A bulk similarity approach in the atmospheric boundary layer using radiometric skin temperature to determine regional surface fluxes

Profiles of wind velocity and temperature in the outer region of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) were used together with surface temperature measurements, to determine regional shear stress and sensible heat flux by means of transfer parameterizations on the basis of bulk similarity. The profiles were measured by means of radiosondes and the surface temperatures by infrared radiation thermometry over hilly prairie terrain in northeastern Kansas during the First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE). In the analysis, the needed similarity functions were determined and tested; the main scaling variables used for the ABL were h _i , the height of the convectively mixed layer, and V _a and _a, the wind speed and potential temperature averaged over the mixed layer. Good agreement (r = 0.80) was obtained between values of friction velocity u _* determined by this ABL bulk similarity approach and those obtained by Monin-Obukhov similarity in the surface sublayer. Similarly, values of surface flux of sensible heat H determined by this method compared well (r = 0.90) with the regional means measured at six ground stations. The corresponding regional evaporation values, determined with the energy budget equation, also compared favorably (r = 0.94).     

Bulk characteristics of heat transfer in the unstable,baroclinic atmospheric boundary layer

Field data for the unstable, baroclinic, atmospheric boundary layer over land and over the sea are considered in the context of a general similarity theory of vertical heat transfer. The dependence of δθ/θ_* upon logarithmic functions of h _c z _T and stability (through the similarity function C) is clearly demonstrated in the data. The combined data support the conventional formulation for the heat transfer coefficient δθ/θ_* when,

1. the surface scaling length is z _T (« z ₀), the height at which the surface temperature over land is obtained by extrapolation of the temperature profile
2. the height scale is taken as the depth of convective mixing h _c
3. the temperature profile equivalent of the von Karman constant is taken as 0.41
4. areal average, rather than single point, values of δθ are employed in strongly baroclinic conditions. No significant effect of baroclinity or the height scale ratio as proposed in the general theory is found. Variations in C about a linear regression relation against stability are most probably due to uncertainties in the areal surface temperature and to experimental errors in general temperature measurements.

     

The stability functions in the bulk similarity formulation for the unstable boundary layer

An update is presented for the functionC in the heat transfer equation and for the functionB _w in the momentum transfer equation of the bulk similarity approach for the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Motives for this update are recent developments in the formulation of Monin-Obukhov functions for the surface layer, and the availability of the new data set of FIFE-89, the 1989 phase of the First ISLSCP Field Experiment, which took place over the same hilly prairie terrain in north-eastern Kansas as the 1987 phase, i.e., FIFE-87. Functional forms developed in earlier studies are considered. In addition, a new form is derived based on a simple dual structure of the ABL. The functions are calibrated with the data set obtained during FIFE-87; the results are then verified with the independent data set acquired during FIFE-89.Formerly at Cornell University.     

Three-dimensional numerical study of the height and mean structure of a heated planetary boundary layer

The heated boundary layer for DAY 33 of the Wangara data of southeast Australia (Clarke et al., 1971) is studied numerically with a three-dimensional model using 64000 grid points within a volume 5 km on a side and 2 km deep. Subgrid-scale transport equations were utilized in place of eddy-coefficient formulations. The rate of growth of the mixed layer is examined and parameterized, and the vertical profiles of heat flux, moisture flux and momentum fluxes are examined. The momentum boundary layer is found to coincide essentially with the mixed layer, and to grow with the latter during the hours of solar heating of the surface.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Molecular dissipation of turbulent fluctuations in the convective mixed layer part I: Height variations of dissipation rates

During the Limagne and Beauce experiments, the INAG-IGN Aerocommander FL 280 aircraft made extensive ‘in situ’ measurements of turbulent fluctuations in diurnally evolving convective boundary layers. In this paper, these measurements were used to investigate characteristics of the molecular dissipation of turbulent fluctuations through the mixed layer and well into the overlying stable layer. The dimensionless dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy, temperature and humidity variances, and temperature-humidity covariance (ψ, ψ_θ, ψ _qand ψ _θq) were computed and their height variations analysed. The behaviour of the dissipation rate ψ was found to differ significantly from those observed for the other rates. In the lowest region of the mixed layer, ψ does not obey the local free convection prediction. Instead, it follows practically a relationship similar to the one established in the surface layer by Wyngaard et al. (1971). The dissipation rate ψ remains fairly constant in the bulk of the mixed layer (0.3 ≤ z/Z _i≤ 0.8) and shows a very rapid decrease above the inversion. These results confirm those reported previously from the Minnesota and Ashchurch data by Kaimal et al. (1976), Caughey and Palmer (1979), etc. The height variations for the other dissipation rates were found to obey, as expected, the (z/Z _i)^-4/3 decrease predicted under the local free convection similarity hypothesis in the lowest region of the mixed layer. This region extends to the height z/Z _i- 0.4, 0.1, and 0.3, respectively, for ψ_θ, ψ_q, and ψ_θq. Above these levels, the dissipation rates ψ_θ and ψ_q show, on average, a slight increase to reach peak-values near the mixed-layer top, while the ‘dissipation’ rate ψ _θqchanges sign from positive to negative around the height z/Z _i, - 0.7. These characteristics confirm the fact that the structures of temperature and humidity fluctuations are considerably affected by their entrainment-induced fluctuations. Therefore, an attempt has been made to non-dimensionalize the dissipation rates near the mixed-layer top with the interfacial scaling factors.     

Theoretical Studies of the Parameterization of the Non-Neutral Surface Boundary Layer

The parameterization of the non-neutral atmospheric surface layer has been reexamined using the basic principles of small-scale energetics and thermodynamics. On the basis of this more complete treatment, the K- parameterization has been reformulated. It is found that the linear regression laws between fluxes and driving gradient forces of the turbulent heat and humidity exchanges in the surface layer can be derived in a much more comprehensive manner than by using the commonly used K-theory. With respect to stationary conditions and in the context of similarity concepts, a system of algebraic equations has been formulated which provides reasonable estimates of the distributions of the dimension-less rates of viscous energy dissipation as well as turbulent kinetic and thermal-diffusive energy transport as functions of the variable z/L. Quantitative calculations have been performed using the scaling height formulations of Takeuchi and Yokoyama, Prandtl, and von Kármán as closure conditions of the equations.     

A Case Study of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>, CO and Particles Content Evolution in the Suburban Atmospheric Boundary Layer Using a 2-μm Doppler DIAL,a 1-μm Backscatter Lidar and an Array of In-situ Sensors

A network of remote and in-situ sensors was deployed in a Paris suburb in order to evaluate the mesoscale evolution of the daily cycle of CO₂ and related tracers in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and its relation to ABL dynamics and nearby natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks. A 2-μm heterodyne Doppler differential absorption lidar, which combines measurements of, (1) structure of the atmosphere, (2) radial velocity, and (3) CO₂ differential absorption was a particularly unique element of the observational array. We analyse the differences in the diurnal cycle of CO, CO₂, lidar reflectivity (a proxy for aerosol content) and H₂O using the lidar, airborne measurements in the free troposphere and ground-based measurements made at two sites located few kilometres apart. We demonstrate that vertical mixing dominates the early morning drawdown of CO and aerosol content trapped in the former nocturnal layer but not the H₂O and CO₂ mixing ratio variations. Surface fluxes, vertical mixing and advection all contribute to the ABL CO₂ mixing ratio decrease during the morning transition, with the relative importance depending on the rate and timing of ABL rise. We also show evidence that when the ABL is stable, small-scale (0.1-km vertical and 1-km horizontal) gradients of CO₂ and CO are large. The results illustrate the complexity of inferring surface fluxes of CO₂ from atmospheric budgets in the stable boundary layer.     

Two years observations on the diurnal evolution of coastal atmospheric boundary layer features over Thiruvananthapuram (8.5<Superscript>∘</Superscript> N, 76.9<Superscript>∘</Superscript> E), India

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over a given coastal station is influenced by the presence of mesoscale sea breeze circulation, together with the local and synoptic weather, which directly or indirectly modulate the vertical thickness of ABL (z _ABL). Despite its importance in the characterization of lower tropospheric processes and atmospheric modeling studies, a reliable climatology on the temporal evolution of z _ABL is not available over the tropics. Here, we investigate the challenges involved in determination of the ABL heights, and discuss an objective method to define the vertical structure of coastal ABL. The study presents a two year morphology on the diurnal evolution of the vertical thickness of sea breeze flow (z _SBF) and z _ABL in association with the altitudes of lifting condensation level (z _LCL) over Thiruvananthapuram (8.5^° N, 76.9^° E), a representative coastal station on the western coastline of the Indian sub-continent. We make use of about 516 balloon-borne GPS sonde measurements in the present study, which were carried out as part of the tropical tropopause dynamics field experiment under the climate and weather of the sun-earth system (CAWSES)–India program. Results obtained from the present study reveal major differences in the temporal evolution of the ABL features in relation to the strength of sea breeze circulation and monsoonal wind flow during the winter and summer monsoon respectively. The diurnal evolution in z _ABL is very prominent in the winter monsoon as against the summer monsoon, which is attributed to the impact of large-scale monsoonal flow over the surface layer meteorology. For a majority of the database, the z _LCL altitudes are found to be higher than that of the z _ABL, indicating a possible decoupling of the ABL with the low-level clouds.     

Comparison of Kansas Data with High-resolution Large-eddy Simulation Fields

The surface layer of an atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is most accessible to field measurements and hence its ensemble-mean structure has been well established. The Kansas field measurements were the first detailed study of this layer, providing numerous benchmark statistical profiles for a wide range of stability states. Large-eddy simulation (LES), in contrast, is most suitable for studying the mixed layer of the ABL where the energy-containing range of the vertical velocity field is well resolved. In the surface layer, typical large-eddy simulations barely resolve the energy-containing vertical-velocity fields and hence do not provide sufficient data for a detailed analysis.We carried out a nested-mesh simulation of a moderately convective ABL (-z_i/L = 8) in which the lower 6% of the boundary layer had an effective grid resolution of 512³. We analyze the LES fields above the 6th vertical grid level (z = 23 m) where the vertical velocity field has a well formed inertial subrange, for a detailed comparison with the Kansas results. Various terms in the budgets of turbulent kinetic energy, temperature variance, Reynolds stress, temperature flux, and some higher order moments are compared. The agreement is generally quite good; however, we do observe certain discrepancies, particularly in the terms involving pressure fluctuations.     

On the extension of the wind profile over homogeneous terrain beyond the surface boundary layer

Analysis of profiles of meteorological measurements from a 160 m high mast at the National Test Site for wind turbines at Høvsøre (Denmark) and at a 250 m high TV tower at Hamburg (Germany) shows that the wind profile based on surface-layer theory and Monin-Obukhov scaling is valid up to a height of 50–80 m. At higher levels deviations from the measurements progressively occur. For applied use an extension to the wind profile in the surface layer is formulated for the entire boundary layer, with emphasis on the lowest 200–300 m and considering only wind speeds above 3 m s^?1 at 10 m height. The friction velocity is taken to decrease linearly through the boundary layer. The wind profile length scale is composed of three component length scales. In the surface layer the first length scale is taken to increase linearly with height with a stability correction following Monin-Obukhov similarity. Above the surface layer the second length scale (L _MBL ) becomes independent of height but not of stability, and at the top of the boundary layer the third length scale is assumed to be negligible. A simple model for the combined length scale that controls the wind profile and its stability dependence is formulated by inverse summation. Based on these assumptions the wind profile for the entire boundary layer is derived. A parameterization of L _MBL is formulated using the geostrophic drag law, which relates friction velocity and geostrophic wind. The empirical parameterization of the resistance law functions A and B in the geostrophic drag law is uncertain, making it impractical. Therefore an expression for the length scale, L _MBL , for applied use is suggested, based on measurements from the two sites.     

The Construction of SCM in GRAPES and Its Applications in Two Field Experiment Simulations

A Single Column Model(SCM) for Global and Regional Atmospheric Prediction Enhanced System (GRAPES) is constructed for the purpose of evaluating physical process parameterizations.Two observational datasets including Wangara and the third Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment Atmospheric Boundary Layer Study(GABLS-3) SCM field observations have been applied to evaluate this SCM.By these two numerical experiments,the GRAPES_SCM is verified to be correctly constructed.Furthermore, the interaction between the land surface process and atmospheric boundary layer(ABL) is discussed through the second experiment.It is found that CASE3(CoLM land surface scheme coupled with ABL scheme) simulates less sensible heat fluxes and smaller surface temperature which corresponds with its lower potential temperature at the bottom of the ABL.Moreover,CASE3 simulates turbulence that is weaker during the daytime and stronger during nighttime,corresponding with its wind speed at 200 m which is bigger during daytime and smaller during nighttime.However,they are generally opposite in CASE2(SLAB coupled with ABL).The initial profile of the water vapor mixing ratio is artificially increased by the experiment setup which results in the simulated water vapor mixing becoming wetter than actually observed.CASE1 (observed surface temperature taken as lower thermal forcing) and CASE2 have no soil moisture prediction and simulate a similar water vapor mixing ratio,while CASE3 has a soil moisture prediction and simulates wetter.It is also shown that the time step may affect the stabilization of the ABL when the vertical levels of the SCM are fixed.     

近地层内湍流特征量的参数化研究

以地表能量收支平衡方程为基础，将地表通量同近地层内的常规气象资料联系起来，模式要求输入地面风速、温度和总云量等常规气象观测资料，输出近地层的湍流特征参数U* 、θ* 、L和参数化的地表通量（净辐射、感热通量、潜热通量和土壤热通量），澳大利亚Wangara试验资料被用来检验了该模式。计算结果和实际资料吻合较好。     

Calculation of basin-scale surface fluxes by combining remotely sensed data and atmospheric properties in a semiarid landscape

Optical remote sensing data collected during the Monsoon '90 experiment in the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed in southern Arizona were used to estimate basin-scale surface temperature, net radiation (R _n) and soil heat flux (G). These were combined with several atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) models to allow computation of basin-scale surface fluxes of sensible (H) and latent heat (LE). The calculated fluxes were compared to averages from a network of surface flux stations. One ABL model calculatedH using a bulk similarity approach for wind and temperature with remotely sensed surface temperature as the lower boundary condition. With basin-scale estimates ofR _n andG, LE was solved as a residual. The other ABL model applied atmospheric profiles from a series of soundings in the conservation equations of temperature and humidity in the mixed layer to computeH andLE directly. By combining theseH values withR _n andG, calculation ofLE by residual also was performed. The ABL-derivedH values differed from the averages from the surface network by roughly 20 and 30% for the bulk similarity and conservation approaches, respectively. ForLE, these same differences were around 10 and 70%. The disparity was reduced to nearly 30% for the conservation approach whenLE was solved as a residual. Days with significant spatial variation in surface soil moisture and/or cloud cover were associated with most of the disagreement between the ABL-derived and surface-based values. This was particularly true for conservation estimates ofLE. The bulk similarity method appeared less sensitive non-ideal environmental conditions. This may in part be due to the use of remotely sensed information, which provided a lower boundary value of surface temperature and estimates ofR _n andG over the study area, thereby allowing for residual calculations ofLE. Such information clearly has utility for assessing the surface energy and water balance at basin scale.     

An assessment of proposed similarity theories for the atmospheric boundary layer

The various similarity theories proposed for the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) are critically examined in the light of some recent atmospheric observations as well as the results of numerical modeling experiments. For the surface layer, the theory proposed by Monin and Obukhov (1954) is still the best, although by no means perfect. For the whole ABL, the older Kazanski-Monin (1961) similarity theory is found to be less satisfactory, and must be replaced by the generalized version of Deardorff's (1972a) hypothesis, which considers the effects of varying boundary-layer height, latitude, stability, and baroclinicity. The latter presents no conceptual or mathematical difficulties when applied to low latitudes. The free convection similarity scaling is valid only for certain turbulent quantities, under well-developed convection. The shear convection hypothesis of Zilitinkevich (1973) for the surface layer, as well as its extension for the whole ABL, are found wanting on both theoretical and physical grounds, and lead to unrealistic predictions about the turbulence structure.Contribution No. 350, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington.     

Estimation of atmospheric surface layer parameters and numerical simulation using MM5 at Mangalore, West Coast of India

Atmospheric surface layer meteorological observations obtained from 20-m-high meteorological tower at Mangalore, situated along the west coast of India are used to estimate the surface layer scaling parameters of roughness length (z _o) and drag coefficient (C _D), surface layer fluxes of sensible heat and momentum. These parameters are computed using the simple flux–profile relationships under the framework of Monin–Obukhov (M–O) similarity theory. The estimated values of z _o are higher (1.35–1.54 m) than the values reported in the literature (>0.4–0.9 m) probably due to the undulating topography surrounding the location. The magnitude of C _D is high for low wind speed (<1.5 m s^?1) and found to be in the range 0.005–0.03. The variations of sensible heat fluxes (SHF) and momentum fluxes are also discussed. Relatively high fluxes of heat and momentum are observed during typical days on 26–27 February 2004 and 10–11 April 2004 due to the daytime unstable atmospheric conditions. Stable or near neutral conditions prevail after 1700 h IST with negative SHF. A mesoscale model PSU/NCAR MM5 is run using a high-resolution (1 km) grid over the study region to examine the influence of complex topography on the surface layer parameters and the simulated fluxes are compared with estimated values. Spatial variations of the frictional velocity (u _*), C _D, surface fluxes, planetary boundary layer (PBL) height and surface winds are noticed according to the topographic variations in the simulation.     

Performance of various similarity functions for nondimensional wind and temperature profiles in the surface layer in stable conditions

The linear functions for non-dimensional wind and temperature profiles are commonly used to describe the surface layer fluxes in atmospheric models. However, their applicability is limited to smaller values of the stability parameter z/L (where z is the height above ground and L is the Obukhov length) i.e. z/L < 1.0. These linear functions have been modified (Webb 1970, Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc. 96, 67–90; Clarke 1970, Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc. 96, 91–114; Hicks 1976, Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc. 102, 535–551; Beljaars and Holtslag 1991, J. Appl. Meteorol. 30, 327–341; Cheng and Brutsaert 2005, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 114, 519–538) over the years for calculating fluxes when z/L > 1.0 under strongly stable conditions. In view of this, the objective of the present study is to analyze the performance of these similarity functions to compute surface fluxes in stable conditions.The meteorological observations from the Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99) experiment are utilized for computing the surface fluxes in stable conditions. The computed fluxes are found to be reasonably close to those observed. The ratio of observed to computed fluxes reveals that the computed fluxes are close to the observations for all the similarity functions for z/L < 1.0 whereas the computed values show relatively a large scatter from observations for z/L > 1.0. The computed values of u and heat flux do not show significant differences from those observed at 99% confidence limit. The performance of all the similarity functions considered here is found to be comparable to each other in strongly stable conditions.     

湍流动能闭合方法在中尺度模式中的应用

湍流动能闭合方法是近年来发展起来的用以模拟大气边界层的一种方法,本文对其做了简化,仅在边界层内使用这一方法,进一步减少计算量,使之更适用于中尺度数值模拟。对一维旺加拉（Wangara）资料进行的试验表明,这种方法保留了边界层计算的精度,又能节省机时。然后将这种方法应用于三维中尺度钟形山地形的模拟,描述了湍流动能的分布,以及湍流活动对山后回流区面积和强度的影响。     

Wind profiles at the Boulder Tower

Analysis of wind profiles at the Boulder Tower (BAO) leads to these conclusions:

1. The variation of roughness with wind direction found earlier is confirmed. Roughness lengths measured on the tower are larger than those measured close to the surface.
2. The profiles and measurements of Reynolds stress are consistent with a von-Karman constant of 0.35.
3. The form φ_m=(1?15z/L)^-1/3 fits best in the range -0.6 < z/L < 0. In the range 0 < z/L < 0.5, θ _m ～ 1 + 4.7z/L provides a good fit to the observations. For z/L < 0.1, φ _m also depends on h, the thickness of the PBL. For z/L < -0.6, Φ _m approaches the constant 0.5, in contrast to all previous suggestions. For larger stabilities, the upper level is usually not in the surface layer, and wind ratios become independent of z/L.
4. With snow cover, the effective roughness diminishes to about 1 cm, even for directions for which the roughness length without snow is large.
5. Estimation of winds at 100 or 150 m from information near the surface is best for similarity theory provided that the ratio of height to Monin-Obukhov L is less than 0.1. For larger z/L, simple power laws seem more appropriate.