The perturbed structure of the neutral atmospheric boundary layer over irregular terrain

The first-order (linear) response of the planetary boundary layer is calculated for flow over periodic terrain, for variations in both surface roughness and terrain elevation. Calculations are made for horizontal wavenumbers varying from 10^–4m^–1 to 3 × 10^–3m^–1. A simple second-order closure model of the turbulence is used, and Coriolis and buoyancy forces are neglected. As expected, flow over a periodic terrain produces corresponding periodic structure in all meteorological fields above the surface. The periodic structure consists of two components. The first is very nearly evanescent with height, showing little vertical structure. It corresponds to the motion that would be observed were the atmosphere inviscid. The second component, introduced by turbulent viscosity, exhibits considerable vertical structure, with vertical wavelengths the order of 100 m, and thus could be responsible for the layering often seen on acoustic sounder observations of the atmospheric boundary layer.Wave Propagation Laboratory.Environmental Science Group.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of the Daytime Boundary Layer in an Idealized Valley Using the Weather Research and Forecasting Numerical Model

A three-dimensional numerical meteorological model is used to perform large-eddy simulations of the upslope flow circulation over a periodic ridge-valley terrain. The subgrid-scale quantities are modelled using a prognostic turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) scheme, with a grid that has a constant horizontal resolution of 50 m and is stretched along the vertical direction. To account for the grid anisotropy, a modified subgrid length scale is used. To allow for the response of the surface fluxes to the valley-flow circulation, the soil surface temperature is imposed and the surface heat and momentum fluxes are computed based on Monin–Obukhov similarity theory. The model is designed with a symmetrical geometry using periodic boundary conditions in both the x and y directions. Two cases are simulated to study the influence of along-valley geostrophic wind forcing with different intensities. The presence of the orography introduces numerous complexities both in the mean properties of the flow and in the turbulent features, even for the idealized symmetric geometry. Classical definitions for the height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are revisited and redefined to capture the complex structure of the boundary layer. Analysis of first- and second-moment statistics, along with TKE budget, highlights the different structure of the PBL at different regions of the domain.     

Impact of the Diurnal Cycle of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer on Wind-Turbine Wakes: A Numerical Modelling Study

The wake characteristics of a wind turbine for different regimes occurring throughout the diurnal cycle are investigated systematically by means of large-eddy simulation. Idealized diurnal cycle simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer are performed with the geophysical flow solver EULAG over both homogeneous and heterogeneous terrain. Under homogeneous conditions, the diurnal cycle significantly affects the low-level wind shear and atmospheric turbulence. A strong vertical wind shear and veering with height occur in the nocturnal stable boundary layer and in the morning boundary layer, whereas atmospheric turbulence is much larger in the convective boundary layer and in the evening boundary layer. The increased shear under heterogeneous conditions changes these wind characteristics, counteracting the formation of the night-time Ekman spiral. The convective, stable, evening, and morning regimes of the atmospheric boundary layer over a homogeneous surface as well as the convective and stable regimes over a heterogeneous surface are used to study the flow in a wind-turbine wake. Synchronized turbulent inflow data from the idealized atmospheric boundary-layer simulations with periodic horizontal boundary conditions are applied to the wind-turbine simulations with open streamwise boundary conditions. The resulting wake is strongly influenced by the stability of the atmosphere. In both cases, the flow in the wake recovers more rapidly under convective conditions during the day than under stable conditions at night. The simulated wakes produced for the night-time situation completely differ between heterogeneous and homogeneous surface conditions. The wake characteristics of the transitional periods are influenced by the flow regime prior to the transition. Furthermore, there are different wake deflections over the height of the rotor, which reflect the incoming wind direction.     

Near-Surface Vertical Flux Divergence in the Stable Boundary Layer

Flow in the stable boundary layer is examined at four contrasting sites with greater upwind surface roughness. The surface heterogeneity is disorganized and in some cases weak as commonly occurs. With low wind speeds, the vertical divergence (or convergence) of the momentum and heat fluxes can be large near the surface in what is normally assumed to be the surface layer where such divergence is neglected. For the two most heterogeneous sites, a shallow “new” boundary layer is captured by the tower observations, analogous to an internal boundary layer but more complex. Above the new boundary layer, the magnitudes of the downward fluxes of heat and momentum increase with height in a transition layer, reach a maximum, and then decrease with height in an overlying regional boundary layer. Similar structure is observed at the site with rolling terrain where the shallow new boundary layer at the surface is identified as cold-air drainage generated by the local slope above which the flow undergoes transition to an overlying regional flow. Significant flux divergence near the surface is generated even over an ice floe for low wind speeds and in a shallow Ekman layer that forms during the polar night. For higher wind speeds, the magnitude of the downward fluxes decreases gradually with height at all levels as in a traditional boundary layer.     

Airborne measurements of turbulent trace gas fluxes and analysis of eddy structure in the convective boundary layer over complex terrain

Using the new high-frequency measurement equipment of the research aircraft DO 128, which is described in detail, turbulent vertical fluxes of ozone and nitric oxide have been calculated from data sampled during the ESCOMPTE program in the south of France. Based on airborne turbulence measurements, radiosonde data and surface energy balance measurements, the convective boundary layer (CBL) is examined under two different aspects. The analysis covers boundary-layer convection with respect to (i) the control of CBL depth by surface heating and synoptic scale influences, and (ii) the structure of convective plumes and their vertical transport of ozone and nitric oxides. The orographic structure of the terrain causes significant differences between planetary boundary layer (PBL) heights, which are found to exceed those of terrain height variations on average. A comparison of boundary-layer flux profiles as well as mean quantities over flat and complex terrain and also under different pollution situations and weather conditions shows relationships between vertical gradients and corresponding turbulent fluxes. Generally, NO_x transports are directed upward independent of the terrain, since primary emission sources are located near the ground. For ozone, negative fluxes are common in the lower CBL in accordance with the deposition of O₃ at the surface.The detailed structure of thermals, which largely carry out vertical transports in the boundary layer, are examined with a conditional sampling technique. Updrafts mostly contain warm, moist and NO_x loaded air, while the ozone transport by thermals alternates with the background ozone gradient. Evidence for handover processes of trace gases to the free atmosphere can be found in the case of existing gradients across the boundary-layer top. An analysis of the size of eddies suggests the possibility of some influence of the heterogeneous terrain in mountainous area on the length scales of eddies.     

稳定条件下盆地上空大气边界层湍谱特征

本文利用100m~3系留气艇携带超声风温仪在复杂的盆地地形上空对1000m以下大气进行观测所获得的资料,研究小风稳定条件下大气边界层湍流结构特征。结果表明,在双对数坐标中,纵向速度u谱,垂直速度w谱,温度T谱在惯性区均遵循Kolmogorov的-2/3次律;横向速度V谱有其特殊的情形;协谱uw,wT及近地层的uT协谱在惯性区服从-4/3次律。和平坦、均一、开阔下垫面不同的是谱的峰值频率向高频移动,且没有发现近地层具有的谱峰随高度的明显变化关系。     

地形非均匀性对网格区地面长波辐射通量计算的影响

从理论和数值试验两个方面证明地形的非均匀性(如海拔高度)对网格区地面长波辐射通量的计算有重要影响,海拔高度场的区域平均值及其变差系数是影响网格区地面长波辐射通量的主要因素,仅仅用地表均匀假定下的区域平均参量(如平均海拔高度和平均温度)所计算的网格区地表有效辐射通量值与其真实值之间存在着一定的误差。由于地表有效辐射通量是海拔高度的非线性函数,在特定情况下,其影响相当大,可产生不容忽略的误差。相对而言,海拔高度自身非均匀性对误差的影响远大于地表温度非均匀性项及其混合扰动项所产生的误差。对于不同的地形平均高度,地形非均匀性影响的程度并不相同。平均高度较小时,非均匀性的影响几乎可以忽略,但随着地形平均高度的增加,地形非均匀性的影响程度呈非线性增长趋势。因而,在复杂地形区域,考虑次网格地形的热力作用非常必要。     

Numerical simulation of cold easterly circulations over the Canadian Western Plains using a mesoscale boundary-layer model

Arctic outbreaks over the Canadian Western Plains during the late spring period frequently take the form of a cold east-northeasterly flow over a warmer, sloping surface. A mesoscale numerical model is developed in an attempt to simulate such circulations. Following Lavoie (1972) the atmospheric structure of the cold air mass is represented by three layers: a constant flux layer in contact with the earth's surface, a well-mixed planetary boundary layer capped by an inversion, and a deep stratum of overlying stable air. Averaging the set of governing primitive equations through the depth of the mixed layer yields predictive equations for the horizontal wind components, potential temperature, specific humidity, and the height of the inversion. Time-dependent calculations are limited to this layer by parameterizing the interactions between the mixed layer and both the underlying and overlying layers. Precipitation from limited convective clouds, and latent heat within the layer are included in terms of mesoscale variables.A 47.6-km by 47.6-km grid mesh of 1369 points covering the Canadian Prairie Provinces is used to represent the variables. The governing equations are solved numerically with terrain influences, surface roughness, temperature variations, and moisture fluxes allowed to perturb the mixed layer from its initial conditions until resultant mesoscale boundary-layer weather patterns evolve.The mean spring topographic precipitation pattern is successfully reproduced by the simulated late spring upslope flow with limited convective precipitation. Mesoscale planetary boundary-layer weather patterns appear to exert a dominant control over the location and intensity of perturbations in the spring precipitation pattern. The elimination of surface heating significantly reduces the area and intensity of precipitation. A case study based on observed initial conditions showed that the model could reproduce a persistent limited convective precipitation pattern maintained by upslope flow and that a low-level trough exerts a marked influence on the location and the intensity of the precipitation.     

Proof of the monotonicity of grid size and its application in grid-size selection for mesoscale models

Terrain characteristics can be accurately represented in spectrum space. Terrain spectra can quantitatively reflect the effect of topographic dynamic forcing on the atmosphere. In wavelength space, topographic spectral energy decreases with decreasing wavelength, in spite of several departures. This relationship is approximated by an exponential function. A power law relationship between the terrain height spectra and wavelength is fitted by the least-squares method, and the fitting slope is associated with grid-size selection for mesoscale models. The monotonicity of grid size is investigated, and it is strictly proved that grid size increases with increasing fitting exponent, indicating that the universal grid size is determined by the minimum fitting exponent. An example of landslide-prone areas in western Sichuan is given, and the universal grid spacing of 4.1 km is shown to be a requirement to resolve 90% of terrain height variance for mesoscale models, without resorting to the parameterization of subgrid-scale terrain variance. Comparison among results of different simulations shows that the simulations estimate the observed precipitation well when using a resolution of 4.1 km or finer. Although the main flow patterns are similar, finer grids produce more complex patterns that show divergence zones, convergence zones and vortices.Horizontal grid size significantly affects the vertical structure of the convective boundary layer. Stronger vertical wind components are simulated for finer grid resolutions. In particular, noticeable sinking airflows over mountains are captured for those model configurations.     

The stably stratified boundary layer over the great plains

Airplane measurements of the stably stratified boundary layer obtained during the Severe Environmental Storms and Mesoscale Experiment (SESAME) over rolling terrain in south-central Oklahoma indicate that considerable horizontal variability exists in the flow on scales of several kilometers. Much of this wave-like structure appears to be tied to the terrain. The criteria for existence of stationary gravity waves indicate that these waves can exist under the observed conditions. The spectrum of terrain variations also supports the existence of these waves. Observed spectra of the vertical velocity have two peaks: one at wavelengths of several kilometers, which is due to waves and the other at wavelengths of about 100 m, which is due to turbulence. The variance at several kilometers wavelength increases somewhat with height at least up to about 800 m, but the variance contributed by turbulence decreases rapidly with height.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Stability Dependence of Height Scales and Effective Roughness Lengths of Momentum and Heat Transfer Over Roughness Changes

It is widely accepted that the correct formulation of an effective roughness length, defined as the area average of the roughness length in heterogeneous terrain, relies upon the appropriate de-termination of a height scale. At this height a meteorological quantity is approximately in equilibrium with local surface conditions and independent of horizontal position. This research note determines explicitly the different height scales from the perturbation solutions of flow velocity and temperature, as well as the fluxes of momentum and heat, in a stratified boundary layer. These solutions are derived from the asymptotic approximation theory and shown to capture major characteristics of momentum and heat transfer over heterogeneous terrain with changes of the underlying roughness lengths. The effective roughness lengths can then be computed by use of these height scales. The dependence of height scales and effective roughness lengths upon stratification is also discussed briefly.     

苏州东山冬季大气边界层结构特征及其对污染物浓度的影响

利用2015年1月15—27日在苏州东山气象观测站系留气艇观测数据以及细颗粒物浓度观测资料,对东山大气边界层结构特征及其对污染物垂直结构分布的影响进行分析研究。结果表明:苏州东山地区冬季空气污染过程的边界层结构演变比较典型,夜间稳定边界层高度约为200 m,白天最大边界层高度可达1 000 m。边界层内污染物垂直结构分布易受边界层高度的影响,较低的大气边界层高度可使细颗粒物在近地层持续累积;反之,边界层高度较高,湍流发展旺盛,颗粒物垂直分布均匀。夜间大气边界层稳定,逆温结构多发,导致近地面出现细颗粒物堆积。风的垂直结构对细颗粒物空间分布也存在显著影响,在风速较小的低空层细颗粒分布较多,而风速较大的中高层的分布较少。      

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.     

大理苍山—洱海局地环流的数值模拟

利用耦合了湖泊模型的WRF_CLM模式模拟了秋季大理苍山—洱海地区的局地环流特征。结果表明:模式对近地面温度、风向、风速的模拟与观测基本一致,模拟结果能较好地再现该地区山谷风和湖陆风相互作用的局地环流特征。在秋季,大理苍山的谷风起止时间为08:00~17:00(北京时,下同),湖风起止时间为09:00~19:00。局地环流受高山地形及洱海湖面影响明显,山谷风形成早于湖陆风1 h,夜间山风、陆风强盛于白天谷风、湖风。白天苍山谷风与洱海湖风的叠加作用会驱动谷风到达2600 m的高度,而傍晚最先形成的苍山山风则会减弱洱海的湖风环流。夜间盆地南部在两侧山风、陆风的共同作用下,形成稳定而持续的气旋式环流。日出以后,对流边界层迅速发展,边界层高度逐渐增高。陆地17:00温度达到最高,边界层高度也达到峰值2000 m,之后逐渐降低。日落后形成稳定边界层,边界层高度在夜间基本保持在100 m。相对于陆地,湖面白天边界层高度低300 m,夜间边界层高度高100 m。     

Boundary-layer wind structure in a landfalling tropical cyclone

In this study, a slab boundary layer model with a constant depth is used to analyze the boundary-layer wind structure in a landfalling tropical cyclone. Asymmetry is found in both the tangential and radial components of horizontal wind in the tropical cyclone boundary layer at landfall. For a steady tropical cyclone on a straight coastline at landfall, the magnitude of the radial component is greater in the offshoreflow side and the tangential component is greater over the sea, slightly offshore, therefore the greater total wind speed occurs in the offshore-flow side over the sea. The budget analysis suggests that： （1） a greater surface friction over land produces a greater inflow and the nonlinear effect advects the maximum inflow downstream, and （2） a smaller surface friction over the sea makes the decrease of the tangential wind component less than that over land. Moreover, the boundary layer wind structures in a tropical cyclone are related to the locations of the tropical cyclone relative to the coastline due to the different surface frictions. During tropical cyclone landfall, the impact of rough terrain on the cyclone increases, so the magnitude of the radial component of wind speed increases in the offshore-flow side and the tangential component outside the radius of maximum wind speed decreases gradually.     

Deduction of the Sensible Heat Flux from SODAR Data

A new method for deduction of the sensible heat flux is validated with three sets of published SODAR （sound detection and ranging） data. Although the related expressions have previously been confirmed by the author with surface layer data, they have not yet been validated with observations from the boundary layer before this work. In the study, selected SODAR data are used to test the method for the convective boundary layer. The sensible heat flux （SHF） retrieved from SODAR data is found to decrease linearly with height in the mixed layer. The surface sensible heat fluxes derived from the deduced sensible heat flux profiles under convective conditions agree well with those measured by the eddy correlation method. The characteristics of SHF profiles deduced from SODAR data in different places reflect the background meteorology and terrain. The upper part of the SHF profile （SHFP） for a complicated terrain is found to have a different slope from the lower part. It is suggested that the former reflects the advective characteristic of turbulence in upwind topography. A similarity relationship for the estimation of SHFP in a well mixed layer with surface SHF and zero-heat-flux layer height is presented.     

Impact of surface heterogeneity on a buoyancy-driven convective boundary layer in light winds

Land-use practices such as deforestation or agricultural management may affect regional climate, ecosystems and water resources. The present study investigates the impact of surface heterogeneity on the behaviour of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), at a typical spatial scale of 1 km. Large-eddy simulations, using an interactive soil–vegetation–atmosphere surface scheme, are performed to document the structure of the three-dimensional flow, as driven by buoyancy forces, over patchy terrain with different surface characteristics (roughness, soil moisture, temperature) on each individual patch. The patchy terrain consists of striped and chessboard patterns. The results show that the ABL strongly responds to the spatial configuration of surface heterogeneities. The stripe configuration made of two patches with different soil moisture contents generates the development of a quasi- two-dimensional inland breeze, whereas a three-dimensional divergent flow is induced by chessboard patterns. The feedback of such small-scale atmospheric circulations on the surface fluxes appears to be highly non-linear. The surface sensible and latent heat fluxes averaged over the 25-km² domain may vary by 5% with respect to the patch arrangement.     

Simulation of meteorological fields over a land-water-land terrain and comparison with observations

A numerical two-dimensional-mesoscale model with a level 1.5 closure scheme for turbulence is described. The model is used to simulate the boundary layer over coastal complex terrain. Meteorological data available from the Øresund land-sea-land terrain experiment are used to study the performance of the model. The model could simulate generally observed complexities in the mean wind and temperature fields. Internal boundary layers over the water and land surfaces were identified by the height of lowest value in the turbulence kinetic energy profile and this showed good agreement with radiosonde (RS) observations.Some disagreements with the data were also noticed, especially near the surface. The wind speed was over-predicted. Attempts were made to improve the model performance by adopting different schemes for model initialisation. Results showed that initialisation with an early model start time and observed wind profile near the inflow boundary improved the performance. The wind speed over-prediction could be further minimised by using a more realistic objective initialisation scheme. The problem centred around the proper estimation of the turbulent diffusion coefficient K through the closure scheme. Despite using the most popular empirical relationships in the level 1.5 closure scheme, these differences persisted. While this needs further investigation, the present model can be used to supply wind fields for practical purposes such as air pollution calculations.     

三维湖陆风的数值模式试验

利用地形坐标建立了一个三维湖陆风的预报模式，其中对边界层及模式层顶高度采用预报方程求解，对边界层参数作了较仔细的考虑。计算表明，模式运行十分稳定，对复杂地形条件下的湖陆风扰动系统有着很好的描述能力。