The Theoretical Model of Atmospheric Turbulence Spectrum in Surface Layer

It is shown that the slope of energy spectrum obtained from the velocity solution of Kdv-Burgers equation lies between -5/3 and -2 in the dilogarithmic coordinates paper. The spectrum is very close to one of Kolmogorov’s isotropic turbulence and Frisch’s intermittent turbulence in inertial region. In this paper, the Kdv-Burgers equation to describe atmospheric boundary layer turbulence is obtained. In the equation, the 1 / Re, corresponds to dissipative coefficient v, to dispersive coefficient β, then (v/ 2β)2 corresponds to .We prove that the wave number corresponding to maximum energy spectrum decreases with the decrease of stability (i.e., the increase of in eddy-containing region. And the spectrim amplitude decreases with the increase of (i.e., the decrease of stability). These results are consistent with actual turbulence spectrum of atmospheric surface layer from turbulence data.     

Thermal plumes and turbulence spectra in the atmospheric boundary layer

Experimental observations on the temperature and wind fields above flat grassy terrain have been obtained with an instrumented 92-m tower during intervals of strong insolation about midday. The turbulence characteristics of the air confirm that free convection prevailed at heights between 16 and 48 m, with some tendency for departure at higher levels. The spectra of temperature and vertical velocity contain gaps at wave numbers in the range 0.01–0.025 m^–1. These are attributed to natural thermal plumes that act as sources of extra energy input to the Kolmogorov-Obukhov-Corrsin scheme of turbulence in or at the low-wave number limit of the inertial subrange. Modified forms of the K-O-C spectral laws for thermally unstable air are derived which agree with the observed spectra over the whole range of wave numbers examined, and which contain the spectral gap at wave numbers corresponding to the thermal plume diameters.     

Characteristics of atmospheric turbulence in the surface layer over Antarctica

This paper presents meteorological measurements made during the antarctic summer period, on two 9 m and 3 m towers, on the rocky and ice shelf terrains of the Indian antarctic stations Maitri and Dakshin Gangotri, respectively. The measurements of fluctuations in temperature and wind speed made with relatively lesser precision instrumentation pertain to smaller wave numbers ~10^-2 m^-1 appropriate to outer scale L ₀ of the atmospheric turbulence spectrum. Autocorrelation analysis of the fluctuations in temperature and wind speed has been performed. A new autoregressive scheme has been developed to represent the computed autocorrelation functions by a Yule statistical model, and to estimate the correlation period T ₀ of the turbulent medium. Height profiles of outer scale L ₀ of turbulence may be given in terms of T ₀ and mean wind speed u. Further, the similarity theory of Monin-Obukhov has been used to compute height profiles of temperature structure parameter C _T ². At Maitri, values of L ₀ and C _T ² are higher between 03–22 h local time than between 22–03 h. Values of L ₀ and C _T ² are smaller over the ice shelf terrain of the Dakshin Gangotri station, compared to those over the rocky terrain of the Maitri station.     

Temperature and humidity spectra in the atmospheric surface layer

Temperature and humidity spectra have been measured at 3 and 12 m above the ground, together with profiles of wind, temperature and humidity, and flux measurements. Both temperature and humidity spectra appear to follow Monin-Obukov similarity as well as Kolmogorov's prediction for the inertial subrange. The standard deviations of temperature and humidity fluctuations support Monin-Obukov similarity and the predictions of local free convection. The spectral constants for the inertial subrange have been estimated as 0.8 for temperature and 0.6 for humidity.     

大气边界层湍流相干结构的识别

首先利用数字滤波方法对淮河流域试验的大气边界层湍流观测资料进行三项分解，将大气边界层湍流的风速信号分解为近似各项同性的小尺度涡和各向异性的大尺度涡。然后再将大尺度涡信号进行离散正交小波分解，寻求相干结构的主要特征尺度。对于大气边界层湍流垂直脉动风速来说，其相干结构的主要特征尺度为16s；对径向与纬向脉动来说，其相干结构的主要特征尺度为32－64s。在此基础上，利用小波的反变换提取出相干结构的信号与非相干结构的信号，并计算两间的相关系数，最大仅有0．02。此外，对原始大气湍流观测信号不进行数字滤波，直接利用本中子波分析法提取湍流相干结构所得结果作比较研究；并探讨了采用对称或似对称离散正交小波对此研究的影响。     

Resolved-scale turbulence in the atmospheric surface layer from a large eddy simulation

Large eddy simulation has encountered difficulties in handling turbulence in the atmospheric surface layer due to deficiencies in sub-grid scale models. This paper addresses the possibility of resolving the turbulence in the upper part of the surface layer by a low-aspect ratio of grid spacing. Results show that resolved-scale shear stresses dominate over the sub-grid scale components so that effects due to the sub-grid scale model can be ignored in this region. The effects of the lower boundary condition on the resolved-scale turbulence in the upper part of the surface layer are discussed. It is concluded that the normalized mean velocity shear and resolved turbulence in the upper part of the surface layer are not affected by the specification of the lower boundary condition. In addition, the present work proposes a new independent model parameter, the Smagorinsky Reynolds Number (Re_SM), and demonstrates that this number determines the resolved turbulence in the upper part of the surface layer.     

Characterizing atmospheric surface layer turbulence using chaotic return map analysis

Nonlinear time series analysis methods are used to investigate the dynamics of mechanical and convective turbulences in the atmospheric surface layer flow. Using dynamical invariant analysis (e.g. correlation dimension, Lyapunov exponent and mutual information) along with recurrence quantification analysis (e.g. recurrent rate, determinism, average diagonal length of recurrence plot, etc.) of the vertical wind component data, it is confirmed that a convective turbulence is a lower order manifold in its phase space exhibiting higher degree of organization than a mechanical turbulence. Applying a quasi-one-dimensional chaotic return map technique, the topological differences between the mechanical and convective turbulences are explored. These quasi-one-dimensional return maps are produced using the local maxima of the first principal component of the reconstructed turbulence data. A comparison of the probability distribution of the local maxima of a forced Lorenz model with the turbulence data indicates the possible existence of a stable fixed point for both type of turbulences. Furthermore, dynamically the mechanical turbulence is found to resemble an unforced Lorenz model whereas the convective turbulence resembles a forced Lorenz model.     

On the gap in the spectra of surface-layer atmospheric turbulence

A large set of tower data was used to identify the gap that separates small-scale turbulence and mesoscale structures in the cospectra of surface fluxes. The cospectra were obtained using a multi-resolution decomposition algorithm. The gap time scale τ _g was found by fitting a fifth-order polynomial to the cospectra and identifying special points occurring after the peak at small scales. In unstable conditions (day) τ _g was found to fall as the mean wind speed increased, while no such dependence was observed in stable conditions (night). The gap scale was found to change very weakly with stability both in moderately stable and moderately unstable conditions, with a sharp drop from about 1100 to 250 s occurring in near-neutral conditions. The vertical fluxes computed at different averaging intervals were found to correlate exceptionally well with each other, the scatter being somewhat larger during the night. Although considerable discrepancy may occur for individual records, when averaged over 10 months, the difference in the flux estimated at 7 to 109 min intervals never exceeded 4%, which is comparable or less than the instrumental error.     

Experimental investigation of atmospheric boundary layer turbulence

This paper describes how to measure turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) in order to address certain problems in modern atmospheric physics. These problems mainly relate to the Earth's energy budget (including the hydrological cycle) and biogeochemical cycles. Starting from the main characteristic numbers and the basic equations of atmospheric turbulent flow, we show what turbulence parameters are important to measure. Special attention is given to the various methods used to compute the turbulent fluxes. We analyse the range of scales which has to be measured to properly capture the eddies contributing to the turbulent transfers. This range of scales determines what sensors can be used in the atmospheric surface layer and in the ABL. We describe the most widely used instruments and their performances. The principal platforms used to deploy these instruments are examined. Aircraft are described in more details, because they allow a thorough exploration of the ABL. In the last section, some examples of ABL turbulence signals measured in various conditions are presented. These examples illustrate horizontally homogeneous turbulence as well as inhomogeneous signals for which standard analysis techniques cannot be used. We show how some recent techniques, like wavelet transforms, can help to investigate this kind of signal. At the end, we present what would be interesting to do in the near future for the study of ABL turbulence.     

A simple model of the atmospheric boundary layer; sensitivity to surface evaporation

A simple formulation of the boundary layer is developed for use in large-scale models and other situations where simplicity is required. The formulation is suited for use in models where some resolution is possible within the boundary layer, but where the resolution is insufficient for resolving the detailed boundary-layer structure and overlying capping inversion. Surface fluxes are represented in terms of similarity theory while turbulent diffusivities above the surface layer are formulated in terms of bulk similarity considerations and matching conditions at the top of the surface layer. The boundary-layer depth is expressed in terms of a bulk Richardson number which is modified to include the influence of thermals. Attention is devoted to the interrelationship between predicted boundary-layer growth, the turbulent diffusivity profile, countergradient heat flux and truncation errors.The model predicts growth of the convectively mixed layer reasonably well and is well-behaved in cases of weak surface heat flux and transitions between stable and unstable cases. The evolution of the modelled boundary layer is studied for different ratios of surface evaporation to potential evaporation. Typical variations of surface evaporation result in a much greater variation in boundary-layer depth than that caused by the choice of the boundary-layer depth formulation.     

A study of convective elements in the atmospheric surface layer

A statistical model, based on a method of Vulf'son, is used to examine some of the plume-like temperature structures formed in the unstable boundary layer. The model assumes that the plume diameter changes slowly with height so that a cylindrical approximation may be made. Measurements of the vertical velocity and temperature were used to determine the temperature dependent portion of the vertical velocity field. Temperature data were collected from sensors on a tower and from aircraft; velocity data were collected only from the tower.Using this model for analysis of the data indicates that: (1) the average isotherm diameter and the population of isotherms are a function ofz/L; (2) the distribution of core temperatures is approximately a uniform distribution.Independent of the model, a convective velocity was determined and found to have approximately the same profile as the temperature; from this the average velocity of the plumes was found to be a linear function ofz/L, fromz/L - 0.1 toz/L - 1.0. As a consequence of this functional dependence, the entrainment into the plumes is approximately constant over this range. The cumulative temperature distribution function was found to be an asymmetric function ofz/L. A simple relation which is independent ofu _* is given to determine the heat flux.Contribution No. 269 Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington.     

Free convection frequency spectra of atmospheric turbulence over the sea

Frequency spectra of atmospheric turbulenceS (f) in the inertial subrange are considered in the free convection regime over the sea surface in a case of motionless instrument measurements (Eulerian frequency spectra). The frequency spectra formulaef _* S (f)/ ² =c (f _*/f)^5/3 for wind velocity (=1–3), temperature (=t) and humidity (=e) fluctuations are derived on the basis of similarity theory and the –5/3 law. These relations also can be derived from a consideration of convective large-scale advection of small eddies. The frequency scalef _* = (N ^{1 2}/)^1/2 (H/z ²)^1/3 is the lower bound of the inertial subrange and it is of order 10^–2 Hz.The spectra formulae are compared with direct measurements of atmospheric turbulence from the fixed research tower in the coastal zone of the Black Sea in calm weather. It is shown that these formulae are realized at least over two to three decades of the frequency range (approximately from 10^–2 to 10 Hz) and values of the numerical coefficients are found. The derived formulae can be used for calculations of sensible and latent heat fluxes by measuring the high-frequency range of spectra at a fixed point at low wind speeds when the conventional inertial dissipation method is not applicable.     

Two-point coherence in the atmospheric surface layer

Two-point, one-dimensional coherence in horizontally homogeneous atmospheric turbulence is studied, both by experiment and analysis. Measurements are carried out using horizontally spaced sensors with the separation perpendicular to the mean velocity. Two-dimensional spectral models and three-dimensional inertial-range spectral tensors are used in the coherence calculations. The one-dimensional coherence for both velocity and scalar fluctuations is found to roll off at a wavenumber much smaller than we would expect from the classical notion of eddy correlation. This is a consequence of the cancellation of Fourier components aliased from the direction of the sensor separation into the streamwise direction. However, the coherence for the three velocity components behaves somewhat differently, reflecting the relative orientations of the velocity component, sensor separation and the mean velocity. These features are well predicted by the calculation. The analysis is also extended to calculate the two-point scalar-vertical velocity cospectrum and the results are in good agreement with our experimental data. The ratio of two- to one-point cospectra decreases at slightly larger wavenumber than the two-point scalar coherence does.     

Temperature structure in the atmospheric surface layer

Production, transport and dissipation terms in the temperature variance equation have been measured in the atmospheric surface layer. The transport term is, within the experimental uncertainty, negligible. The dissipation term, determined by assuming local isotropy, is approximately equal to production under near-neutral conditions. For moderately unstable conditions, the ratio of production to dissipation is 1.4. The resulting imbalance in the budget is attributed to the inequality between the three components of the dissipation term. The Kolmogorov constant for temperature is found to be about 0.8.     

Turbulent dispersion in the atmospheric surface layer

By non-dimensionalizing a trajectory-simulation (TS) model of turbulent dispersion, it is shown that the dimensionless concentration z ₀cu_*/kQ (cu _*/kQ) due to a continuous line (area) source of strength Q in the atmospheric surface layer depends only on z/z ₀, x/z ₀, z ₀/L and z _s/z₀, where z _s is the source height. The TS model is used to tabulate concentration profiles due to ground-level line and area sources. Concentration profiles generated by the TS model for elevated sources are shown to be inconsistent with the Reciprocal Theorems of Smith (1957) and it is suggested that this is because the flux-mean gradient closure scheme inherent in the Reciprocal Theorem is invalid for an elevated source.     

A TKE-dissipation model for the atmospheric boundary layer

The dissipation, , of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) is a key parameter in atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) models. Besides being a sink for momentum, it is often used together with the TKE to define an internal turbulence time scale for closure relations. A prognostic formulation for the dissipation of TKE is formulated, based on isotropic tensor modeling methods. The formulation is coupled to a level 2.5 second-order closure model and evaluated against measurements taken in horizontally homogeneous conditions, as well as against a tailored length-scale formulation. A formulation suitable for convective as well as neutral and stable ABLs is suggested.On leave from Department of Meteorology, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 516, S-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

The velocity spectra in the stable atmospheric boundary layer

A model for the logarithmic spectra of velocity in the stable boundary layer is developed using the concept of local scaling. The resulting expressions for peak wavelength are in agreement with empirical data from Minnesota 1973.Partially financed by CAPES and FINEP.On leave from Faculdade de Engenharia de Joinville, SC, Brasil.     

An investigation of the turbulence balance equations in the atmospheric boundary layer

Three Cardington turbulence probes were operated at heights of 61, 91, and 152 m over a 5-h period in an unstable boundary layer. The results have been used to assess (at the middle level) the relative importance of the terms in the turbulence equations for kinetic energy, temperature variance, stress, and the vertical and total horizontal heat fluxes.Now at the Building Research Station, Garston, Watford, England.     

海面粗糙度可变时定常非中性大气边界层数值模式

本文结出一个海面粗糙度可变时定常非中性大气边界层数值模式,其中粗糙度是摩擦速度的函数,湍流交换系数是湍流热通量和风切变的函数,而热通量在海气温差已知时由近地层通量梯度关系求出。解得的风和若干边界层特征参数符合观测及理论考虑。因此,只要知道地转风、纬度及海气温差即可用本模式计算海面大气边界层中不同高度的风。