scholarly journals Assimilating Coherent Doppler Lidar Measurements into a Model of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Part II: Sensitivity Analyses

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1809-1824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob K. Newsom ◽  
Robert M. Banta
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Temperature Profile ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Grid Resolution ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Doppler Lidar ◽  
Sonic Anemometers ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
Virtual Potential Temperature

Abstract A series of trials are performed to evaluate the sensitivity of a 4DVAR algorithm for retrieval of microscale wind and temperature fields from single-Doppler lidar data. These trials use actual Doppler lidar measurements to examine the sensitivity of the retrievals to changes in 1) the prescribed eddy diffusivity profile, 2) the first-guess or base-state virtual potential temperature profile, 3) the phase and duration of the assimilation period, and 4) the grid resolution. The retrieved fields are well correlated among trials over a reasonable range of variation in the eddy diffusivity coefficients. However, the retrievals are quite sensitive to changes in the gradients of the first-guess or base-state virtual potential temperature profile, and to changes in the phase (start time) and duration of the assimilation period. Retrievals using different grid resolutions exhibit similar larger-scale structure, but differ considerably in the smaller scales. Increasing the grid resolution significantly improved the fit to the radial velocity measurements, improved the convergence rate, and produced variances and fluxes that were in better agreement with tower-based sonic anemometers. Horizontally averaged variance and heat flux profiles derived from the final time steps of all the retrievals are similar to typical large-eddy-simulation (LES) results for the convective boundary layer. However, all retrieved statistics show significant nonstationarity because fluctuations in the initial state tend to be confined within the boundaries of the scan.

scholarly journals Doppler Lidar Estimation of Mixing Height Using Turbulence, Shear, and Aerosol Profiles

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara C. Tucker ◽  
Christoph J. Senff ◽  
Ann M. Weickmann ◽  
W. Alan Brewer ◽  
Robert M. Banta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Doppler Lidar ◽  
Mixing Height ◽  
Coherent Doppler Lidar ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
Comparison Of The Results ◽  
Humidity Profiles

Abstract The concept of boundary layer mixing height for meteorology and air quality applications using lidar data is reviewed, and new algorithms for estimation of mixing heights from various types of lower-tropospheric coherent Doppler lidar measurements are presented. Velocity variance profiles derived from Doppler lidar data demonstrate direct application to mixing height estimation, while other types of lidar profiles demonstrate relationships to the variance profiles and thus may also be used in the mixing height estimate. The algorithms are applied to ship-based, high-resolution Doppler lidar (HRDL) velocity and backscattered-signal measurements acquired on the R/V Ronald H. Brown during Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS) 2006 to demonstrate the method and to produce mixing height estimates for that experiment. These combinations of Doppler lidar–derived velocity measurements have not previously been applied to analysis of boundary layer mixing height—over the water or elsewhere. A comparison of the results to those derived from ship-launched, balloon-radiosonde potential temperature and relative humidity profiles is presented.

scholarly journals Effects of Boundary Layer Vertical Mixing on the Evolution of Hurricanes over Land

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (6) ◽  
pp. 2343-2361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feimin Zhang ◽  
Zhaoxia Pu ◽  
Chenghai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Vertical Gradient ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Virtual Potential Temperature ◽  
Dynamic Structures ◽  
Hurricane Boundary Layer

Abstract After a hurricane makes landfall, its evolution is strongly influenced by its interaction with the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over land. In this study, a series of numerical experiments are performed to examine the effects of boundary layer vertical mixing on hurricane simulations over land using a research version of the NCEP Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) Model with three landfalling hurricane cases. It is found that vertical mixing in the PBL has a strong influence on the simulated hurricane evolution. Specifically, strong vertical mixing has a positive impact on numerical simulations of hurricanes over land, with better track, intensity, synoptic flow, and precipitation simulations. In contrast, weak vertical mixing leads to the strong hurricanes over land. Diagnoses of the thermodynamic and dynamic structures of hurricane vortices further suggest that the strong vertical mixing in the PBL could cause a decrease in the vertical wind shear and an increase in the vertical gradient of virtual potential temperature. As a consequence, these changes destroy the turbulence kinetic energy in the hurricane boundary layer and thus stabilize the hurricane boundary layer and limit its maintenance over land.

scholarly journals Countergradient heat flux observations during the evening transition period

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 9077-9085 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Blay-Carreras ◽  
E. R. Pardyjak ◽  
D. Pino ◽  
D. C. Alexander ◽  
F. Lohou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Layer ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Horizontal Shear ◽  
Evening Transition ◽  
Virtual Potential Temperature

Abstract. Gradient-based turbulence models generally assume that the buoyancy flux ceases to introduce heat into the surface layer of the atmospheric boundary layer in temporal consonance with the gradient of the local virtual potential temperature. Here, we hypothesize that during the evening transition a delay exists between the instant when the buoyancy flux goes to zero and the time when the local gradient of the virtual potential temperature indicates a sign change. This phenomenon is studied using a range of data collected over several intensive observational periods (IOPs) during the Boundary Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence field campaign conducted in Lannemezan, France. The focus is mainly on the lower part of the surface layer using a tower instrumented with high-speed temperature and velocity sensors. The results from this work confirm and quantify a flux-gradient delay. Specifically, the observed values of the delay are ~ 30–80 min. The existence of the delay and its duration can be explained by considering the convective timescale and the competition of forces associated with the classical Rayleigh–Bénard problem. This combined theory predicts that the last eddy formed while the sensible heat flux changes sign during the evening transition should produce a delay. It appears that this last eddy is decelerated through the action of turbulent momentum and thermal diffusivities, and that the delay is related to the convective turnover timescale. Observations indicate that as horizontal shear becomes more important, the delay time apparently increases to values greater than the convective turnover timescale.

scholarly journals Evaluation of retrieval methods for planetary boundary layer height based on radiosonde data

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 5977-5986
Author(s):  
Hui Li ◽  
Boming Liu ◽  
Xin Ma ◽  
Shikuan Jin ◽  
Yingying Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Temperature Profile ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Gradient Method ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Wind Speed Profile ◽  
Neutral Boundary Layer

Abstract. Radiosonde (RS) is widely used to detect the vertical structures of the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and numerous methods have been proposed for retrieving PBL height (PBLH) from RS data. However, an algorithm that is suitable under all atmospheric conditions does not exist. This study evaluates the performance of four common PBLH algorithms under different thermodynamic stability conditions based on RS data collected from nine sites in January–December 2019. The four RS algorithms are the potential temperature gradient method (GMθ), relative humidity (RH) gradient method (GMRH), parcel method (PM) and Richardson number method (RM). Atmospheric conditions are divided into convective boundary layer (CBL), neutral boundary layer (NBL) and stable boundary layer (SBL) on the basis of the potential temperature profile. Results indicate that SBL is dominant at nighttime, whilst CBL dominates at daytime. Under all and SBL classifications, PBLH retrieved by RM is typically higher than those retrieved using the other methods. On the contrary, the PBLH result retrieved by PM is the lowest. Under CBL and NBL classifications, PBLH retrieved by PM is the highest. PBLH retrieved by GMθ and GMRH is relatively low under all classifications. Moreover, the uncertainty analysis shows that the consistency of PBLH retrieved by different algorithms is more than 80 % under CBL and NBL classifications. By contrast, the consistency of PBLH is less than 60 % under SBL classification. The average profiles and standard deviations of wind speed and potential temperature under consistent and inconsistent conditions are also investigated. The results indicate that consistent cases are typically accompanied by evident atmospheric stratification, such as a large gradient in the potential temperature profile or a low-level jet in the wind speed profile. These results indicate that the reliability of the PBLH results retrieved from RS data is affected by the structure of the boundary layer. Overall, GMθ and RM are appropriate for CBL condition. GMθ and PM are recommended for NBL condition. GMθ and GMRH are robust for SBL condition. This comprehensive comparison provides a reference for selecting the appropriate algorithm when retrieving PBLH from RS data.

scholarly journals Testing the efficacy of atmospheric boundary layer height detection algorithms using uncrewed aircraft system data from MOSAiC

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Jozef ◽  
John Cassano ◽  
Sandro Dahlke ◽  
Gijs de Boer
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Richardson Number ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Radiation Budget ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Bulk Richardson Number ◽  
Virtual Potential Temperature ◽  
Aircraft System

Abstract. During the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition, meteorological conditions over the lowest 1 km of the atmosphere were sampled with the DataHawk2 (DH2) fixed wing uncrewed aircraft system (UAS). Of particular interest is the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) height, as ABL structure can be closely coupled to cloud properties, surface fluxes, and the atmospheric radiation budget. The high temporal resolution of the UAS observations allows us to subjectively identify ABL height for 65 out of the total 89 flights conducted over the central Arctic Ocean between 23 March and 26 July 2020 by visually analyzing profiles of virtual potential temperature, humidity, and bulk Richardson number. Comparing this subjective ABL height with the ABL heights identified by various previously published objective methods allows us to determine which objective methods are most successful at accurately identifying ABL height in the central Arctic environment. The objective methods we use are the Liu-Liang, Heffter, virtual potential temperature gradient maximum, and bulk Richardson number methods. In the process of testing these objective methods on the DH2 data, numerical thresholds were adapted to work best for the UAS-based sampling. To determine if conclusions are robust across different measurement platforms, the subjective and objective ABL height determination processes were repeated using the radiosonde profile closest in time to each DH2 flight. For both the DH2 and radiosonde data, it is determined that the bulk Richardson number method is the most successful at identifying ABL height, while the Liu-Liang method is least successful.

scholarly journals Countergradient heat flux observations during the evening transition period

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 7711-7737 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Blay-Carreras ◽  
E. R. Pardyjak ◽  
D. Pino ◽  
D. C. Alexander ◽  
F. Lohou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Layer ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Horizontal Shear ◽  
Evening Transition ◽  
Virtual Potential Temperature

Abstract. Gradient-based turbulence models generally assume that the buoyancy flux ceases to introduce heat into the surface layer of the atmospheric boundary layer in temporal consonance with the gradient of the local virtual potential temperature. Here, we hypothesize that during the evening transition a delay exists between the instant when the buoyancy flux goes to zero and the time when the local gradient of the virtual potential temperature indicates a sign change. This phenomenon is studied using a range of data collected over several Intensive Observational Periods (IOPs) during the Boundary Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence field campaign conducted in Lannemezan, France. The focus is mainly on the lower part of the surface layer using a tower instrumented with high-speed temperature and velocity sensors. The results from this work confirm and quantify a flux-gradient delay. Specifically, the observed values of the delay are ~30–80 min. The existence of the delay and its duration can be explained by considering the convective time scale and the competition of forces associated with the classical Rayleigh–Bénard problem. This combined theory predicts that the last eddy formed while the sensible heat flux changes sign during the evening transition should produce a delay. It appears that this last eddy is decelerated through the action of turbulent momentum and thermal diffusivities, and that the delay is related to the convective turn – over time – scale. Observations indicate that as horizontal shear becomes more important, the delay time apparently increases to values greater than the convective turnover time-scale.

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