scholarly journals Flux–Profile Relationships in the Stable Boundary Layer—A Critical Discussion

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1197
Author(s):  
Giampietro Casasanta ◽  
Roberto Sozzi ◽  
Igor Petenko ◽  
Stefania Argentini
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Temperature Scale ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Stable Boundary ◽  
Flux Profile ◽  
Functional Forms

Flux–profile relationships are crucial for parametrizing surface fluxes of momentum and heat, that are of central relevance for applications such as climate modelling and weather forecast. Nevertheless, their functional forms are still under discussion, and a generally accepted formulation does not exist yet. We reviewed the four main formulations proposed in the literature so far and assessed how they affect the theoretical behaviour of the kinematic heat flux (H0) and the temperature scale (T*) in the stable boundary layer, as well as their consequences on the existence of critical values for both the gradient and the flux Richardson numbers. None of them turned out to be fully consistent with the literature published so far, with two of them leading to very unreliable expressions for both H0 and T*. All considered, a convincing description of flux–profile relationships still needs to be found and seems to represents a considerable challenge.

Relating Mean Radiosounding Profiles to Surface Fluxes for the Very Stable Boundary Layer

2012 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Caporaso ◽  
A. Riccio ◽  
F. Di Giuseppe ◽  
F. Tampieri
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Stable Boundary

Modeling the Evolution of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Coupled to the Land Surface for Three Contrasting Nights in CASES-99

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 920-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Steeneveld ◽  
B. J. H. van de Wiel ◽  
A. A. M. Holtslag
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Atmospheric Stability ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Dominant Term ◽  
Stable Boundary ◽  
Underlying Soil

Abstract The modeling and prediction of the stable boundary layer over land is a persistent, problematic feature in weather, climate, and air quality topics. Here, the performance of a state-of-the-art single-column boundary layer model is evaluated with observations from the 1999 Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99) field experiment. Very high model resolution in the atmosphere and the soil is utilized to represent three different stable boundary layer archetypes, namely, a fully turbulent night, an intermittently turbulent night, and a radiative night with hardly any turbulence (all at clear skies). Each archetype represents a different class of atmospheric stability. In the current model, the atmosphere is fully coupled to a vegetation layer and the underlying soil. In addition, stability functions (local scaling) are utilized based on in situ observations. Overall it is found that the vertical structure, the surface fluxes (apart from the intermittent character) and the surface temperature in the stable boundary layer can be satisfactorily modeled for a broad stability range (at a local scale) with the current understanding of the physics of the stable boundary layer. This can also be achieved by the use of a rather detailed coupling between the atmosphere and the underlying soil and vegetation, together with high resolution in both the atmosphere and the soil. This is especially true for the very stable nights, when longwave radiative cooling is dominant. Both model outcome and observations show that in the latter case the soil heat flux is a dominant term of the surface energy budget.

scholarly journals Ventilation of a Mid-Size City under Stable Boundary Layer Conditions: A Simulation Using the LES Model PALM

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 401
Author(s):  
Jonathan Biehl ◽  
Bastian Paas ◽  
Otto Klemm
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Passive Scalar ◽  
City Center ◽  
Street Canyons ◽  
Stable Boundary ◽  
Northwest Germany ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Les Model ◽  
The City

City centers have to cope with an increasing amount of air pollution. The supply of fresh air is crucial yet difficult to ensure, especially under stable conditions of the atmospheric boundary layer. This case study used the PArallelized Large eddy simulation (LES) Model PALM to investigate the wind field over an urban lake that had once been built as a designated fresh air corridor for the city center of Münster, northwest, Germany. The model initialization was performed using the main wind direction and stable boundary layer conditions as input. The initial wind and temperature profiles included a weak nocturnal low-level jet. By emitting a passive scalar at one point on top of a bridge, the dispersion of fresh air could be traced over the lake’s surface, within street canyons leading to the city center and within the urban boundary layer above. The concept of city ventilation was confirmed in principle, but the air took a direct route from the shore of the lake to the city center above a former river bed and its adjoining streets rather than through the street canyons. According to the dispersion of the passive scalar, half of the city center was supplied with fresh air originating from the lake. PALM proved to be a useful tool to study fresh air corridors under stable boundary layer conditions.

scholarly journals Thermal Submeso Motions in the Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer. Part 2: Generating Mechanisms and Implications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Pfister ◽  
Karl Lapo ◽  
Larry Mahrt ◽  
Christoph K. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Side Wall ◽  
Cold Pool ◽  
Continuous Data ◽  
Valley Bottom ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Stable Boundary ◽  
Surface Temperatures

AbstractIn the stable boundary layer, thermal submesofronts (TSFs) are detected during the Shallow Cold Pool experiment in the Colorado plains, Colorado, USA in 2012. The topography induces TSFs by forming two different air layers converging on the valley-side wall while being stacked vertically above the valley bottom. The warm-air layer is mechanically generated by lee turbulence that consistently elevates near-surface temperatures, while the cold-air layer is thermodynamically driven by radiative cooling and the corresponding cold-air drainage decreases near-surface temperatures. The semi-stationary TSFs can only be detected, tracked, and investigated in detail when using fibre-optic distributed sensing (FODS), as point observations miss TSFs most of the time. Neither the occurrence of TSFs nor the characteristics of each air layer are connected to a specific wind or thermal regime. However, each air layer is characterized by a specific relationship between the wind speed and the friction velocity. Accordingly, a single threshold separating different flow regimes within the boundary layer is an oversimplification, especially during the occurrence of TSFs. No local forcings or their combination could predict the occurrence of TSFs except that they are less likely to occur during stronger near-surface or synoptic-scale flow. While classical conceptualizations and techniques of the boundary layer fail in describing the formation of TSFs, the use of spatially continuous data obtained from FODS provide new insights. Future studies need to incorporate spatially continuous data in the horizontal and vertical planes, in addition to classic sensor networks of sonic anemometry and thermohygrometers to fully characterize and describe boundary-layer phenomena.

Tethered Balloon Observations Of The Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer In A Valley

2000 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Holden ◽  
S. H. Derbyshire ◽  
S. E. Belcher
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Tethered Balloon ◽  
Stable Boundary

On stable boundary-layer height estimation using backscatter lidar data and variance processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Paulo Araujo da Silva ◽  
Constantino Muñoz-Porcar ◽  
Umar Saeed ◽  
Francesc Rey ◽  
Maria Teresa Pay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Stable Boundary Layer ◽  
Adaptive Estimation ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Minimum Variance ◽  
Initial Guess ◽  
Layer Height ◽  
Stable Boundary ◽  
Boundary Layer Height ◽  
Temporal Variance

<p>This study describes a method to estimate the nocturnal stable boundary layer height (SBLH) by means of lidar observations. The method permits two approaches which yield independent retrievals through either spatial or temporal variance vertical profiles of the attenuated backscatter. Then, the minimum variance region (MVR) on this profile is identified. Eventually, when multiple MVRs are detected, a temperature-based SBLH estimation derived from radiosonde, launched within the searching time, is used to disambiguate the initial guess. In order to test the method, two study cases employing lidar-ceilometer (Jenoptik CHM 15k Nimbus) measurements are investigated. Temperature-based estimates from a collocated microwave radiometer permitted validation, using either temporal or spatial backscatter variances. The dataset was collected during the HD(CP)2 Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) [1].   </p><p>[1] U. Saeed, F. Rocadenbosch, and S. Crewell, “Adaptive Estimation of the Stable Boundary Layer Height Using Combined Lidar and Microwave Radiometer Observations,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 54(12), 6895–6906 (2016), DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2016.2586298.</p><p>[2] U. Löhnert, J. H. Schween, C. Acquistapace, K. Ebell, M. Maahn, M. Barrera-Verdejo, A. Hirsikko, B. Bohn, A. Knaps, E. O’Connor, C. Simmer, A. Wahner, and S. Crewell, “JOYCE: Jülich Observatory for Cloud Evolution,” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 96(7), 1157-1174 (2015). DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00105.1</p>

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