composite of the wind velocity horizontal components splits the frequency distribution of meandering and nonmeandering events and divides the nocturnal boundary layer in two different regimes characterized by different turbulent properties. The data comparison with a turbulence model based on Rotta return to isotropy showed that meandering and nonmeandering cases may have similar dynamics. This suggests that meandering may not be connected to a laminarization of the flow and shows that the Rotta scheme may still describe the energetic transfer between wind velocity components in the very stable boundary layer if the Rotta similarity constant c depends on the flux Richardson number. The data confirm a c value of 2.2 for Rif = 0 compatible with its conventional value. The analysis presented refers to one year of continuous measurements on 10 levels carried out at a coastal site in southeastern Brazil.


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