On the Correlation between Convective Plume Updrafts and Downdrafts,Lidar Reflectivity and Depolarization Ratio

We question the correlation between vertical velocity (w) on the one hand and the occurrence of convective plumes in lidar reflectivity (i.e. range corrected backscatter signal Pz ²) and depolarization ratio (Δ) on the other hand in the convective boundary layer (CBL). Thermal vertical motion is directly investigated using vertical velocities measured by a ground-based Doppler lidar operating at 2 μm. This lidar provides also simultaneous measurements of lidar reflectivity. In addition, a second lidar 200 m away provides reflectivities at 0.53 and 1 μm and depolarization ratio at 0.53 μm. The time series from the two lidars are analyzed in terms of linear correlation coefficient (ρ). The main result is that the plume-like structures provided by lidar reflectivity within the CBL as well as the CBL height are not a clear signature of updrafts. It is shown that the lidar reflectivity within the CBL is frequently anti-correlated (ρ (w, Pz ² )) with the vertical velocity. On the contrary, the correlation coefficient between the depolarization ratio and the vertical velocity ρ (w, Δ ) is always positive, showing that the depolarization ratio is a fair tracer of updrafts. The importance of relative humidity on the correlation coefficient is discussed. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Coherence and Scale of Vertical Velocity in the Convective Boundary Layer from a Doppler Lidar

We utilized a Doppler lidar to measure integral scale and coherence of vertical velocity w in the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL). The high resolution 2 μm wavelength Doppler lidar developed by the NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory was used to detect the mean radial velocity of aerosol particles. It operated continuously in the zenith-pointing mode for several days in the summer 1996 during the “Lidars in Flat Terrain” experiment over level farmland in central Illinois. We calculated profiles of w integral scales in both the alongwind and vertical directions from about 390 m height to the CBL top. In the middle of the mixed layer we found, from the ratio of the w integral scale in the vertical to that in the horizontal direction, that the w eddies are squashed by a factor of about 0.65 as compared to what would be the case for isotropic turbulence. Furthermore, there is a significant decrease of the vertical integral scale with height. The integral scale profiles and vertical coherence show that vertical velocity fluctuations in the CBL have a predictable anisotropic structure. We found no significant tilt of the thermal structures with height in the middle part of the CBL.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Doppler Lidar Measurements of Vertical Velocity Spectra in the Convective Planetary Boundary Layer

We utilized a Doppler lidar to measure spectra of vertical velocity w from 390m above the surface to the top of the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL). The high resolution 2μm wavelength Doppler lidar developed by the NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory was used to detect the mean radial velocity of aerosol particles. It operated continuously during the daytime in the zenith-pointing mode for several days in summer 1996 during the Lidars-in-Flat-Terrain experiment over level farmland in central Illinois, U.S.A. The temporal resolution of the lidar was about 1 s, and the range-gate resolution was about 30m. The vertical cross-sections were used to calculate spectra as a function of height with unprecedented vertical resolution throughout much of the CBL, and, in general, we find continuity of the spectral peaks throughout the depth of the CBL. We compare the observed spectra with previous formulations based on both measurements and numerical simulations, and discuss the considerable differences, both on an averaged and a case-by-case basis. We fit the observed spectra to a model that takes into account the wavelength of the spectral peak and the curvature of the spectra across the transition from low wavenumbers to the inertial subrange. The curvature generally is as large or larger than the von Kármán spectra. There is large case-to-case variability, some of which can be linked to the mean structure of the CBL, especially the mean wind and the convective instability. We also find a large case-to-case variability in our estimates of normalized turbulent kinetic energy dissipation deduced from the spectra, likely due for the most part to a varying ratio of entrainment flux to surface flux. Finally, we find a relatively larger contribution to the low wavenumber region of the spectra in cases with smaller shear across the capping inversion, and suggest that this may be due partly to gravity waves in the inversion and overlying free atmosphere.     

Can Water Vapour Raman Lidar Resolve Profiles of Turbulent Variables in the Convective Boundary Layer?

High-resolution water vapour measurements made by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Raman lidar operated at the Southern Great Plains Climate Research Facility site near Lamont, Oklahoma, U.S.A. are presented. Using a 2-h measurement period for the convective boundary layer (CBL) on 13 September 2005, with temporal and spatial resolutions of 10 s and 75 m, respectively, spectral and autocovariance analyses of water vapour mixing ratio time series are performed. It is demonstrated that the major part of the inertial subrange was detected and that the integral scale was significantly larger than the time resolution. Consequently, the major part of the turbulent fluctuations was resolved. Different methods to retrieve noise error profiles yield consistent results and compare well with noise profiles estimated using Poisson statistics of the Raman lidar signals. Integral scale, mixing-ratio variance, skewness, and kurtosis profiles were determined including error bars with respect to statistical and sampling errors. The integral scale ranges between 70 and 130 s at the top of the CBL. Within the CBL, up to the third order, noise errors are significantly smaller than sampling errors and the absolute values of turbulent variables, respectively. The mixing-ratio variance profile rises monotonically from ≈0.07 to ≈3.7 g² kg⁻² in the entrainment zone. The skewness is nearly zero up to 0.6 z/z _i , becomes −1 around 0.7–0.8 z/z _i , crosses zero at about 0.95 z/z _i , and reaches about 1.7 at 1.1 z/z _i (here, z is the height and z _i is the CBL depth). The noise errors are too large to derive fourth-order moments with sufficient accuracy. Consequently, to the best of our knowledge, the ARM Raman lidar is the first water vapour Raman lidar with demonstrated capability to retrieve profiles of turbulent variables up to the third order during daytime throughout the atmospheric CBL.     

Use of obliquely rotated principal component analysis to identify coherent structures

Principal component analysis (PCA) with oblique rotation is applied to Large Eddy Simulation (LES) results to discern and quantify coherent structures within the convective boundary layer (CBL). Sensitivity tests are first conducted on a moderately convective LES run. Once the ability of PCA to generate robust results is verified, the method is applied to LES runs spanning a range of stability regimes. Interregime similarities and differences in the coherent structures are discussed. For the moderately convective LES run, three-dimensional convective cells are arrayed in two-dimensional bands aligned with the geostrophic wind. The resulting gravity waves in the free atmosphere and convective inflow and outflow in the boundary layer are also captured by the PCA. Convective modes are more sensitive to the ratio of w _* to u _* than are the dynamic modes.PCA has demonstrated advantages over previous analysis methods. PCA score maps provide information on the spatial distribution of phenomena that has not been available from traditional conditional sampling studies. Principal components provide information on the vertical structures of phenomena that would be obscured by life-cycle effects or erratic tilts from the vertical in the conventional approaches to either conditional sampling or composite analysis. Future work includes application of this technique to multi-level observational time series from a surface-layer tower for the Risø Air/Sea Experiment (RASEX).     

The Role of Shear in the Morning Transition Boundary Layer

We use large-eddy simulation (LES) to better define the early stages of the morning transition boundary layer. Previous LES studies relating to the morning transition boundary layer focus on the role of the entraining convective boundary layer (CBL). By using a combination of different domain sizes and grid lengths, the full evolution from the stable boundary layer (SBL) to the CBL is modelled here. In the early stages of the morning transition the boundary layer is shown to be a combination of a shallow mixed layer capped by a significant shear driven stable boundary layer (the so-called mixed CBL–SBL state). The mixed CBL–SBL state is the key to understanding the sensitivity to shear. Turbulent kinetic energy budgets also indicate that it is shear driven. The negative flux from the mixed CBL–SBL state extends much further above the minimum than is typically found for the CBL later in the day, and the depth of penetration scales as w _m /N _i , where w _m is the combined friction and convective velocity scale and N _i the static stability at the inversion top.     

论边界层中的大气扩散PDF模式

基于大气扩散Ｋ理论，用作为风速脉动均方差和拉氏时间尺度函数的湍流交换系数，得到了直接利用风速脉动几率密度而不用扩散参数的大气扩散ＰＤＦ模式。分别研究了对流边界层上升气流区与下降区垂直速度的统计特征，求得双正态ＰＤＦ模式。在给定ＣＢＬ自身参数如对流特征速度ｗ＊，顶高ｈｉ和源高度上的平均风速时，该模式计算出的无量纲浓度分布与室内外测试结果一致。     

Negative water vapour skewness and dry tongues in the convective boundary layer: observations and large-eddy simulation budget analysis

This study focuses on the intrusion of dry air into the convective boundary layer (CBL) originating from the top of the CBL. Aircraft in-situ measurements from the IHOP_2002 field campaign indicate a prevalence of negative skewness of the water vapour distribution within the growing daytime CBL over land. This negative skewness is interpreted according to large-eddy simulations (LES) as the result of descending dry downdrafts originating from above the mixed layer. LES are used to determine the statistical properties of these intrusions: their size and thermodynamical characteristics. A conditional sampling analysis demonstrates their significance in the retrieval of moisture variances and fluxes. The rapid CBL growth explains why greater negative skewness is observed during the growing phase: the large amounts of dry air that are quickly incorporated into the CBL prevent a full homogenisation by turbulent mixing. The boundary-layer warming in this phase also plays a role in the acquisition of negative buoyancy for these dry tongues, and thus possibly explains their kinematics in the lower CBL. Budget analysis helps to identify the processes responsible for the negative skewness. This budget study underlines the main role of turbulent transport, which distributes the skewness produced at the top or the bottom of the CBL into the interior of the CBL. The dry tongues contribute significantly to this turbulent transport.     

A note on the top-down and bottom-up gradient functions over a forested site

The dimensionless bottom-up and top-down gradient functions in the convective boundary layer (CBL) are evaluated utilizing long-term well-calibrated carbon dioxide mixing ratio and flux measurements from multiple levels of a 447-m tall tower over a forested area in northern Wisconsin, USA. The estimated bottom-up and top-down functions are qualitatively consistent with those from large-eddy simulation (LES) results and theoretical expectations. Newly fitted gradient functions are proposed based on observations for this forested site. The integrated bottom-up function over the lowest 4% of the CBL depth estimated from the tower data is about five times larger than that from LES results for a ‘with-canopy’ case, and is smaller than that from LES results for a ‘no-canopy’ case by a factor of 0.7. We discuss the uncertainty in the evaluated gradient functions due to stability, wind direction, and uncertainty in the entrainment flux and show that while all of these have a significant impact on the gradient functions, none can explain the differences between the modelled and observed functions. The effects of canopy features and atmospheric stability may need to be considered in the gradient function relations.     

A Variable Mesh Spacing for Large-Eddy Simulation Models in the Convective Boundary Layer

A variable vertical mesh spacing for large-eddy simulation (LES) models in a convective boundary layer (CBL) is proposed. The argument is based on the fact that in the vertical direction the turbulence near the surface in a CBL is inhomogeneous and therefore the subfilter-scale effects depend on the relative location between the spectral peak of the vertical velocity and the filter cut-off wavelength. From the physical point of view, this lack of homogeneity makes the vertical mesh spacing the principal length scale and, as a consequence, the LES filter cut-off wavenumber is expressed in terms of this characteristic length scale. Assuming that the inertial subrange initial frequency is equal to the LES filter cut-off frequency and employing fitting expressions that describe the observed convective turbulent energy one-dimensional spectra, it is feasible to derive a relation to calculate the variable vertical mesh spacing. The incorporation of this variable vertical grid within a LES model shows that both the mean quantities (and their gradients) and the turbulent statistics quantities are well described near to the ground level, where the LES predictions are known to be a challenging task.     

An Optimal Inverse Method Using Doppler Lidar Measurements to Estimate the Surface Sensible Heat Flux

Inverse methods are widely used in various fields of atmospheric science. However, such methods are not commonly used within the boundary-layer community, where robust observations of surface fluxes are a particular concern. We present a new technique for deriving surface sensible heat fluxes from boundary-layer turbulence observations using an inverse method. Doppler lidar observations of vertical velocity variance are combined with two well-known mixed-layer scaling forward models for a convective boundary layer (CBL). The inverse method is validated using large-eddy simulations of a CBL with increasing wind speed. The majority of the estimated heat fluxes agree within error with the proscribed heat flux, across all wind speeds tested. The method is then applied to Doppler lidar data from the Chilbolton Observatory, UK. Heat fluxes are compared with those from a mast-mounted sonic anemometer. Errors in estimated heat fluxes are on average 18 %, an improvement on previous techniques. However, a significant negative bias is observed (on average $-63\,\%$ ) that is more pronounced in the morning. Results are improved for the fully-developed CBL later in the day, which suggests that the bias is largely related to the choice of forward model, which is kept deliberately simple for this study. Overall, the inverse method provided reasonable flux estimates for the simple case of a CBL. Results shown here demonstrate that this method has promise in utilizing ground-based remote sensing to derive surface fluxes. Extension of the method is relatively straight-forward, and could include more complex forward models, or other measurements.     

Passive scalar diffusion from surface sources in the convective boundary layer

We examine vertical and horizontal diffusion of a passive scalar puff from a surface point source in a convective boundary layer (CBL). Numerical results are presented from a large-eddy simulation (LES) with embedded subgrid Lagrangian particle simulation (LPS). There is good agreement in most respects with previous laboratory and numerical studies. Analytical approximations for the concentration, horizontal flux and vertical flux are found to work reasonably well; they are based on the assumption that the concentration follows a Gaussian function in the horizontal and vertical, and that the dimensionless width and height scales of the puff follow simple functions of time. Fluxes and concentration gradients are related through a continuity relationship, without the need for an eddy diffusivity assumption. The instantaneous, point-source fields can be integrated for any source geometry. We compare predictions from the LES/LPS model for a sinusoidal surface flux with previous results from an LES with sinusoidal buoyancy flux and confirm that the buoyancy perturbations diffuse like a passive scalar. We also consider a continuous point source and derive footprint functions for vertical flux measurements above the surface layer.     

Subfilter-Scale Modelling Using Transport Equations: Large-Eddy Simulation of the Moderately Convective Atmospheric Boundary Layer

We perform large-eddy simulation (LES) of a moderately convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using a prognostic subfilter-scale (SFS) model obtained by truncating the full conservation equations for the SFS stresses and fluxes. The truncated conservation equations contain production mechanisms that are absent in eddy-diffusivity closures and, thus, have the potential to better parametrize the SFS stresses and fluxes. To study the performance of the conservation-equation-based SFS closure, we compare LES results from the surface layer with observations from the Horizontal Array Turbulence Study (HATS) experiment. For comparison, we also show LES results obtained using an eddy-diffusivity closure. Following past studies, we plot various statistics versus the non-dimensional parameter, Λ _w /Δ, where Λ _w is the wavelength corresponding to the peak in the vertical velocity spectrum and Δ is the filter width. The LES runs are designed using different domain sizes, filter widths and surface fluxes, in order to replicate partly the conditions in the HATS experiment. Our results show that statistics from the different LES runs collapse reasonably and exhibit clear trends when plotted against Λ _w /Δ. The trends exhibited by the production terms in the modelled SFS conservation equations are qualitatively similar to those seen in the HATS data with the exception of SFS buoyant production, which is underpredicted. The dominant production terms in the modelled SFS stress and flux budgets obtained from LES are found to approach asymptotically constant values at low Λ _w /Δ. For the SFS stress budgets, we show that several of these asymptotes are in good agreement with their corresponding theoretical values in the limit Λ _w /Δ → 0. The modelled SFS conservation equations yield trends in the mean values and fluctuations of the SFS stresses and fluxes that agree better with the HATS data than do those obtained using an eddy-diffusivity closure. They, however, underpredict considerably the level of SFS anisotropy near the wall when compared to observations, which could be a consequence of the shortcomings in the model used for the pressure destruction terms. Finally, we address the computational cost incurred due to the use of additional prognostic equations.     

Boundary-layer depth and entrainment zone characterization with a boundary-layer profiler

A technique for determining the height of the convective atmospheric boundary layer (CBL) with a 915 MHz boundary-layer profiler is discussed. The results are compared with CBL heights determined from radiosonde measurements. The profiler provides continuous CBL height measurements with very good time resolution (30 minutes or less), allowing for detailed understanding of the growth and fluctuations of the CBL. In addition, the profiler provides information about the degree of definition of the CBL top and the thickness of the entrainment zone. The measurements discussed were taken during the Rural Oxidants in the Southern Environment II (ROSE II) experiment.     

基于风廓线仪的华南地区夏季边界层湍流统计特征研究

采用双权重算法,使用2015年6—8月我国东南部业务风廓线雷达资料,通过湍流脉动垂直速度方差和偏度的计算和分析,对晴空和低云主导情况下的边界层湍流特征以及中小尺度局地环流对于边界层湍流的影响进行研究。主要结论如下:(1)晴天情况下垂直速度标准差和垂直速度偏度都具有明显的日变化特征,湍流主要由下垫面加热驱动发展;(2)在低云主导情况下,湍流明显弱于晴天对流边界层的湍流强度,边界层内湍流的发展不仅受地面加热的影响,而且在边界层上部存在明显的自上而下发展的湍流,这主要是由于边界层顶云辐射冷却造成的;(3)除了上述两种情况,边界层湍流发展同时受到局地中小尺度环流或者天气系统的影响,因而呈现出更多的复杂性。      

Vertical velocity field in the convective boundary layer as observed with an acoustic Doppler sodar

The morning development of the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) during fine weather has been observed with an acoustic Doppler sodar of the C.R.P.E. In particular, the vertical profile of the vertical velocity third-order statistic W* ³ has been obtained. This quantity is a maximum near 0.3z _I where z _I, is the height of the CBL. The histogram of vertical velocity in the CBL shows a relationship between W ³ and the convective velocity W _* and is useful for convective plume determination.     

Measurements Of Thermal Updraft Intensity Over Complex Terrain Using American White Pelicans And A Simple Boundary-Layer Forecast Model

An examination of boundary-layer meteorological and avian aerodynamic theories suggests that soaring birds can be used to measure the magnitude of vertical air motions within the boundary layer. These theories are applied to obtain mixed-layer normalized thermal updraft intensity over both flat and complex terrain from the climb rates of soaring American white pelicans and from diagnostic boundary-layer model-produced estimates of the boundary-layer depth z_i and the convective velocity scale w_*. Comparison of the flatland data with the profiles of normalized updraft velocity obtained from previous studies reveals that the pelican-derived measurements of thermal updraft intensity are in close agreement with those obtained using traditional research aircraft and large eddy simulation (LES) in the height range of 0.2 to 0.8 z_i. Given the success of this method, the profiles of thermal vertical velocity over the flatland and the nearby mountains are compared. This comparison shows that these profiles are statistically indistinguishable over this height range, indicating that the profile for thermal updraft intensity varies little over this sample of complex terrain. These observations support the findings of a recent LES study that explored the turbulent structure of the boundary layer using a range of terrain specifications. For terrain similar in scale to that encountered in this study, results of the LES suggest that the terrain caused less than an 11% variation in the standard deviation of vertical velocity.     

Laboratory and Numerical Studies of the Convective Boundary Layer Capped by a Strong Inversion

The convective boundary layer (CBL) with a wide range of stability is simulated experimentally using a thermally stratified wind tunnel, and numerically by direct numerical simulation (DNS). The turbulence structures and flow characteristics of various CBL flows, capped by a strong temperature inversion and affected by surface shear, are investigated. The various vertical profiles of turbulence statistics similar to those from the observed CBL in the field are successfully simulated in both the wind-tunnel experiment and in DNS. The comparison of the wind-tunnel data and DNS results with those of atmospheric observations and water-tank studies shows the crucial dependence of the turbulence statistics in the upper part of the layer on the strength of the inversion layer, as well as the modification of the CBL turbulence regime by the surface shear.     

Simulating Dispersion in the Evening-Transition Boundary Layer

We investigate dispersion in the evening-transition boundary layer using large-eddy simulation (LES). In the LES, a particle model traces pollutant paths using a combination of the resolved flow velocities and a random displacement model to represent subgrid-scale motions. The LES is forced with both a sudden switch-off of the surface heat flux and also a more gradual observed evolution. The LES shows ‘lofting’ of plumes from near-surface releases in the pre-transition convective boundary layer; it also shows the subsequent ‘trapping’ of releases in the post-transition near-surface stable boundary layer and residual layer above. Given the paucity of observations for pollution dispersion in evening transitions, the LES proves a useful reference. We then use the LES to test and improve a one-dimensional Lagrangian Stochastic Model (LSM) such as is often used in practical dispersion studies. The LSM used here includes both time-varying and skewed turbulence statistics. It is forced with the vertical velocity variance, skewness and dissipation from the LES for particle releases at various heights and times in the evening transition. The LSM plume spreads are significantly larger than those from the LES in the post-transition stable boundary-layer trapping regime. The forcing from the LES was thus insufficient to constrain the plume evolution, and inclusion of the significant stratification effects was required. In the so-called modified LSM, a correction to the vertical velocity variance was included to represent the effect of stable stratification and the consequent presence of wave-like motions. The modified LSM shows improved trapping of particles in the post-transition stable boundary layer.     

Application of a Large-Eddy Simulation Database to Optimisation of First-Order Closures for Neutral and Stably Stratified Boundary Layers

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is a well-established numerical technique, resolving the most energetic turbulent fluctuations in the planetary boundary layer. By averaging these fluctuations, high-quality profiles of mean quantities and turbulence statistics can be obtained in experiments with well-defined initial and boundary conditions. Hence, LES data can be beneficial for assessment and optimisation of turbulence closure schemes. A database of 80 LES runs (DATABASE64) for neutral and stably stratified planetary boundary layers (PBLs) is applied in this study to optimize first-order turbulence closure (FOC). Approximations for the mixing length scale and stability correction functions have been made to minimise a relative root-mean-square error over the entire database. New stability functions have correct asymptotes describing regimes of strong and weak mixing found in theoretical approaches, atmospheric observations and LES. The correct asymptotes exclude the need for a critical Richardson number in the FOC formulation. Further, we analysed the FOC quality as functions of the integral PBL stability and the vertical model resolution. We show that the FOC is never perfect because the turbulence in the upper half of the PBL is not generated by the local vertical gradients. Accordingly, the parameterised and LES-based fluxes decorrelate in the upper PBL. With this imperfection in mind, we show that there is no systematic quality deterioration of the FOC in the strongly stable PBL provided that the vertical model resolution is better than 10 levels within the PBL. In agreement with previous studies, we found that the quality improves slowly with the vertical resolution refinement, though it is generally wise not to overstretch the mesh in the lowest 500 m of the atmosphere where the observed, simulated and theoretically predicted stably stratified PBL is mostly located. The submission to a special issue of the “Boundary-Layer Meteorology” devoted to the NATO advanced research workshop “Atmospheric Boundary Layers: Modelling and Applications for Environmental Security”.