The Use of High-Resolution Sounding Data to Evaluate and Optimize Nonlocal PBL Schemes for Simulating the Slightly Stable Upper Convective Boundary Layer

2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (10) ◽  
pp. 3825-3841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Ming Hu ◽  
Ming Xue ◽  
Xiaolan Li
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Thermal Structure ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Neutral Stability ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Early Afternoon ◽  
Peak Value

Abstract Since the 1950s, a countergradient flux term has been added to some K-profile-based first-order PBL schemes, allowing them to simulate the slightly statically stable upper part of the convective boundary layer (CBL) observed in a limited number of aircraft soundings. There is, however, substantial uncertainty in inferring detailed CBL structure, particularly the level of neutral stability (zn), from such a limited number of soundings. In this study, composite profiles of potential temperature are derived from multiyear early afternoon radiosonde data over Beijing, China. The CBLs become slightly stable above zn ~ 0.31–0.33zi, where zi is the CBL depth. These composite profiles are used to evaluate two K-profile PBL schemes, the Yonsei University (YSU) and Shin–Hong (SH) schemes, and to optimize the latter through parameter calibration. In one-dimensional simulations using the WRF Model, YSU simulates a stable CBL above zn ~ 0.24zi, while default SH simulates a thick superadiabatic lower CBL with zn ~ 0.45zi. Experiments with the analytic solution of a K-profile PBL model show that adjusting the countergradient flux profile leads to significant changes in the thermal structure of CBL, informing the calibration of SH. The SH scheme replaces the countergradient heat flux term in its predecessor YSU scheme with a three-layer nonlocal heating profile, with fnl specifying the peak value and z*SL specifying the height of this peak value. Increasing fnl to 1.1 lowers zn, but to too low a value, while simultaneously increasing z*SL to 0.4 leads to a more appropriate zn ~ 0.36zi. The calibrated SH scheme performs better than YSU and default SH for real CBLs.

scholarly journals Explicit Filtering and Reconstruction to Reduce Grid Dependence in Convective Boundary Layer Simulations Using WRF-LES

2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (5) ◽  
pp. 1805-1821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason S. Simon ◽  
Bowen Zhou ◽  
Jeffrey D. Mirocha ◽  
Fotini Katopodes Chow
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Reconstruction Technique ◽  
Gray Zone ◽  
Turbulent Structures ◽  
Convective Boundary

Abstract As model grid resolutions move from the mesoscale to the microscale, turbulent structures represented in atmospheric boundary layer simulations change dramatically. At intermediate resolutions, the so-called gray zone, turbulent motions are not resolved accurately, posing a challenge to numerical simulations. The representation of turbulence is also highly sensitive to the choice of closure model. Here, we examine explicit filtering and reconstruction in the gray zone as a technique to better represent atmospheric turbulence. The convective boundary layer is simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with horizontal resolutions ranging from 25 m to 1 km. Four large-eddy simulation (LES) turbulence models are considered: the Smagorinsky model, the TKE-1.5 model, and two versions of the dynamic reconstruction model (DRM). The models are evaluated by their ability to produce consistent mean potential temperature profiles, heat and momentum fluxes, velocity fields, and turbulent kinetic energy spectra as the grids become coarser. The DRM, a mixed model that uses an explicit filtering and reconstruction technique to account for resolvable subfilter-scale (RSFS) stresses, performs very well at resolutions of 500 m and 1 km without any special tuning, whereas the Smagorinsky and TKE-1.5 models produce heavily grid-dependent results.

scholarly journals Reexamining the Gradient and Countergradient Representation of the Local and Nonlocal Heat Fluxes in the Convective Boundary Layer

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 2317-2336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bowen Zhou ◽  
Shiwei Sun ◽  
Kai Yao ◽  
Kefeng Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Correction Term ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Gradient Term ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Upper Mixed Layer

Abstract Turbulent mixing in the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) is carried out by organized nonlocal updrafts and smaller local eddies. In the upper mixed layer of the CBL, heat fluxes associated with nonlocal updrafts are directed up the local potential temperature gradient. To reproduce such countergradient behavior in parameterizations, a class of planetary boundary layer schemes adopts a countergradient correction term in addition to the classic downgradient eddy-diffusion term. Such schemes are popular because of their simple formulation and effective performance. This study reexamines those schemes to investigate the physical representations of the gradient and countergradient (GCG) terms, and to rebut the often-implied association of the GCG terms with heat fluxes due to local and nonlocal (LNL) eddies. To do so, large-eddy simulations (LESs) of six idealized CBL cases are performed. The GCG fluxes are computed a priori with horizontally averaged LES data, while the LNL fluxes are diagnosed through conditional sampling and Fourier decomposition of the LES flow field. It is found that in the upper mixed layer, the gradient term predicts downward fluxes in the presence of positive mean potential temperature gradient but is compensated by the upward countergradient correction flux, which is larger than the total heat flux. However, neither downward local fluxes nor larger-than-total nonlocal fluxes are diagnosed from LES. The difference reflects reduced turbulence efficiency for GCG fluxes and, in terms of physics, conceptual deficiencies in the GCG representation of CBL heat fluxes.

Marginal Stability of the Convective Boundary Layer

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-442
Author(s):  
John Thuburn ◽  
Georgios A. Efstathiou
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stability Analysis ◽  
Linear Stability Analysis ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Eddy Viscosity ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Marginal Stability ◽  
Layer Depth ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Layer Potential

Abstract We hypothesize that the convective atmospheric boundary layer is marginally stable when the damping effects of turbulence are taken into account. If the effects of turbulence are modeled as an eddy viscosity and diffusivity, then an idealized analysis based on the hypothesis predicts a well-known scaling for the magnitude of the eddy viscosity and diffusivity. It also predicts that the marginally stable modes should have vertical and horizontal scales comparable to the boundary layer depth. A more quantitative numerical linear stability analysis is presented for a realistic convective boundary layer potential temperature profile and is found to support the hypothesis.

scholarly journals Characterization of a boreal convective boundary layer and its impact on atmospheric chemistry during HUMPPA-COPEC-2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 9335-9353 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. G. Ouwersloot ◽  
J. Vilà-Guerau de Arellano ◽  
A. C. Nölscher ◽  
M. C. Krol ◽  
L. N. Ganzeveld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. We studied the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) dynamics and the impact on atmospheric chemistry during the HUMPPA-COPEC-2010 campaign. We used vertical profiles of potential temperature and specific moisture, obtained from 132 radio soundings, to determine the main boundary layer characteristics during the campaign. We propose a classification according to several main ABL prototypes. Further, we performed a case study of a single day, focusing on the convective boundary layer, to analyse the influence of the dynamics on the chemical evolution of the ABL. We used a mixed layer model, initialized and constrained by observations. In particular, we investigated the role of large scale atmospheric dynamics (subsidence and advection) on the ABL development and the evolution of chemical species concentrations. We find that, if the large scale forcings are taken into account, the ABL dynamics are represented satisfactorily. Subsequently, we studied the impact of mixing with a residual layer aloft during the morning transition on atmospheric chemistry. The time evolution of NOx and O3 concentrations, including morning peaks, can be explained and accurately simulated by incorporating the transition of the ABL dynamics from night to day. We demonstrate the importance of the ABL height evolution for the representation of atmospheric chemistry. Our findings underscore the need to couple the dynamics and chemistry at different spatial scales (from turbulence to mesoscale) in chemistry-transport models and in the interpretation of observational data.

scholarly journals Comparison of Convective Boundary Layer Velocity Spectra Retrieved from Large- Eddy-Simulation and Weather Research and Forecasting Model Data

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy A. Gibbs ◽  
Evgeni Fedorovich
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Velocity Fields ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Velocity Spectra

AbstractAs computing capabilities expand, operational and research environments are moving toward the use of finescale atmospheric numerical models. These models are attractive for users who seek an accurate description of small-scale turbulent motions. One such numerical tool is the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, which has been extensively used in synoptic-scale and mesoscale studies. As finer-resolution simulations become more desirable, it remains a question whether the model features originally designed for the simulation of larger-scale atmospheric flows will translate to adequate reproductions of small-scale motions. In this study, turbulent flow in the dry atmospheric convective boundary layer (CBL) is simulated using a conventional large-eddy-simulation (LES) code and the WRF model applied in an LES mode. The two simulation configurations use almost identical numerical grids and are initialized with the same idealized vertical profiles of wind velocity, temperature, and moisture. The respective CBL forcings are set equal and held constant. The effects of the CBL wind shear and of the varying grid spacings are investigated. Horizontal slices of velocity fields are analyzed to enable a comparison of CBL flow patterns obtained with each simulation method. Two-dimensional velocity spectra are used to characterize the planar turbulence structure. One-dimensional velocity spectra are also calculated. Results show that the WRF model tends to attribute slightly more energy to larger-scale flow structures as compared with the CBL structures reproduced by the conventional LES. Consequently, the WRF model reproduces relatively less spatial variability of the velocity fields. Spectra from the WRF model also feature narrower inertial spectral subranges and indicate enhanced damping of turbulence on small scales.

scholarly journals A Planetary Boundary Layer Height Climatology Derived from ECMWF Reanalysis Data

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (17) ◽  
pp. 6575-6590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel von Engeln ◽  
João Teixeira
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Vertical Gradient ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Seasonal And Diurnal Variations ◽  
Ecmwf Reanalysis

Abstract A planetary boundary layer (PBL) height climatology from ECMWF reanalysis data is generated and analyzed. Different methods are first compared to derive PBL heights from atmospheric temperature, pressure, and relative humidity (RH), which mostly make use of profile gradients, for example, in RH, refractivity, and virtual or potential temperature. Three methods based on the vertical gradient of RH, virtual temperature, and potential temperature were selected for the climatology generation. The RH-based method appears to capture the inversion that caps the convective boundary layer very well as a result of its temperature and humidity dependence, while the temperature-based methods appear to capture the PBL better at high latitudes. A validation of the reanalysis fields with collocated radiosonde data shows generally good agreement in terms of mean PBL height and standard deviation for the RH-based method. The generated ECMWF-based PBL height climatology shows many of the expected climatological features, such as a fairly low PBL height near the west coast of continents where stratus clouds are found and PBL growth as the air is advected over warmer waters toward the tropics along the trade winds. Large seasonal and diurnal variations are primarily found over land. The PBL height can exceed 3 km, mostly over desert areas during the day, although large values can also be found in areas such as the ITCZ. The robustness of the statistics was analyzed by using information on the percentage of outliers. Here in particular, the sea-based PBL was found to be very stable.

Objectively Determined Fair-Weather CBL Depths in the ARW-WRF Model and Their Comparison to CASES-97 Observations

2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A. LeMone ◽  
Mukul Tewari ◽  
Fei Chen ◽  
Jimy Dudhia
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Fair Weather ◽  
Free Atmosphere ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Surface Exchange ◽  
Weather Observations ◽  
Horizontal Grid

Abstract High-resolution 24-h runs of the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model are used to test eight objective methods for estimating convective boundary layer (CBL) depth h, using four planetary boundary layer schemes: Yonsei University (YSU), Mellor–Yamada–Janjic (MYJ), Bougeault–LaCarrere (BouLac), and quasi-normal scale elimination (QNSE). The methods use thresholds of virtual potential temperature Θυ, turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), Θυ,z, or Richardson number. Those that identify h consistent with values found subjectively from modeled Θυ profiles are used for comparisons to fair-weather observations from the 1997 Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study (CASES-97). The best method defines h as the lowest level at which Θυ,z = 2 K km−1, working for all four schemes, with little sensitivity to horizontal grid spacing. For BouLac, MYJ, and QNSE, TKE thresholds did poorly for runs with 1- and 3-km grid spacing, producing irregular h growth not consistent with Θυ-profile evolution. This resulted from the vertical velocity W associated with resolved CBL eddies: for W > 0, TKE profiles were deeper and Θυ profiles more unstable than for W < 0. For the 1-km runs, 25-point spatial averaging was needed for reliable TKE-based h estimates, but thresholds greater than free-atmosphere values were sensitive to horizontal grid spacing. Matching Θυ(h) to Θυ(0.05h) or Θυ at the first model level were often successful, but the absence of eddies for 9-km grids led to more unstable Θυ profiles and often deeper h. Values of h for BouLac, MYJ, and QNSE, are mostly smaller than observed, with YSU values close to slightly high, consistent with earlier results.

scholarly journals Bulk Scaling Model of Entrainment Zone Thickness in a Convective Boundary Layer, with a Shear Effect Promoted by Velocity Difference

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Anran Li ◽  
Wenfeng Gao ◽  
Tao Liu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Velocity Shear ◽  
Shear Effect ◽  
Velocity Difference ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Scaling Model ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Entrainment Zone

Studying the thickness of the convective boundary layer (CBL) is helpful for understanding atmospheric structure and the diffusion of air pollutants. When there is velocity shear in CBL, the flow field structure is very different from that of shear-free CBL, which makes the thickness model of the entrainment zone deviate. A large-eddy simulation (LES) approach is carried out for a horizontally homogeneous, atmospheric CBL, with a shear effect promoted by velocity difference to explore the bulk scaling model of the entrainment zone thickness. The post-processed data indicate that the existing bulk scaling models cannot synthetically represent the effects of shear and buoyancy on entrainment, resulting in reduced accuracy or limited applicability. Based on the fraction of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) used for entrainment, a different form of the characteristic velocity scale, which includes the shear effect, is proposed, and a modified bulk scaling model that uses a potential temperature gradient to replace the potential temperature jump across the entrainment zone is constructed with the numerical results. The new model is found to provide an improved prediction of the entrainment zone thickness in a sheared CBL.

scholarly journals Verification of Convection-Allowing WRF Model Forecasts of the Planetary Boundary Layer Using Sounding Observations

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 842-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Coniglio ◽  
James Correia ◽  
Patrick T. Marsh ◽  
Fanyou Kong
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Cloud Model ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Thermodynamic Characteristics ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Local Schemes

Abstract This study evaluates forecasts of thermodynamic variables from five convection-allowing configurations of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) with the Advanced Research core (WRF-ARW). The forecasts vary only in their planetary boundary layer (PBL) scheme, including three “local” schemes [Mellor–Yamada–Janjić (MYJ), quasi-normal scale elimination (QNSE), and Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi–Niino (MYNN)] and two schemes that include “nonlocal” mixing [the asymmetric cloud model version 2 (ACM2) and the Yonei University (YSU) scheme]. The forecasts are compared to springtime radiosonde observations upstream from deep convection to gain a better understanding of the thermodynamic characteristics of these PBL schemes in this regime. The morning PBLs are all too cool and dry despite having little bias in PBL depth (except for YSU). In the evening, the local schemes produce shallower PBLs that are often too shallow and too moist compared to nonlocal schemes. However, MYNN is nearly unbiased in PBL depth, moisture, and potential temperature, which is comparable to the background North American Mesoscale model (NAM) forecasts. This result gives confidence in the use of the MYNN scheme in convection-allowing configurations of WRF-ARW to alleviate the typical cool, moist bias of the MYJ scheme in convective boundary layers upstream from convection. The morning cool and dry biases lead to an underprediction of mixed-layer CAPE (MLCAPE) and an overprediction of mixed-layer convective inhibition (MLCIN) at that time in all schemes. MLCAPE and MLCIN forecasts improve in the evening, with MYJ, QNSE, and MYNN having small mean errors, but ACM2 and YSU having a somewhat low bias. Strong observed capping inversions tend to be associated with an underprediction of MLCIN in the evening, as the model profiles are too smooth. MLCAPE tends to be overpredicted (underpredicted) by MYJ and QNSE (MYNN, ACM2, and YSU) when the observed MLCAPE is relatively small (large).

scholarly journals Evaluating Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model Predictions of Turbulent Flow Parameters in a Dry Convective Boundary Layer

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 2429-2444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy A. Gibbs ◽  
Evgeni Fedorovich ◽  
Alexander M. J. van Eijk
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Grid Spacing ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Parameterization Schemes ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Horizontal Grid ◽  
Weather Research

AbstractWeather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model predictions using different boundary layer schemes and horizontal grid spacings were compared with observational and numerical large-eddy simulation data for conditions corresponding to a dry atmospheric convective boundary layer (CBL) over the southern Great Plains (SGP). The first studied case exhibited a dryline passage during the simulation window, and the second studied case was used to examine the CBL in a post-cold-frontal environment. The model runs were conducted with three boundary layer parameterization schemes (Yonsei University, Mellor–Yamada–Janjić, and asymmetrical convective) commonly employed within the WRF model environment to represent effects of small-scale turbulent transport. A study domain was centered over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program SGP site in Lamont, Oklahoma. Results show that near-surface flow and turbulence parameters are predicted reasonably well with all tested horizontal grid spacings (1, 2, and 4 km) and that value added through refining grid spacing was minimal at best for conditions considered in this study. In accord with this result, it was suggested that the 16-fold increase in computing overhead associated with changing from 4- to 1-km grid spacing was not justified. Therefore, only differences among schemes at 4-km spacing were presented in detail. WRF model predictions generally overestimated the contribution to turbulence generation by mechanical forcing over buoyancy forcing in both studied CBL cases. Nonlocal parameterization schemes were found to match observational data more closely than did the local scheme, although differences among the predictions with all three schemes were relatively small.

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