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

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.

Coupling and decoupling processes in monsoonal surface layer using MONTBLEX-90 tower data

ABSTRACT. MONI'BLEX-90 data of Varanasi and Jodhpur have been used to study the physical processes in the surface layer. The results show that turbulent transfer of heat, momentum and moisture commence at an average eddy viscosity of an order of magnitude 5.13 × 10-1 J -s kg-1 during rainy day. In absolutely stable case, eddy viscosity may be equal to 4.94 × 10-4 J-s kg-1 or less to decouple surface layer from rest of the planetary boundary layer for extinction of the turbulent transfer of fluxes. These results were based on 8m and 15m meteorological tower observations and surface soil temperature using analytical solution of Byun (1990) and K theory. It was found that the surface layer is decoupled only in case of stability of Class - A because bulk Richardson number is greater than zero and corresponding stability parameter is positive.

Comparisons of Planetary Boundary Layer Height from Ceilometer with ARM Radiosonde Data

Ceilometer measurements of aerosol backscatter profiles have been widely used to provide continuous PBLHT estimations. To investigate the robustness of ceilometer-estimated PBLHT under different atmospheric conditions, we compared ceilometer- and radiosonde-estimated PBLHTs using long term U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) ceilometer and balloon-borne sounding data at three ARM fixed-location atmospheric observatories and from three ARM mobile observatories deployed around the world for various field campaigns, which cover from Tropics to Polar regions and over both ocean and land surfaces. Statistical comparisons of ceilometer-estimated PBLHTs from the Vaisala CL31 ceilometer data with radiosonde-estimated PBLHTs from the ARM PBLHT-SONDE Value-added Product (VAP) are performed under different atmospheric conditions including stable and unstable atmospheric boundary layer, low-level cloud-free, and cloudy conditions at these ARM observatories. Under unstable atmospheric boundary layer conditions, good comparisons are found between ceilometer- and radiosonde-estimated PBLHTs at ARM low- and mid-latitude land observatories. However, it is still challenging to obtain reliable PBLHT estimations over ocean surfaces even using radiosonde data. Under stable atmospheric boundary layer conditions, ceilometer- and radiosonde-estimated PBLHTs have weak correlations. Among different PBLHT estimations utilizing the Heffter, the Liu-Liang, and the bulk Richardson number methods in the ARM PBLHT-SONDE VAP, ceilometer-estimated PBLHTs have better comparisons with the Liu-Liang method under unstable and with the bulk Richardson number method under stable atmospheric boundary layer conditions.

On the measurement of stability parameter over complex mountainous terrain

Atmospheric stability has a significant effect on wind shear and turbulence intensity, and these variables, in turn, have a direct impact on wind power production and loads on wind turbines. It is therefore important to know how to characterize atmospheric stability in order to make better energy yield estimation in a wind farm. Based on research grade meteorological mast at Alaiz (CENER's Test Site in Navarre, Spain) named MP5, this work compares and evaluates different instrument set-ups and methodologies for stability characterization. The Obukhov parameter ζ = z/L, which can be measured locally with the use of a sonic anemometer, and bulk Richardson number have been studied. The methods are examined considering their theoretical background, implementation complexity, instrumentation requirements, and practical use in connection with wind energy applications. Bulk Richardson number, which is based on one height wind speed measurement and two temperature measurements, is sometimes calculated using values from any two temperature levels without taking into account that one of the measurements would be representative of surface conditions. With the data available in MP5, it will be shown how this approximation is not correct to obtain an adequate stability characterization.

Convective core entrainment in 1D main sequence stellar models

3D hydrodynamics models of deep stellar convection exhibit turbulent entrainment at the convective-radiative boundary which follows the entrainment law, varying with boundary penetrability. We implement the entrainment law in the 1D Geneva stellar evolution code. We then calculate models between 1.5 and 60 M⊙ at solar metallicity (Z = 0.014) and compare them to previous generations of models and observations on the main sequence. The boundary penetrability, quantified by the bulk Richardson number, RiB, varies with mass and to a smaller extent with time. The variation of RiB with mass is due to the mass dependence of typical convective velocities in the core and hence the luminosity of the star. The chemical gradient above the convective core dominates the variation of RiB with time. An entrainment law method can therefore explain the apparent mass dependence of convective boundary mixing through RiB. New models including entrainment can better reproduce the mass dependence of the main sequence width using entrainment law parameters A ∼ 2 × 10−4 and n = 1. We compare these empirically constrained values to the results of 3D hydrodynamics simulations and discuss implications.

Climatology of the Boundary Layer Height and of the Wind Field over Greece

In this study, a climatology of two key boundary layer features, the Planetary Boundary Layer Height (PBLH) and the wind field over Greece is derived. The climatology is based on daily soundings collected in Athens, Thessaloniki and Heraklion and spanning a 32-year period. The PBLH is estimated using a method based on the gradient of potential temperature and a method based on the bulk Richardson number. The wind field is analyzed by calculating the wind shear and the turning angle of the wind vector between the surface and the top of the boundary layer. The PBLH of the daytime boundary layer over Athens and Thessaloniki is found to exhibit seasonal variability with summer maxima and winter minima and has annual median values in the range of 1.4–1.7 km estimated using the gradient method. The PBLH over Heraklion is found to exhibit weak seasonal variability with a lower median value of 1.2 km. The nighttime boundary layer over all three sites is found to be much shallower with PBLH values in the range of 150–200 m with no seasonal variations. In addition, the bulk Richardson number method is found to systematically underestimate the PBLH compared to the gradient method. The wind field in the daytime boundary layer at all three sites is found to have small shear of the order of 1 ms−1 and wind turning angles that are lower than 15 degrees, while in the nocturnal boundary layer it has larger shear of the order of 5–10 ms−1 with turning angles lower than 20 degrees. In addition, for both the daytime and the nighttime boundary layer there is no general preference for veering or backing.

New Modified and Extended Stability Functions for the Stable Boundary Layer based on SHEBA and Parametrizations of Bulk Transfer Coefficients for Climate Models

Climate models still have deficits in reproducing the surface energy and momentum budgets in Arctic regions. One of the reasons is that currently used transfer coefficients occurring in parameterizations of the turbulent fluxes are based on stability functions derived from measurements over land and not over sea ice. An improved parameterization is developed using the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) and corresponding stability functions that reproduce measurements over sea ice obtained during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) campaign. The new stability functions for the stable surface layer represent a modification of earlier ones also based on SHEBA measurements. It is shown that the new functions are superior to the former ones with respect to the representation of the measured relationship between the MOST stability parameter and the bulk Richardson number. Nevertheless, the functions fulfill the same criteria of applicability as the earlier functions and contain, as an extension, a dependence on the neutral-limit turbulent Prandtl number. Applying the new functions we develop an efficient noniterative parameterization of the near-surface turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat with transfer coefficients as a function of the bulk Richardson number (Rib) and roughness parameters. A hierarchy of transfer coefficients is recommended for weather and climate models. They agree better with SHEBA data for strong stability (Rib > 0.1) than previous parameterizations and they agree well with those based on the Businger–Dyer functions in the range Rib ≤ 0.1.

New modified and extended stability functions for the stable boundary layer based on SHEBA data

<p>The calculation of the near-surface turbulent fluxes of energy and momentum in climate and weather prediction models requires transfer coefficients. Currently used parametrizations of these coefficients are based on stability functions derived from measurements over land and not over sea ice. However, recently, a non-iterative parametrization has been proposed by Gryanik and Lüpkes (2018), which can be applied to climate and weather prediction models as well but uses stability functions of Grachev et al. (2007). These functions had been obtained from measurements during the Surface Heat Budget over the Arctic Ocean campaign (SHEBA) and thus from measurements over sea ice. A drawback of the scheme of Gryanik and Lüpkes (2018) is that there is still some complexity due to the complexity of the SHEBA based functions.</p><p>Thus new stability functions are proposed for the stable boundary layer, which are also based on the SHEBA measurements but avoid the complexity. It is shown that the new functions are superior to the former ones with respect to the representation of the measured relationship between the Obukhov length and the bulk Richardson number. Moreover, the resulting transfer coefficients agree slightly better with the SHEBA observations in the very stable range. Nevertheless, the functions fulfill the same criteria of applicability as the earlier functions and contain furthermore as an extension a dependence on the neutral Prandtl number. Applying the new functions, an efficient non-iterative parametrization of the near-surface turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat is developed where transfer coefficients result as a function of the bulk Richardson number (Ri<sub>b</sub>) and roughness parameters. The new transfer coefficients, which are recommended for weather and climate models, agree well with the SHEBA data in a large range of stability (0< Ri<sub>b</sub><0.5) and with those based on the Dyer-Businger functions in the range Ri<sub>b</sub> <0.08.</p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p><span>Grachev A.A., Andreas E.L, Fairall C.W., Guest P.S., Persson POG (2007) Boundary-Layer Meteorol., </span><span><strong>124</strong></span><span>, 315–333</span><span>.</span></p><p><span>Gryanik, V.M. and Lüpkes C. (2018) An Efficient Non-iterative Bulk Parametrization of Surface Fluxes for Stable Atmospheric Conditions Over Polar Sea-Ice,Boundary-Layer Meteorol 166:301-325</span></p>

Comparison of Length Scale Parameterization Methodologies

Atmospheric stability has been studied for decades. There are several methodologies that evolved over the years. In this study, a special experimental meteorological mast that has been erected to a complex site has been used to calculate dimensionless Obukhov length ( ζ = z L ) , dimensionless momentum ( φ m ), and heat coefficients ( φ h ). The results are compared with the ones from average value approaches: Richardson number, flux-profile (F-P) relations, and wind shear exponent methods. The results show that the estimated ζ values, using the bulk Richardson number, get along well with the reference ζ within the neutral and stable regimes. F-P relations and wind shear exponent methods result in the best agreement for stable and neutral regimes. Nevertheless, average oriented methods are not reliable for the other regimes.