scholarly journals An intercomparison of Large-Eddy Simulations of the Martian daytime convective boundary layer

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanguy Bertrand ◽  
Aymeric Spiga ◽  
Scot Rafkin ◽  
Arnaud Colaitis ◽  
François Forget ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Airborne Dust ◽  
Large Eddy

Abstract. Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) for Mars resolve the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) turbulent dynamics by using a very fine horizontal resolution of a few tens of meters. LES modeling is becoming a more and more useful tool to prepare the robotic exploration of Mars by providing means to evaluate the intensity of convective plumes and vortices, horizontal wind gustiness, and turbulent fluctuations of temperature in the Martian PBL. In such context, and given the relative paucity of turbulence-related measurements on Mars, an intercomparison of LES models is a fruitful way to evaluate the models' predictions and to indicate possible areas of improvement. Thus, to prepare the landing of the ExoMars Schiaparelli lander (also named ExoMars Demonstrator Module, EDM), scheduled for October 2016, the results of the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) and South-West Research Institute (SwRI) LES models have been compared. The objective of this study is to determine the range of uncertainties, and dispersions, of the two numerical models' predictions, for the critical phase of the spacecraft's descent in the Martian daytime turbulent PBL. First, a strategy is defined to ensure similar radiative forcing in both the LMD and SwRI models. Then, LES are performed over a flat terrain with and without large-scale ambient horizontal wind. The LMD and SwRI Martian LES models predict similar temporal evolution of the PBL and organization in the horizontal and vertical wind fields. However, the convective motions in the daytime PBL are more vigorous by a factor 1.5–2 in SwRI results than in LMD results, independently of the presence or not of ambient horizontal wind. This discrepancy is further investigated through sensitivity studies to surface conditions, ambient wind, and airborne dust loading.

scholarly journals Comparison of Large Eddy Simulations of a convective boundary layer with wind LIDAR measurements

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Pedersen ◽  
M. Kelly ◽  
S.-E. Gryning ◽  
R. Floors ◽  
E. Batchvarova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Geostrophic Wind ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Horizontal Wind Speed ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
Wind Lidar

Abstract. Vertical profiles of the horizontal wind speed and of the standard deviation of vertical wind speed from Large Eddy Simulations of a convective atmospheric boundary layer are compared to wind LIDAR measurements up to 1400 m. Fair agreement regarding both types of profiles is observed only when the simulated flow is driven by a both time- and height-dependent geostrophic wind and a time-dependent surface heat flux. This underlines the importance of mesoscale effects when the flow above the atmospheric surface layer is simulated with a computational fluid dynamics model.

scholarly journals Coherent structure of the convective boundary layer derived from large-eddy simulations

1989 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 511-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Schmidt ◽  
Ulrich Schumann
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Boundary Condition ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Stable Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Velocity Fluctuations ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
The Mean

Turbulence in the convective boundary layer (CBL) uniformly heated from below and topped by a layer of uniformly stratified fluid is investigated for zero mean horizontal flow using large-eddy simulations (LES). The Rayleigh number is effectively infinite, the Froude number of the stable layer is 0.09 and the surface roughness height relative to the height of the convective layer is varied between 10−6 and 10−2. The LES uses a finite-difference method to integrate the three-dimensional grid-volume-averaged Navier–Stokes equations for a Boussinesq fluid. Subgrid-scale (SGS) fluxes are determined from algebraically approximated second-order closure (SOC) transport equations for which all essential coefficients are determined from the inertial-range theory. The surface boundary condition uses the Monin–Obukhov relationships. A radiation boundary condition at the top of the computational domain prevents spurious reflections of gravity waves. The simulation uses 160 × 160 × 48 grid cells. In the asymptotic state, the results in terms of vertical mean profiles of turbulence statistics generally agree very well with results available from laboratory and atmospheric field experiments. We found less agreement with respect to horizontal velocity fluctuations, pressure fluctuations and dissipation rates, which previous investigations tend to overestimate. Horizontal spectra exhibit an inertial subrange. The entrainment heat flux at the top of the CBL is carried by cold updraughts and warm downdraughts in the form of wisps at scales comparable with the height of the boundary layer. Plots of instantaneous flow fields show a spoke pattern in the lower quarter of the CBL which feeds large-scale updraughts penetrating into the stable layer aloft. The spoke pattern has also been found in a few previous investigations. Small-scale plumes near the surface and remote from strong updraughts do not merge together but decay while rising through large-scale downdraughts. The structure of updraughts and downdraughts is identified by three-dimensional correlation functions and conditionally averaged fields. The mean circulation extends vertically over the whole boundary layer. We find that updraughts are composed of quasi-steady large-scale plumes together with transient rising thermals which grow in size by lateral entrainment. The skewness of the vertical velocity fluctuations is generally positive but becomes negative in the lowest mesh cells when the dissipation rate exceeds the production rate due to buoyancy near the surface, as is the case for very rough surfaces. The LES results are used to determine the root-mean-square value of the surface friction velocity and the mean temperature difference between the surface and the mixed layer as a function of the roughness height. The results corroborate a simple model of the heat transfer in the surface layer.

scholarly journals A Closer Look at Boundary Layer Inversion in Large-Eddy Simulations and Bulk Models: Buoyancy-Driven Case

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 728-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Gentine ◽  
Gilles Bellon ◽  
Chiel C. van Heerwaarden
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Convective Boundary Layer ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Inversion Layer ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Buoyancy Flux ◽  
Convective Boundary ◽  
Strong Inversion ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Large Eddy

Abstract The inversion layer (IL) of a clear-sky, buoyancy-driven convective boundary layer is investigated using large-eddy simulations covering a wide range of convective Richardson numbers. A new model of the IL is suggested and tested. The model performs better than previous first-order models of the entrainment and provides physical insights into the main controls of the mixed-layer and IL growths. A consistent prognostic equation of the IL growth is derived, with explicit dependence on the position of the minimum buoyancy flux, convective Richardson number, and relative stratification across the inversion G. The IL model expresses the interrelationship between the position and magnitude of the minimum buoyancy flux and inversion-layer depth. These relationships emphasize why zero-order jump models of the convective boundary layer perform well under a strong inversion and show that these models miss the additional parameter G to fully characterize the entrainment process under a weak inversion. Additionally, the position of the minimum buoyancy flux within the new IL model is shown to be a key component of convective boundary layer entrainment. The new IL model is sufficiently simple to be used in numerical weather prediction or general circulation models as a way to resolve the IL in a low-vertical-resolution model.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document