Evaluating Surface Flux and Boundary Layer Parameterizations in Mesoscale Models Using Measurements from the Japan/East Sea Experiment

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Wang
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
East Sea ◽  
Mesoscale Models

Cold Pools and Their Influence on the Tropical Marine Boundary Layer

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1149-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon P. de Szoeke ◽  
Eric D. Skyllingstad ◽  
Paquita Zuidema ◽  
Arunchandra S. Chandra
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Cold Pool ◽  
Madden Julian Oscillation ◽  
Cold Pools ◽  
Central Indian Ocean

Abstract Cold pools dominate the surface temperature variability observed over the central Indian Ocean (0°, 80°E) for 2 months of research cruise observations in the Dynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) experiment in October–December 2011. Cold pool fronts are identified by a rapid drop of temperature. Air in cold pools is slightly drier than the boundary layer (BL). Consistent with previous studies, cold pools attain wet-bulb potential temperatures representative of saturated downdrafts originating from the lower midtroposphere. Wind and surface fluxes increase, and rain is most likely within the ~20-min cold pool front. Greatest integrated water vapor and liquid follow the front. Temperature and velocity fluctuations shorter than 6 min achieve 90% of the surface latent and sensible heat flux in cold pools. The temperature of the cold pools recovers in about 20 min, chiefly by mixing at the top of the shallow cold wake layer, rather than by surface flux. Analysis of conserved variables shows mean BL air is composed of 51% air entrained from the BL top (800 m), 22% saturated downdrafts, and 27% air at equilibrium with the ocean surface. The number of cold pools, and their contribution to the BL heat and moisture, nearly doubles in the convectively active phase compared to the suppressed phase of the Madden–Julian oscillation.

scholarly journals Surface flux estimates derived from UAS-based mole fraction measurements by means of a nocturnal boundary layer budget approach

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Kunz ◽  
Jost V. Lavric ◽  
Rainer Gasche ◽  
Christoph Gerbig ◽  
Richard H. Grant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Mole Fraction ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Nocturnal Boundary Layer ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Flux ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Transport Modelling ◽  
Stable Conditions

Abstract. The carbon exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere has a large influence on the Earth system and specifically on the climate. This exchange is therefore being studied intensively, often using the eddy covariance (EC) technique. EC measurements provide reliable results under turbulent atmospheric conditions, but under stable conditions – as they often occur at night – these measurements are known to misrepresent exchange fluxes. Nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) budgets can provide independent flux estimates under stable conditions, but their application so far has been limited by rather high cost and practical difficulties. Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) equipped with trace gas analysers have the potential to make this method more accessible. We present the methodology and results of a proof of concept study carried out during the ScaleX 2016 campaign. Successive vertical profiles of carbon dioxide dry air mole fraction in the NBL were taken with a compact analyser carried by a UAS. We estimate an average carbon dioxide flux of 12 μmol m−2 s−1, which is plausible for nocturnal respiration in this region in summer. Transport modelling suggests that the NBL budgets represent an area on the order of 100 km2.

scholarly journals Implementation of a boundary layer heat flux parameterization into the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS)

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 14311-14346 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. McGrath-Spangler ◽  
A. S. Denning ◽  
K. D. Corbin ◽  
I. T. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Lower Layer ◽  
Bowen Ratio ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Atmospheric Modeling ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Surface Boundary

Abstract. The response of atmospheric carbon dioxide to a given amount of surface flux is inversely proportional to the depth of the boundary layer. Overshooting thermals that entrain free tropospheric air down into the boundary layer modify the characteristics and depth of the lower layer through the insertion of energy and mass. This alters the surface energy budget by changing the Bowen ratio and thereby altering the vegetative response and the surface boundary conditions. Although overshooting thermals are important in the physical world, their effects are unresolved in most regional models. A parameterization to include the effects of boundary layer entrainment was introduced into a coupled ecosystem-atmosphere model (SiB-RAMS). The parameterization is based on a downward heat flux at the top of the boundary layer that is proportional to the heat flux at the surface. Results with the parameterization show that the boundary layer simulated is deeper, warmer, and drier than when the parameterization is turned off. These results alter the vegetative stress factors thereby changing the carbon flux from the surface. The combination of this and the deeper boundary layer change the concentration of carbon dioxide in the boundary layer.

scholarly journals Solutions to the 3D Transport Equation and 1D Diffusion Equation for Passive Tracers in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Their Applications

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuzhan Ren
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Diffusion Equation ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Transport Equation ◽  
Analytical Solutions ◽  
Inverse Modeling ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Diurnal Variations ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Passive Tracers

Abstract A solution to the 3D transport equation for passive tracers in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), formulated in terms of Green’s function (GF), is derived to show the connection between the concentration and surface fluxes of passive tracers through GF. Analytical solutions to the 1D vertical diffusion equation are derived to reveal the nonlinear dependence of the concentration and flux on the diffusivity, time, and height, and are employed to examine the impact of the diffusivity on the diurnal variations of CO2 in the ABL. The properties of transport operator H and their implications in inverse modeling are discussed. It is found that H has a significant contribution to the rectifier effect in the diurnal variations of CO2. Since H is the integral of GF in time, the narrow distribution of GF in time justifies the reduction of the size of H in inverse modeling. The exponential decay of GF with height suggests that the estimated surface fluxes in inverse modeling are more sensitive to the observations in the lower ABL. The solutions and first mean value theorem are employed to discuss the uncertainties associated with the concentration–mean surface flux equation used to link the concentrations and mean surface flux. Both analytical and numerical results show that the equation can introduce big errors, particularly when surface flux is sign indefinite. Numerical results show that the conclusions about the evolution properties of passive tracers based on the analytical solutions also hold in the cases with a more complicated diffusion coefficient and time-varying ABL height.

scholarly journals A New Boundary Layer Mixing Scheme. Part II: Tests in Climate and Mesoscale Models

2000 ◽  
Vol 128 (9) ◽  
pp. 3200-3217 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Martin ◽  
M. R. Bush ◽  
A. R. Brown ◽  
A. P. Lock ◽  
R. N. B. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Mesoscale Models

scholarly journals Parameters for the Collapse of Turbulence in the Stratified Plane Couette Flow

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 3211-3231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivo G. S. van Hooijdonk ◽  
Herman J. H. Clercx ◽  
Cedrick Ansorge ◽  
Arnold F. Moene ◽  
Bas J. H. van de Wiel
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Couette Flow ◽  
Neumann Boundary ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Shear Capacity ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Dirichlet Boundary Conditions ◽  
Obukhov Length

Abstract We perform direct numerical simulation of the Couette flow as a model for the stable boundary layer. The flow evolution is investigated for combinations of the (bulk) Reynolds number and the imposed surface buoyancy flux. First, we establish what the similarities and differences are between applying a fixed buoyancy difference (Dirichlet) and a fixed buoyancy flux (Neumann) as boundary conditions. Moreover, two distinct parameters were recently proposed for the turbulent-to-laminar transition: the Reynolds number based on the Obukhov length and the “shear capacity,” a velocity-scale ratio based on the buoyancy flux maximum. We study how these parameters relate to each other and to the atmospheric boundary layer. The results show that in a weakly stratified equilibrium state, the flow statistics are virtually the same between the different types of boundary conditions. However, at stronger stratification and, more generally, in nonequilibrium conditions, the flow statistics do depend on the type of boundary condition imposed. In the case of Neumann boundary conditions, a clear sensitivity to the initial stratification strength is observed because of the existence of multiple equilibriums, while for Dirichlet boundary conditions, only one statistically steady turbulent equilibrium exists for a particular set of boundary conditions. As in previous studies, we find that when the imposed surface flux is larger than the maximum buoyancy flux, no turbulent steady state occurs. Analytical investigation and simulation data indicate that this maximum buoyancy flux converges for increasing Reynolds numbers, which suggests a possible extrapolation to the atmospheric case.

scholarly journals Nature of the Mesoscale Boundary Layer Height and Water Vapor Variability Observed 14 June 2002 during the IHOP_2002 Campaign

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 414-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Couvreux ◽  
F. Guichard ◽  
P. H. Austin ◽  
F. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Layer Height ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
Boundary Layer Height ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Mesoscale water vapor heterogeneities in the boundary layer are studied within the context of the International H2O Project (IHOP_2002). A significant portion of the water vapor variability in the IHOP_2002 occurs at the mesoscale, with the spatial pattern and the magnitude of the variability changing from day to day. On 14 June 2002, an atypical mesoscale gradient is observed, which is the reverse of the climatological gradient over this area. The factors causing this water vapor variability are investigated using complementary platforms (e.g., aircraft, satellite, and in situ) and models. The impact of surface flux heterogeneities and atmospheric variability are evaluated separately using a 1D boundary layer model, which uses surface fluxes from the High-Resolution Land Data Assimilation System (HRLDAS) and early-morning atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles from a mesoscale model. This methodology, based on the use of robust modeling components, allows the authors to tackle the question of the nature of the observed mesoscale variability. The impact of horizontal advection is inferred from a careful analysis of available observations. By isolating the individual contributions to mesoscale water vapor variability, it is shown that the observed moisture variability cannot be explained by a single process, but rather involves a combination of different factors: the boundary layer height, which is strongly controlled by the surface buoyancy flux, the surface latent heat flux, the early-morning heterogeneity of the atmosphere, horizontal advection, and the radiative impact of clouds.

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