Observations of the Relation Between Upslope Flows and the Convective Boundary Layer in Steep Terrain

Slope flow mechanisms are crucial for the transport of air pollutants in complex terrain. Previous observations in sloping terrain showed upslope flows filling the entire convective boundary layer (CBL) and reducing air pollution concentrations by venting air pollutants out of the CBL into the free atmosphere. During the Pacific 2001 Air Quality Field Study in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada, we observed slope flows during weak synoptic winds, clear skies, and strong daytime solar heating. With a Doppler sodar we measured the three wind components at the foot of a slope having an average angle of 19° and a ridge height of 780 m. We operated a scanning lidar system and a tethersonde at a nearby site on the adjacent plain to measure backscatter of particulate matter, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and specific humidity. Strong daytime upslope flows of up to 6 m s⁻¹ through a depth of up to 500 m occurred in the lower CBL, but with often equally strong and deep return flows in the upper part of the CBL. The mass transport of upslope flow and return flow approximately balanced over a 4-h morning period, suggesting a closed slope-flow circulation within the CBL. These observations showed that air pollutants can remain trapped within a CBL rather than being vented from the CBL into the free atmosphere.     

Observations Of The Morning Transition Of The Convective Boundary Layer

The morning transition between the stable nocturnal situation and the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL) is of interest both for basic understanding and for initializing prognostic models. While the morning growth phase of the CBL has been studied in detail, relatively little has been published on the transition itself. In this paper, conventional observations of surface temperature, humidity, and turbulent fluxes,and data from a meteorological tower, are combined with measurements of the onset of convection by boundary-layer wind profilers to explore the timing and behaviour of the transition period. The transition is defined here as the period between sunrise and the time at which the depth ofconvection reaches about 200 m AGL. Diagnostic relationships based on surface heat flux, the temperature difference between 2 m and 200 m, and bulk Richardson number are explored. The transition is foundto be enabled by surface heating relaxing the surface stability, while the warming of the layerbetween 2 m and 200 m is in large part due to shear-driven entrainment.     

风廓线雷达对塔克拉玛干沙漠晴天边界层的探测分析

利用塔克拉玛干沙漠大气环境观测试验站2010年8和10月边界层风廓线雷达资料,分析了沙漠晴天边界层湍流、大气温度、水平风速风向以及垂直速度的发展演变特征和日变化规律。研究表明：（1）大气折射率结构常数（C_n~2）能较好地反映晴空湍流对电磁波的后向散射能力,可以详细刻画湍流发展旺盛区域的高度、强度及其演变特征;沙漠夏季白天湍流发展剧烈,旺盛区域顶部可达4000 m高度左右。（2）RASS系统对沙漠边界层大气温度的探测具有较好的可信度,其近地边界层温度符合一般的日变化规律,昼夜温差显著,白天高温维持时间长,升温过程相对滞后于近地表气温。（3）风廓线雷达对大气风场的探测结果与地面风速风向一致,沙漠晴天主要受东风和东北风控制,风速较小,平均在2.0～6.0 m·s~（-1）范围变化。（4）沙漠腹地大气垂直速度变化符合静力平衡理论,铅直方向运动很弱,一般在-1.0～1.0 m·s~（-1）范围波动。     

乌鲁木齐市边界层日变化特征

利用乌鲁木齐市晴天CFL-03型风廓线雷达观测资料,分析了边界层日变化特征。得出结论如下:边界层结构季节变化明显。冬、春季300~600m以下风速较小,小于3m/s,且愈近地面风速愈小;以上风速大、风向恒定,基本为东南大风。夏季和秋季风速比冬季和春季小,流场特征较复杂,水平风速和风向变化较活跃,存在明显的风切变。折射率结构常数春、秋和冬季比夏季分别小1个、3个和1~3个量级;夏季最大,集中在10~(-16)~10~(-13) m~(-2/3)之间。春、夏和秋季晴天湍流动能耗散率量级分别在10~(-6)~10~(-2) m~2·s~(-3)、10~(-4)~10~(-3) m~2·s~(-3)、10~(-6)~10~(-3) m~2·s~(-3)之间;白天比夜间约大1个量级。晴天折射率结构常数和湍流动能耗散率日变化特征与风场日变化特征有较好地对应关系,即湍流发展旺盛的区域与风速较大的区域相一致。风廓线雷达资料反演的湍流动能耗散率对春季和夏季边界层结构日变化演变特征的监测较好。夏季夜间稳定边界层约400~500m,残余层可达到约1800m,对流边界层可发展到约2500m,混合层约2200m,夹卷层约300~400m。     

Growth Of The Summer Daytime Convective Boundary Layer At Anand

The heights of the daytime convective boundary layer (CBL), computed by a one-dimensional model for a bare soil surface at a semi-arid station,Anand, during the dry and hot summer month of May 1997, are presented. As input, the model requires surface heat flux, friction velocity and air temperature as functions of time. Temperature data at the one-metre level from a tower and sonic anemometer data at 9.5 m collected during the period 13–17 May 1997 in the Land Surface Processes Experiment (LASPEX-97) are used to compute hourly values of surface heat flux, friction velocity and Obukhov length following the operational method suggested by Holtslag and Van Ulden [J. Climate Appl. Meteorol. 22,517–529 (1983)]. The model has been tested with different values for the potential temperature gradient ( ) above the inversion. The model-estimated CBL heights comparefavourably with observed heights obtained from radiosonde ascents.     

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.     

Application of Dynamic Subgrid-scale Models for Large-eddy Simulation of the Daytime Convective Boundary Layer over Heterogeneous Surfaces

The sensitivity of large-eddy simulation (LES) to the representation of subgrid-scale (SGS) processes is explored for the case of the convective boundary layer (CBL) developing over surfaces with varying degrees of spatial heterogeneity. Three representations of SGS processes are explored: the traditional constant Smagorinsky–Lilly model and two other dynamic models with Lagrangian averaging approaches to calculate the Smagorinsky coefficient (C _S ) and SGS Prandtl number (Pr). With initial data based roughly on the observed meteorology, simulations of daytime CBL growth are performed over surfaces with characteristics (i.e. fluxes and roughness) ranging from homogeneous, to striped heterogeneity, to a realistic representation of heterogeneity as derived from a recent field study. In both idealized tests and the realistic case, SGS sensitivities are mostly manifest near the surface and entrainment zone. However, unlike simulations over complex domains or under neutral or stable conditions, these differences for the CBL simulation, where large eddies dominate, are not significant enough to distinguish the performance of the different SGS models, irrespective of surface heterogeneity.     

A New Tethered Balloon-Borne Payload for Fine-Scale Observations in the Cloudy Boundary Layer

A new scientific payload is introduced for fine-scale measurements of meteorological (wind vector, static air temperature, humidity, and air pressure) and microphysical (aerosol particles and cloud droplets) properties, suspended below a tethered balloon. The high resolution sensors and the tethered balloon are described. Measurements in a lifted fog layer from a first field campaign are presented.The detailed investigation of the fog/haze and the temperature inversion layer demonstrates the damping influence of the fog on temperature fluctuations, while thewind fluctuations are significantly decreased by theevolving temperature inversion, whichwas about 30 m above the fog layer.From spectral analysis the noise floors of the high-resolution sensors are determined to10^-6 kg m^-3 for the LWC (liquid water content) and 4 mK for the fast temperature sensor (UFT-B). The correlation betweentemperature and LWC structures in shallow haze layers is investigated. The release of latent heat and the corresponding warming in the haze of about 0.1 K could be quantified.     

闽北地区边界层移动风廓线雷达对比试验评估

为了更好地把握风廓线雷达的探测性能和数据精度,对移动风廓线雷达与L波段探空雷达资料进行对比统计分析,结果表明：移动风廓线雷达的有效数据获取率达到80％的高度为3500m,符合边界层风廓线雷达的有效探测高度。移动风廓线的径向速度平均差和标准差随着高度的增加而增加,东西方向的径向速度误差比南北方向的高约0．5—1．0m／s。风廓线雷达自身数据的准确性良好,但是降雨对数据的准确性影响比较大。这次对比试验结果表明,对比试验应该选择比较平稳的天气过程。由于秋冬季节大气环流比较稳定,降雨类型多为层状云降雨,因而风廓线雷达数据可靠性高;对流性降雨过程往往造成风廓线雷达资料可靠性降低。     

Length Scales of Scalar Diffusion in the Convective Boundary Layer: Laboratory Observations

A laboratory study of scalar diffusion in the convective boundary layer has found results that are consistent with a 1999 large-eddy simulation (LES) study by Jonker, Duynkerke and Cuijpers. For bottom-up and top-down scalars (introduced as ‘infinite’ area sources of passive tracer at the surface and inversion, respectively) the dominant length scale was found to be much larger than the length scale for density fluctuations, the latter being equal to the boundary-layer depth h. The variance of the normalized passive scalar grew continuously with time and its magnitude was about 3–5 times larger for the top-down case than for the bottom-up case. The vertical profiles of the normalized passive scalar variance were found to be approximately constant through the convective boundary layer (CBL) with a value of about 3–8c_*² for bottom-up and 10–50c_*² for top-down diffusion. Finally, there was some evidence of a minimum in the variance and dominant length scale for scalar flux ratios (top-down to bottom-up flux) close to −0.5. All these convection tank results confirm the LES results and support the hypothesis that there is a distinct difference in behaviour between the dynamic and passive variables in the CBL.     

边界层风廓线雷达对登陆台风观测适用性评估

利用2014—2019年6个台风合计34组数据,通过与机动式边界层风廓线雷达以及同点探空数据进行对比,分析风廓线雷达对登陆台风边界层结构诊断的适用性。初步分析表明：有30组数据完整度高于80%,且平均标准差为3.64 m·s-1,平均误差为4.67 m·s-1。30组数据中有19组数据的对比结果较好,均呈现风廓线雷达与探空廓线在250 m高度以上重合度较高、250 m高度以下重合度较低的特征,其原因可能与探空低层加速以及风廓线雷达低层受干扰有关。将250 m高度以下的数据剔除后和剔除前对比发现,数据质量得到提高。从空间分布看,低质量数据大多分布在台风中心距离观测点200 km及以外的区域,但较高质量数据相对于台风中心并无明显的倾向性分布。从降水分布看,未发现数据质量与降水关系明显。尽管使用的数据比较有限,但风廓线雷达在台风边界层结构观测中展现较好应用潜力。     

Large-Eddy Simulation of air Pollution Dispersion in the Nocturnal Cloud-Topped Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Effects of stratocumulus clouds on the dispersion of contaminants are studied in the nocturnal atmospheric boundary layer. The study is based on a large-eddy simulation (LES) model with a bulk parametrization of clouds. Computations include Lagrangian calculations of atmospheric dispersion of a passive tracer released from point sources at various heights above the ground. The results obtained show that the vertical diffusion is non-Gaussian and depends on the location of a source in the boundary layer.     

Determination of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height from Radiosonde and Lidar Backscatter

The height of the atmospheric boundary layer is derived with the help of two different measuring systems and methods. From radiosoundings the boundary layer height is determined by the parcel method and by temperature and humidity gradients. From lidar backscatter measurements a combination of the averaging variance method and the high-resolution gradient method is used to determine boundary layer heights. In this paper lidar-derived boundary layer heights on a 10 min basis are presented. Datasets from four experiments – two over land and two over the sea – are used to compare boundary layer heights from both methods. Only the daytime boundary layer is investigated because the height of the nighttime stable boundary layer is below the range of the lidar. In many situations the boundary layer heights from both systems coincide within ±200 m. This corresponds to the standard deviation of lidar-derived 10-min values within a 1-h interval and is due to the time and space variability of the boundary layer height. Deviations appear for certain situations and depend on which radiosonde method is applied. The parcel method fails over land surfaces in the afternoon when the boundary layer stabilizes and over the ocean when the boundary layer is slightly stable. An automatic radiosonde gradient method sometimes fails when multiple layers are present, e.g. a residual layer above the growing convective boundary layer. The lidar method has the advantage of continuous tracing and thus avoids confusion with elevated layers. On the other hand, it mostly fails in situations with boundary layer clouds     

On the Determination of the Neutral Drag Coefficient in the Convective Boundary Layer

Based on the idea that free convection can be considered as a particular case of forced convection, where the gusts driven by the large-scale eddies are scaled with the Deardorff convective velocity scale, a new formulation for the neutral drag coefficient, C_Dn, in the convective boundary layer (CBL) is derived. It is shown that (i) a concept of C_Dn can still be used under strongly unstable conditions including a pure free-convection regime even when no logarithmic portion in the velocity profile exists; (ii) gustiness corrections must be applied for rational calculations of C_Dn; and (iii) the stratification function used in the derivation of C_Dn should satisfy the theoretical free-convection limit. The new formulation is compared with the traditional relationship for C_Dn, and data collected over the sea (during the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) and the San Clemente Ocean Probing Experiment (SCOPE)) and over land (during the BOREX-95 experiment) are used to illustrate the difference between the new and traditional formulations. Compared to the new approach, the traditional formulation strongly overestimates C_Dn and z_o in the CBL for mean wind speed less than about 2 m s^-1. The new approach also clarifies several contradictory results from earlier works. Some aspects related to an alternate definition of the neutral drag coefficient and the wind speed and the stress averaging procedure are considered.     

北京地区日最大边界层高度的气候统计特征

使用北京气象站探空观测数据和地面气温观测数据,以干绝热曲线法估算1984~2013年逐日最大边界层高度,同时计算对应的边界层平均风速和通风量。统计分析这3个边界层参量的平均特征,并利用2001~2012年的空气污染指数(API),探讨大气污染与边界层参量的关系。结果表明:(1)日最大边界层高度的30年月均值以春季和夏初(3~6月)最高,约1600 m;夏季和秋初(7~10月)次之,约1300 m;冬季(11月、12月和1月)最低,约1000~1200 m。(2)夏季,日最大边界层高度不同数值的频率大致为对称分布,峰值处于1000~1600 m范围;秋、冬季,频率分布系统性地向低值一方偏斜,600~800 m的出现频率大大增加;春季边界层高度的变化极大。(3)各季边界层平均风速以夏季为最小。(4)一年中春季通风量最大,秋季次之,冬季较低,夏季最小。(5)秋、冬季,北京中度和重污染个例(API200)集中分布于弱风、低边界层和小通风量条件,反映污染物局地累积的作用;春季污染个例半数以上以高风速、高通风量为特征,反映沙尘类外部输入性污染的作用。     

Improving Non-local Parameterization of the Convective Boundary Layer

We propose improvements in the “non-local” parameterization scheme of the convective boundary layer. The countergradient terms for components of the momentum fluxes are introduced in a form analogous to those for other scalars. The scheme also includes explicit expressions for entrainment fluxes of momentum, temperature, and humidity. A simplified procedure for calculating the boundary-layer height is proposed, consisting of two steps: the evaluation of the convection level, followed by the assessment of the depth of the interfacial layer.     

大气对流边界层发展的模拟研究

室内水槽模拟是大气边界层研究的一种重要手段。利用室内模拟水槽对大气边界层的发展进行了模拟,通过处理平均温度廓线和光斑图像得到了对流边界层顶部位置h2和边界层高度zi。结果表明,不同测量方法得到的结果一致性很好,与实际大气的边界层发展情况也较为接近。同时,根据试验情况确定初始条件和边界条件,使用边界层参数化模型进行了数值模拟,其结果与室内模拟的结果也较吻合。     

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.