Stable-boundary-layer regimes from the perspective of the low-level jet |
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Authors: | Robert M Banta |
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Institution: | (1) NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA |
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Abstract: | This paper reviews results from two field studies of the nocturnal stable atmospheric boundary layer (SBL) over the Great
Plains of the United States. Data from a scanning remote-sensing system, a High-Resolution Doppler Lidar (HRDL), provided
measurements of mean and turbulent wind components at high spatial and temporal resolution through the lowest 500–1000 m of
the atmosphere. This data set has allowed the characteristics of the low-level jet (LLJ) maximum (speed, height, direction)
to be documented through entire nights. LLJs form after sunset and produce strong shear in the layer below the LLJ maximum
or nose, which is a source of turbulence and mixing in the SBL. Simultaneous HRDL measurements of turbulence quantities related
to turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) has allowed the turbulence in the subjet layer to be related to LLJ properties. Turbulence
structure was found to be a function of the bulk stability of the subjet layer. For the strong-LLJ (> 15 m s−1), weakly stable cases the strength of the turbulence is proportional to the strength of the LLJ. For these cases with nearly
continuous turbulence in the subjet layer, low-level jet scaling, in which lengths are scaled by the LLJ height and velocity
variables are scaled by the LLJ speed, was found to be appropriate. For the weak-wind (< 5 m s−1 in the lowest 200 m), very stable boundary layer (vSBL), the boundary layer was found to be very shallow (sometimes < 10
m deep), and turbulent fluxes between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere were found to be essentially shut down. For more
intermediate wind speeds and stabilities, the SBL shows varying degrees of intermittency due to various mechanisms, including
shearinstability and other gravity waves, density currents, and other mesoscale disturbances. |
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Keywords: | stable boundary layer low-level jet Doppler lidar atmospheric turbulence turbulence kinetic energy |
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