The influence of geostrophic shear on the cross-isobar angle of the surface wind

A Simple slab model of the planetary boundary layer is extended to include vertical shear of the geostrophic wind. The layer depth is assumed to be determined by a Richardson number criterion. The cross-isobar angle for the surface wind is given in terms of the drag coefficient, the Froude number of the layer, and the angle between the thermal wind and the surface isobars. The theoretical results resemble the observations rather well.     

Effects of local accelerations and baroclinity on the mean structure of the atmospheric boundary layer over the sea

Substitution of the geostrophic wind by the actual upper wind in the equations of motion for the boundary layer implies less sensitivity of the mean wind to inertial effects. This is confirmed by observations, although the problem of computing time or spatial derivatives from scattered data reduces the accuracy and the clarity of the results. It is found that acceleration (deceleration) increases (decreases) the cross-isobar angle whereas the geostrophic drag coefficient is a minimum (maximum) for crosswind acceleration (deceleration). On the other hand, cold air advection increases the cross-isobar angle whereas the geostrophic drag coefficient is a maximum when the thermal wind is parallel to the surface wind. The universal functions A _m and B _m based on vertically averaged winds are also rather insensitive to inertial influences.     

西北干旱区夏季大气边界层结构及其陆面过程特征

在中国西北干旱区影响大气边界层形成和发展的气候环境和大气环流背景都具有一定特殊性.文中用外场观测试验资料,分析了位于西北干旱区的敦煌荒漠夏季大气边界层气象要素结构特征,发现该地区无论白天的对流边界层还是夜间的稳定边界层均比一般地区更深厚.在夏季晴天,夜间稳定边界层厚度超过900 m,最厚可以达到1750 m,其上的残余层一般能达到4000 m左右的高度;白天混合层最高达3700 m,混合层顶的逆温层顶盖的厚度大约450 m,甚至更厚,对流边界层厚度能够超过4000 m,对流边界层进入残余层后发展十分迅速.研究表明,白天深厚的对流边界层是夜间保持清晰而深厚的残余混合层的先决条件,夜间深厚的残余混合层又为白天对流边界层的发展提供了一个非常有利的热力环境条件.该地区经常性出现连续性晴天使得大气残余层的累积效应得以较长时间持续发展,创造了比较有利于大气对流边界层发展的大气热力环境条件.同时,该地区陆面过程和近地层大气运动特征也为这种独特的大气热力边界层结构提供了较好的支持.就该地区发展超厚大气对流边界层的物理机理而言,地表显著增温是强有力的外部热力强迫条件,近地层强感热通量提供了较充足的能量条件,较大的对流运动和湍流运动的速度是必要的运动学条件,大气残余层的累积效应提供了有利的热力环境条件.     

Frequency of Boundary-Layer-Top Fluctuations in Convective and Stable Conditions Using Laser Remote Sensing

The planetary boundary-layer (PBL) height is determined with high temporal and altitude resolution from lidar backscatter profiles. Then, the frequencies of daytime thermal updrafts and downdrafts and of nighttime gravity waves are obtained applying a fast Fourier transform on the temporal fluctuation of the PBL height. The principal frequency components of each spectrum are related to the dominant processes occurring at the daytime and nighttime PBL top. Two groups of cases are selected for the study: one group combines daytime cases, measured in weak horizontal wind conditions and dominated by convection. The cases show higher updraft and downdraft frequencies for the shallow, convective boundary layer and lower frequencies for a deep PBL. For cases characterized by strong horizontal winds, the frequencies directly depend on the wind speed. The temporal variation of the PBL height is determined also in the likely presence of lee waves. For nighttime cases, the main frequency components in the spectra do not show a real correlation with the nocturnal PBL height. Altitude fluctuations of the top of the nocturnal boundary layer are observed even though the boundary layer is statically stable. These oscillations are associated with the wind shear effect and with buoyancy waves at the PBL top.     

Steady state hodographs in a baroclinic boundary layer

If the steady-state geostrophic wind vector varies exponentially with height in the planetary boundary layer, calculated hodographs of the 24-hour mean wind resemble the classic Ekman spiral distorted by thermal effects. For such an assumed distribution, Lettau's (1967) conclusion that the effects of thermal influence on the steady-state boundary-layer winds can be linearly superimposed on the effects of internal friction is justified.The minimum value of the cross-isobar angle of the surface wind for a given magnitude of the thermal wind vector occurs when that vector points about 345° to the right of the surface geostrophic wind vector and the maximum value occurs when it points at an azimuth of about 120° relative to the surface geostrophic wind vector. The range of values of the cross-isobar angle is almost directly proportional to the magnitude of the thermal wind vector.Hodographs resulting from the assumed variation of the geostrophic wind have approximately the same shape as 24-hour mean hodographs at two locations over the Great Plains.This work is part of a thesis submitted to the University of Wisconsin in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. Degree, written under the supervision of Professor H. Lettau, Department of Meteorology.     

上海世博园上空边界层风垂直变化观测研究

利用平矩阵风廓线雷达于2007年7月17日至9月28日对上海世博园规划区上空的风垂直分布进行了观测.通过分析该地上空三维风场的日变化,发现夜间以偏西气流为主,白天风速较小,以偏东气流为主,表明该地区以海陆风为主导的环流特征是这一地区的局地环流日变化的基本特征.逐日变化分析表明,在8月2日以前主要以偏西北气流为主,之后基本是以东南气流为主,并且垂直运动特征以上升气流为主,强烈的垂直运动与偏西气流相关密切,同时偏北气流往往带来较强的上升运动.日夜平均廓线分析表明,夜间风速较大,并且夜间风速的垂直变化与白天相比也有很大不同,白天270 m以下风速随高度基本不变,而夜间从近地面向上风速随高度逐渐增大,低层<90 m的范围内白天风速大于夜间风速.城市冠层以上风向的日夜变化不明显,多为偏北气流控制.城郊风廓线的对比表明受城市下垫面粗糙度的影响,城市风速明显比郊区减小.城市和郊区的水平风速变化在城市冠层以上比较接近,相关系数达到了87%.     

The dynamic atmospheric structure and the velocity defect profiles in the boundary layer of a neutral atmosphere

The structure of neutral barotropic planetary boundary layers is investigated. The dynamic equations have been numerically solved by an iterative method. Similarity and dissimilarity of the atmospheric boundary layer are explored. The distribution of the velocity defect functions, hypothesized by the similarity theory, is obtained. Comparison between present numerical results, i.e., shear stress, drag coefficient, and cross-isobar angle, and other results and experimental data are made. It appears that the present model is more economical and its results are closer to experimental data than other models. Some properties of the atmospheric structure are inferred directly from the dynamic equations.     

冬季城市边界层风场和温度场结构分析

本文根据沈阳地区大气环境容量研究中1984年12月所进行的观测,对沈阳城市边界层的流场和温度场结构做了分析。得出了冬季城市边界层的一些特征。当地面风速微弱时,热岛效应显著。边界层低层辐合抬升,在城市下风边缘可能出现反向气流。当风速较强时,城市的摩擦效应占优势,城市上风部分辐合抬升,下风部分辐散下沉。观测分析还表明,城市建筑对气流的阻滞作用可伸展到几百米的高度。夜间微风时,接地逆温层厚度可达200m,城市内边界层从上风边缘起开始发展,厚度可达100m。白天风力微弱时,重烟尘污染可导致城市冷岛,并推迟对流边界层的发展。     

风沙流中风速廓线的数值模拟与实验验证

如何描述风沙流中被风沙运动改变了的风速廓线是风沙相互作用研究中的关键问题之一.该文中将跃移风沙流视为一种颗粒拟流体,将跃移颗粒对气流产生的阻力用颗粒流的阻力系数来表达,建立了描写两场相互作用的数学模型.颗粒流的阻力系数采用了前人在液态流化床研究中得出的阻力系数表达形式,通过引入一个修正系数,使其适用于风沙流(气-固两相流).将风沙边界层划分为跃移颗粒所产生的阻力不可忽略的内边界层和跃移颗粒阻力可以忽略但受内边界层影响的外边界层,分别建立了内边界层和外边界层的风速廓线表达式.应用所建立的数学模型,根据由风洞实验测定的跃移风沙流的浓度分布和速度分布资料,计算了跃移风沙流中的风速廓线,并与风洞实测结果进行了对比.结果表明,计算风速廓线与实测风速廓线吻合得比较好,在半对数图上均为上凸的曲线,有别于无风沙运动时的直线.跃移边界层外风速分布可较好地用对数函数来描述.对风沙流中风速廓线的进一步分析证实了风沙物理学奠基人Bagnold在其早期观测风沙流中的风速廓线时提出的"结点现象"(Bagnold结),该结点的高度随风速的增大而升高,随颗粒粒径的增大而降低.根据数值模拟和模拟实验,可以认为有风沙运动的动床剪切风速是综合反映风场与跃移层以及地表之间相互作用的物理量.     

BAROCLINITY AND NONLINEAR EKMAN PUMPING DYNAMICS

With the Ekman momentum approximation,the influence of atmospheric baroclinity on the dynamics of boundarylayer is studied.Some new results are obtained.These results show that the atmospheric baroclinity plays an importantrole in altering the horizontal velocity of Ekman boundary layer and its angle with the horizontal wind velocity compo-nent near the surface.There are three different physical factors affecting the nonlinear Ekman suction,the vertical mo-tion at the top of boundary layer:first,barotropic geostrophic relative vorticity at the ground;second,the thermal windvorticity induced by the baroclinity;and third,the nonlinear interaction between the barotropic geostrophic relativevorticity and the baroclinic thermal wind vorticity.These results may provide a better physical basis for theparameterization of boundary layer and the interpretation of the numerical modeling results.     

Turbulence structure in convective boundary layers and implications for diffusion

Probability density distributions of vertical velocity fluctuations from the daytime convective boundary layer and from convection within a nighttime stratocumulus-capped boundary layer are described and contrasted. Some implications for the diffusion of released, neutrally buoyant, material are identified and discussed.     

A barotropic planetary boundary layer

The temperature and wind profiles in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are investigated. Assuming stationary and homogeneous conditions, the turbulent state in the PBL is uniquely determined by the external Rossby number and the stratification parameters. In this study, a simple two-layer barotropic model is proposed. It consists of a surface (SL) and overlying Ekman-type layer. The system of dynamic and heat transfer equations is closed usingK theory. In the SL, the turbulent exchange coefficient is consistent with the results of similarity theory while in the Ekman layer, it is constant. Analytical solutions for the wind and temperature profiles in the PBL are obtained. The SL and thermal PBL heights are properly chosen functions of the stratification so that from the solutions for wind and temperature, the PBL resistance laws can be easily deduced. The internal PBL characteristics necessary for the calculation (friction velocity, angle between surface and geostrophic winds and internal stratification parameter) are presented in terms of the external parameters. Favorable agreement with experimental data and model results is demonstrated. The simplicity of the model allows it to be incorporated in large-scale weather prediction models as well as in the solution of various other meteorological problems.     

Neutrally Stratified Turbulent Ekman Boundary Layer: Universal Similarity for a Transitional Rough Surface

The geostrophic Ekman boundary layer for large Rossby number (Ro) has been investigated by exploring the role played by the mesolayer (intermediate layer) lying between the traditional inner and outer layers. It is shown that the velocity and Reynolds shear stress components in the inner layer (including the overlap region) are universal relations, explicitly independent of surface roughness. This universality of predictions has been supported by observations from experiment, field and direct numerical simulation (DNS) data for fully smooth, transitionally rough and fully rough surfaces. The maxima of Reynolds shear stresses have been shown to be located in the mesolayer of the Ekman boundary layer, whose scale corresponds to the inverse square root of the friction Rossby number. The composite wall-wake universal relations for geostrophic velocity profiles have been proposed, and the two wake functions of the outer layer have been estimated by an eddy viscosity closure model. The geostrophic drag and cross-isobaric angle predictions yield universal relations, which are also supported by extensive field, laboratory and DNS data. The proposed predictions for the geostrophic drag and the cross-isobaric angle compare well with data for Rossby number Ro ≥ 10⁵. The data show low Rossby number effects for Ro < 10⁵ and higher-order effects due to the mesolayer compare well with the data for Ro ≥ 10³.     

The wind field in the nonlinear multilayer planetary boundary layer

By use of the small parameter expansion method, the nonlinear planetary boundary layer (PBL) is studied in this paper. The PBL is divided into the surface layer and the Ekman layer, which is divided into several sublayers. In the surface-layer, the eddy coefficient K is taken as a linear function of height; in the Ekman layer, different constant K values are taken within different sublayers: these values are determined from O'Brien's formula (O'Brien, 1970) approximately. Under the upper and lower boundary conditions and the continuity conditions of the wind velocities and turbulent stresses at each boundary between sublayers, analytical expressions for wind velocity in all sublayers and the vertical velocity at the top of the PBL are obtained. A specific example of steady axisymmetrical circular high and low pressure areas is analysed, and some new conclusions are obtained. The results are in better agreement with reality than previous results. This example also shows that the vertical velocity at the top of the PBL caused by friction approaches zero near the center of a high or low pressure system for this model, but attains its maximum absolute values near the center of the high or low pressure area for Wu's (1984) model. This is due to the fact that in our model, the geostrophic wind speed near the center of this specific vortex approaches zero, which causes the wind shear and the friction effect to be very weak. Therefore the wind distribution in the PBL is very sensitive to the type of eddy coefficient.     

The structure of the stably stratified internal boundary layer in offshore flow over the sea

Observations obtained mainly from a research aircraft are presented of the mean and turbulent structure of the stably stratified internal boundary layer (IBL) over the sea formed by warm air advection from land to sea. The potential temperature and humidity fields reveal the vertical extent of the IBL, for fetches out to several hundred of kilometres, geostrophic winds of 20–25 m s^–1, and potential temperature differences between undisturbed continental air and the sea surface of 7 to 17 K. The dependence of IBL depth on these external parameters is discussed in the context of the numerical results of Garratt (1987), and some discrepancies are noted.Wind observations show the development of a low-level wind maximum (wind component normal to the coast) and rotation of the wind to smaller cross-isobar flow angles. Potential temperature () profiles within the IBL reveal quite a different structure to that found in the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) over land. Over the sea, profiles have large positive curvature with vertical gradients increasing monotonically with height; this reflects the dominance of turbulent cooling within the layer. The behaviour is consistent with known behaviour in the NBL over land where curvature becomes negative (vertical gradients of decreasing with height) as radiative cooling becomes dominant.Turbulent properties are discussed in terms of non-dimensional quantities, normalised by the surface friction velocity, as functions of normalised height using the IBL depth. Vertical profiles of these and the normalised wavelength of the spectral maximum agree well with known results for the stable boundary layer over land (Caughey et al., 1979).     

BOUNDARY LAYER GROWTH AND LAPSE RATE CHANGES DETERMINED BY LIDAR AND SURFACE HEAT FLUX IN SOFIA*

In this study the results from a boundary layer experiment,conducted in autumn 1991 over a flat,build-up urban area in Southeast Sofia,together with some models for mixed layer growth rates are used to investigate the layered structure of the vertical atmospheric stability distribution in the Sofia Valley.Lidar measurements of aerosol layer heights and morning boundary layer development are combined with surface eddy correlation measurements of kinematic heat and moisture fluxes,profiles of temperature and humidity,wind speed and wind direction.A diagnostic method is presented for determining vertical lapse rates using surface meteorological measurements and lidar returns observed during the transition from nighttime stable stratification to daytime convective boundary layer after the sunrise.     

BOUNDARY LAYER GROWTH AND LAPSE RATE CHANGES DETERMINED BY LIDAR AND SURFACE HEAT FLUX IN SOFIA

In this study the results from a boundary layer experiment,conducted in autumn 1991 over a flat,build-up urbanarea in Southeast Sofia,together with some models for mixed layer growth rates are used to investigate the layered struc-ture of the vertical atmospheric stability distribution in the Sofia Valley.Lidar measurements of aerosol layer heightsand morning boundary layer development are combined with surface eddy correlation measurements of kinematic heatand moisture fluxes,profiles of temperature and humidity,wind speed and wind direction.A diagnostic method is pres-ented for determining vertical lapse rates using surface meteorological measurements and lidar returns observed duringthe transition from nighttime stable stratification to daytime convective boundary layer after the sunrise.     

Study on Physical Mechanism of Influence on Atmospheric Boundary Layer Depth in the Arid Regions of Northwest China

Using the sounding data of wind, temperature, and humidity in the boundary layer and micrometeorological data on the earth's surface observed in the same period in Dunhuang arid region of Northwest China,this paper researches characteristics of potential temperature, wind, and humidity profiles, confirms the structure and depth of thermodynamic boundary layer in Dunhuang region, and analyzses the relationship of depth of thermodynamic boundary layer with surface radiation, buoyancy flux as well as wind speed and wind direction shear in the boundary layer. The results show that the maximum depth of diurnal convective boundary layer is basically above 2000 m during the observational period, many times even in excess of 3000 m and sometimes up to 4000 m; the depth of nocturnal stable boundary layer basically maintains within a range of 1000-1500 m. As a whole, the depth of atmospheric boundary layer is obviously bigger than those results observed in other regions before. By analyzing, a preliminary judgement is that the depth of atmospheric thermodynamic boundary layer in Dunhuang region may relate to local especial radiation characteristics, surface properties (soil moisture content and heat capacity) as well as wind velocity shear of boundary layer, and these properties have formed strong buoyancy flux and dynamic forcing in a local region which are fundamental causes for producing a super deep atmospheric boundary layer.     

A Study of the Stable Boundary Layer Based on a Single-Column K-Theory Model

We document numerical experiments with a single-column, high-resolution model of the stable boundary layer. The model resolves the logarithmic layer, and does not require inverting the Monin–Obukhov similarity functions in order to calculate the surface fluxes. The turbulence closure is based on the K-theory approach, with a new form of stability functions of the Richardson number, evaluated by using the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) and the Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99) data. A comparison with two, high-resolution large-eddy simulation models shows very good agreement. The reported numerical experiments test the effects of shear, surface cooling, the Coriolis parameter, subsidence, and baroclinicity. The time evolution of the drag coefficient, the heat-transfer coefficient, and the cross-isobar angle is also evaluated.     

étude expérimentale de la couche limite de montagne

The characteristics of the boundary layer over complex terrain (Lannemezan - lat.: 43.7° N and, long.: 0.7 ° E) are analyzed for various scales, using measurements obtained during the COCAGNE Experiment. In this first part, the dynamic characteristics of the flow are studied with respect to atmospheric stability and the relief at small (~20 km) and medium scales (~100 km). These relief scales depend on the topographical profile of the Lannemezan Plateau along the dominant axis of the wind (E-W) and the Pyrénées Mountains located at the south of the experimental site. The terrain heterogeneities have a standard deviation of ~48 m and a wavelength of ~2 km.The averaged vertical profiles of wind speed and direction over the heterogeneous terrain are analyzed. The decrease of wind speed within the boundary layer is greater than over flat terrain (WANGARA Experiment). However, a comparison between ETTEX (complex terrain) and COCAGNE vertical wind speed profiles shows good agreement during unstable conditions. In contrast, during neutral conditions a more rapid increase with normalized height is found with COCAGNE than with ETTEX and WANGARA data. The vertical profiles of wind direction reveal an influence of the Pyrénées Mountains on the wind flow. The wind rotation in the BL is determined by the geostrophic wind direction-Pyrénées axis angle (negative deviation) as the geostrophic wind is connected with the Mountain axis.When the geostrophic wind does not interact with the Pyrénées axis, the mean and turbulent wind flow characteristics (drag coefficient C _D, friction velocity u _*) depend on the topography of the plateau. When the wind speed is strong (>6 m s ^-1), an internal boundary layer is generated from the leading edge of the Plateau.