A study on the number of snow days over Eurasia, Indian rainfall and seasonal circulations

Summary In this paper, the relationship between seasonal mean (June, July, August and September) monsoon circulation features and the midlatitude circulations in winter and spring seasons have been examined during contrasting years of more (less) number of snow days in winter/spring followed by deficient (excess) Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR) using NCEP/NCAR reanalyzed data for the period 1966–1994. The Historical Soviet Daily Snow Depth (HSDSD) version II data set has been used to calculate the number of days of snow over west and east Eurasia separately under three classes: class 1 for SD>5cm, class 2 for SD>10cm and class 3 for SD>50cm where SD stands for snow depth. Correlation coefficients are computed between the anomaly in the number of days of snow depth under the above three classes during winter/spring over west and east Eurasia and the subsequent ISMR. HSDSD data show that difference in the number of days of SD>10cm in two extreme years is most prominent in the west Eurasia in the months of January and April. Also the anomaly in the number of days of snow in January and April over west Eurasia has correlation coefficients of –0.69 and –0.56 with the following ISMR, respectively at 0.1% significance level when the SD is more than 10cm at all the stations. Results also show that low-level atmospheric temperature difference between two extreme years of snow days in winter is up to 10°C and the cooling persists up to spring season with a difference of 2°C. This cooling persistence may give rise to anomalous cyclonic circulations over the midlatitudes and tropics which may be responsible for weakening the monsoon circulation over India during the year of more snow days over west Eurasia.     

Propagation of the sea-surface temperature anomalies in the Tropical Atlantic

Summary The evolving modes of the sea-surface temperature (SST) in the Tropical Atlantic on the short interannual (IA) timescale were obtained by performing the extended empirical orthogonal function (EEOF) analyses on this variable separately for the 106-year (1871–1976) and 20-year (1881–1900; 1901–1920; 1921–1940; 1941–1960) periods. The equatorial and inter-hemispheric patterns manifest in the first EEOF mode of each analysis as part of the short IA evolution of the SST anomalies in the Tropical Atlantic. Another outstanding feature of the first EEOF mode of each analysis concerns the propagations of the SST anomalies in the meridional direction within the 20°N–20°S band and in the zonal direction in the sector 40°W–20°W. For all analyses, the SST anomalies propagate northward from the equator to 15°N and southward from 20°N to 15°N, with the same sign anomalies merging approximately at 15°N. On the other hand, the SST anomalies propagate westward in the sector 40°W–20°W with a propagation rate close to that of the phase speed of the fastest baroclinic Rossby wave in the ocean. So, the observed propagations of the SST anomalies in the 20°N–20°S band might result from the combined effect of the surface oceanic currents in this band and the baroclinic Rossby waves in the ocean.     

Transition from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere summer of zones of active convection over the Congo Basin

Summary This study used monthly rainfall totals for the period 1961 to 1988 and pentad OLR values for the period 1974 to 1991 to study the structure and transition of active convention across the Congo Basin (10°S–5°N, 15°E–35°E) from the southern to the northern hemisphere summer. This involved the examination of map patterns and cross-sections of monthly rainfall and pentad OLR data.The results from the study indicated that there were two seasons observed over the Congo Basin; one is the wet season lasting from September to April and the other a dry season covering the rest of the year. The onset of the wet season takes place rapidly with active convection spreading very quickly to the south near latitude 20°S. This is due to the formation of the meridional (north–south) branch of the ITCZ over this region.This study has confirmed that the annual rainfall over the Congo Basin is reliable with the coefficient of variation of less than 30%. The wet seasons (e.g., SON and DJF) also show reliable rainfall occurrence but the dry season (e.g., JJA) has low reliability.The anomalously wet seasons are characterised by a relatively slow transition rate (1° latitude per pentad) of zones of active convection resulting in a late withdrawal of the rainy season while the dry seasons show a rapid transition rate with an early withdrawal of zones of active convection.High-rainfall months (>200mm) are concentrated within the Southern Hemisphere summer months. These high-rainfall months progress from the equator to the southern latitude following generally the movement of the overhead sun.The results further revealed that the years 1987/1984 had the lowest/highest mean OLR values over the Congo Basin within the period 1979 to 1991. The rates of transition of the zones of low OLR values were 0.9/5.0 degrees of latitude during 1987/1984, respectively.Received June 18, 2002; revised September 30, 2002; accepted November 21, 2002 Published online: June 12, 2003     

Rain height in relation to 0°C isotherm height for satellite communication over the Indian Subcontinent

Summary ¶The 0°C isotherm height, a parameter needed for the estimation of attenuation of microwave and millimetre wave for earth-space communication, has been estimated for different stations spread over India. The variations of 0°C isotherm height for different seasons over these stations are presented. Attenuations of radio wave due to rain at frequencies 10GHz and above have also been estimated for few stations using the 0°C isotherm height so derived. The results are useful for radio systems designers.     

Atmospheric circulation characteristics during some El-Nino years in relation to Indian summer monsoon rainfall

Summary Based on observed rainfall data of India Meteorological Department (IMD), correlation coefficients (CCs) have been computed between Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over different Nino regions and standardised pressure difference between Tahiti and Darwin. Significant positive CCs are found between the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) in winter and subsequent June rainfall over India. Concurrent with and subsequent to Indian summer monsoon, SOI shows significant positive CC with the mean rainfall of July to September (JAS). Significant negative CCs are found between JAS mean rain and the concurrent and following SST anomalies over Nino-3.4 region. On the basis of these correlations, it is proposed that the entire period of summer monsoon from June to September could be divided into two sub-periods such as: early summer (June) and mid-late summer (July to September) monsoon for prediction of ISMR in the extended range.In order to examine the characteristics of atmospheric circulation during some El-Nino years, divergent flow at 200hPa and omega field at 500hPa based on NCEP/NCAR reanalysis have been studied in detail. Major significant southward shift of upper level divergent field from India are related to El-Nino and this shift may be responsible for causing droughts during several El-Nino years over India. Also vertical wind fields at 500hPa show sinking motion over large parts of India and west Pacific and ascending motion over southern Indian Ocean, central and eastern Pacific during major drought years.     

Effect of land management on ecosystem carbon fluxes at a subalpine grassland site in the Swiss Alps

Summary The influence of agricultural management on the CO₂ budget of a typical subalpine grassland was investigated at the Swiss CARBOMONT site at Rigi-Seebodenalp (1025m a.s.l.) in Central Switzerland. Eddy covariance flux measurements obtained during the first growing season from the mid of spring until the first snow fall (17 Mai to 25 September 2002) are reported. With respect to the 10-year average 1992–2001, we found that this growing season had started 10 days earlier than normal, but was close to average temperature with above-normal precipitation (100–255% depending on month). Using a footprint model we found that a simple approach using wind direction sectors was adequate to classify our CO₂ fluxes as being controlled by either meadow or pasture. Two significantly different light response curves could be determined: one for periods with external interventions (grass cutting, cattle grazing) and the other for periods without external interventions. Other than this, meadow and pasture were similar, with a net carbon gain of –128±17g Cm^–2 on the undisturbed meadow, and a net carbon loss of 79±17g Cm^–2 on the managed meadow, and 270±24g Cm^–2 on the pasture during 131 days of the growing season, respectively. The grass cut in June reduced the gross CO₂ uptake of the meadow by 50±2% until regrowth of the vegetation. Cattle grazing reduced gross uptake over the whole vegetation period (37±2%), but left respiration at a similar level as observed in the meadow.     

Recent warming in a small region with semi-oceanic climate, 1949–1998: what is the ground truth?

Summary Trends of monthly air temperature extremes were investigated in five meteorological stations of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg during the period 1949–1998. The application of an innovative homogenization method based on the concept of relative homogeneity to climatic time series allows identifying multiple break points, as well as correcting data series in an objective and robust statistical way. The rise of maximum temperature (Tmax) has occurred at a rate of 1.5 times that of the minimum temperature (Tmin) in winter (+1.4°C versus +0.9°C) and summer (+1.4°C versus +0.8°C). No trend in temperature extremes was found in autumn, while spring was affected by a small warming (+0.3°C) of Tmin and no change in Tmax resulting in a decrease of the diurnal temperature range (DTR) (–0.3°C). In spring, a strong positive linear relationship between Tmin warming and local terrain slope could be found. Comparison to new-gridded large-scale climatologies indicates generally close agreement to temperature trends during the 1949–1998 period, while a lower local warming was observed in summer during the post-1975 period following the changing-point year of atmospheric circulation over North-western Europe. This study shows that the question of data homogeneity is not trivial and should receive careful attention before quantifying historical temperature trends and identifying their spatial patterns at regional scale.     

Tropical cyclone environments over the northeastern Pacific, including mid-level dry intrusion cases

Summary This study uses a 1°×1° lat/long dataset, extracted from ECMWF re-analyses for the 15-year period 1979–1993 (ERA-15), to diagnose the synoptic-scale kinematic, thermodynamic and moisture environments in the vicinity of named tropical cyclones (TCs) in the eastern North Pacific. Based on the NCDC best track dataset, TCs are partitioned into one of three categories: weak (W), strong (S) or intensifying (I). In total, 63TCs are examined: 8Ws and 20Is at point A (maximum intensification) and 11Ws, 13Ss and 11Is at point B (maximum frequency). Composite maps are compiled for all five groups, and six individual case studies are examined, four for extreme TC cases and two for cases involving dry air intrusions.For the most part, peak values and patterns of composited ERA-15 variables display circulation, thermodynamic and moisture characteristics that are compatible with the strength represented by a groups classification. Intercomparison between Ws and Is at points A and B yielded larger conditional instability of low-level air parcels and upper-level outflow within the region of maximum intensification (point A).The intrusions of dry versus moist mid-level air are addressed for each storm with the assistance of 72-hour backward trajectories. Trajectory density maps indicate two preferred paths of air parcels that reach the environment of W storms at point A on the 700 and 500hPa levels. The first one crossed Central America in the region of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the second one south of the Central American mountains. Several storms revealed that these trajectories were associated with dry air intrusions into the larger storm area, and this might be one reason for their weak status at point A. One documented example is Kevin (1985). By the time it reached point B, the dry air was replaced by air that was moist and Kevin intensified, although it remained a W system. In contrast, Narda (1989) received a dry air intrusion from Central Mexico at 500hPa as a weak storm at point B and did not intensify. Despite possible analyses problems, the documentation in this study of mid-level dry air intrusions into eastern Pacific TCs from the Mexican-Central American region suggests a hitherto unexploited forecast potential. Received January 15, 2002; revised November 28, 2002; accepted December 19, 2002 Published online: May 8, 2003     

Sensitivity of freezing drizzle formation in stably stratified clouds to ice processes

Summary This study examines the impact of ice formation and growth processes on freezing drizzle formation in stably stratified clouds. In particular we investigate the reason why freezing drizzle is rarely observed in clouds with top temperatures less than –15°C. We also investigate the sensitivity of freezing drizzle formation to the Hallett Mossop secondary ice process (Hallet and Mossop, 1974). The evaluation is performed by simulating cloud formation over a two-dimensional idealized mountain using a detailed microphysical scheme. The height and width of the two-dimensional mountain were designed to produce an updraft pattern with extent and magnitude similar to documented freezing drizzle cases. The simulations show that: (i) drizzle formation is very sensitive to the ice crystal concentration, with a significant reduction in the area over which drizzle forms and the maximum drizzle water content as the cloud top temperature decreases below –10°C, and (ii) secondary ice crystal formation has a significant effect on drizzle formation at cloud top temperatures below –10°C.The above two factors are likely the main cause for the lack of freezing drizzle at cloud top temperatures less than –15°C. We also found that neglecting the depletion of ice forming nuclei resulted in considerable overestimation of the ice crystal concentration and suppression of drizzle, even for the –10°C case.     

SODAR-based estimation of TKE and momentum flux profiles in the atmospheric boundary layer: Test of a parameterization model

Summary A simple parameterization for the estimation of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and momentum flux profiles under near-neutral stratification based on sodar measurements of the vertical velocity variance has been tested using data from the LINEX-2000 experiment. Measurements included operation of a phased-array Doppler sodar DSDPA.90 and of a sonic anemometer USA-1 mounted at a meteorological tower at a height of 90m. Good agreement has been found between the TKE and momentum flux values derived from the sonic and sodar data (with correlation coefficients r>0.90 and a slope of the regression lines of about 1.01.1) suggesting the possible use of sodar measurements of _w ² to derive turbulence parameter profiles above the tower range.     

Environmental aerosols and their effect on the Earth’s local fair-weather electric field

Summary The Earths local fair-weather electric field is significantly affected by small ions present in the atmosphere. These ions are typically smaller than 0.001µm and occur in concentrations from 500 to 600cm^–3 in air. Attachment to larger aerosol particles may severely decrease the mobility of these atmospheric ions resulting in an increased local electric field. The number concentration of environmental aerosol particles in the size range 0.1 to 5.0µm was measured with two automatic laser scattering particle counters. The Earths electric field was monitored with an electric fieldmeter. Measurements were made in clean air and in an environment highly polluted by wood smoke. The electric field was found to be positively correlated to the aerosol number concentration. During one 24-hour period of measurement, the electric field increased from 180 to about 280Vm^–1 as the number concentration of aerosols larger than 0.1µm increased from about 2000 to 9000cm^–3. The number concentrations of aerosols larger than 0.1 and 0.3µm were both found to be positively correlated with the Earths electric field with correlation coefficients of 70% and 61%, respectively.Present address: School of Physical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane 4001, Australia.     

Application of a “Big-Tree” model to regional climate modeling: a sensitivity study

Summary ¶In order to better understand land-atmosphere interactions and increase the predictability of climate models, it is important to investigate the role of forest representation in climate modeling. Corresponding to the big-leaf model commonly employed in land surface schemes to represent the effects of a forest, a so called big-tree model, which uses multi-layer vegetation to represent the vertical canopy heterogeneity, was introduced and incorporated into the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) regional climate model RegCM2, to make the vegetation model more physically based. Using this augmented RegCM2 and station data for China during 1991 Meiyu season, we performed 10 experiments to investigate the effects of the application of the big-tree model on the summer monsoon climate.With the big-tree model incorporated into the regional climate model, some climate characteristics, e.g. the 3-month-mean surface temperature, circulation, and precipitation, are significantly and systematically changed over the model domain, and the change of the characteristics differs depending on the area. Due to the better representation of the shading effect in the big-tree model, the temperature of the lower layer atmosphere above the plant canopy is increased, which further influences the 850hPa temperature. In addition, there are significant decreases in the mean latent heat fluxes (within 20–30W/m²) in the three areas of the model domain.The application of the big-tree model influences not only the simulated climate of the forested area, but also that of the whole model domain, and its impact is greater on the lower atmosphere than on the upper atmosphere. The simulated rainfall and surface temperature deviate from the originally simulated result and are (or seem to be) closer to the observations, which implies that an appropriate representation of the big-tree model may improve the simulation of the summer monsoon climate.We also find that the simulated climate is sensitive to some big-tree parameter values and schemes, such as the shape, height, zero-plane displacement height and mixing-length scheme. The simulated local/grid differences may be very large although the simulated areal-average differences may be much lower. The area-average differences in the monthly-mean surface temperature and heat fluxes can amount to 0.5°C and 4W/m², respectively, which correspond to maximum local/grid differences of 3.0°C and 40W/m² respectively. It seems that the simulated climate is most sensitive to the parameter of the zero-plane displacement among the parameters studied.     

The convective boundary layer over pasture and forest in Amazonia

Summary The coupling between different types of surface (tropical forest or grass) and the Convective Boundary Layer (CBL) has been investigated using observational (rawinsoundings) data collected over Rondônia in southwest Amazonia. The data reported here support the notion that deforestation may modify the dynamics of the boundary layer, in particular during the dry season. In this period the sensible heat fluxes are very high over pasture, creating a CBL around 550m deeper compared to that over the forest. The measurements showed the height of the fully developed CBL for pasture to be 1650m, compared to around 1100m for forest. During the wet season the height of the CBL is lower than during the dry season and has the same height (around 1000m) for forest and pasture sites. The CBL over pasture is hotter and drier than over forest during the dry season, but during the wet season the air temperatures and humidities are similar. Comparing the CBL growth during the dry and wet season, there is evidence that the CBL properties over the forest are not dependent on the surface characteristics, but over the pasture they are.     

Seasonal variations of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol and direct radiative forcing over China

Summary Regional climate model (RegCM2) and sulfur transport model (NJUADMS) were combined to simulate the distribution of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol burden over China, where a look up table method was applied to illustrate sulfate formation from SO₂-oxidation. Direct radiative forcing of sulfate aerosol was further estimated using the scheme suggested by Charlson et al (1991). Investigations show that the annual average total sulfate column over mainland China is 2.01mg/m² with high value in East and Central areas (more than 7mg/m²). The annual average direct radiative forcing of China is about –0.85W/m². The forcing can reach –7W/m² in Central and East China during the winter season. Total sulfate column shows significant seasonal variations with winter maximum-summer minimum in the Southern part of China and spring maximum-autumn minimum in the northern part of China. Strong seasonal cycles of direct radiative forcing are also found due to the influence of total sulfate column, cloud, relative humidity and the reflectivity of underlying surfaceReceived May 16, 2001; accepted August 5, 2002 Published online: May 8, 2003     

Estimates of snow accumulation and volume in the Swiss Alps under changing climatic conditions

Summary ¶Snow is a key feature of mountain environments in terms of the controls it exerts on hydrology, vegetation, and in terms of its economic significance (e.g. for the ski industry). Its quantification in a changing climate is thus important for various environmental and economic impact assessments. Based on observational analysis, surface energy balance modeling, and the latest data from high-resolution regional climate models, this paper investigates the possible changes in snow volume and seasonality in the Swiss Alps. An average warming of 4°C as projected for the period 2071–2100 with respect to current climate suggests that snow volume in the Alps may respond by reductions of at least 90% at altitudes close to 1000m, by 50% at 2000m, and 35% at 3000m. In addition, the duration of snow cover is sharply reduced in the warmer climate, with a termination of the season 50–60 days earlier at high elevations above 2000–2500m and 110–130 days earlier at medium elevation sites close to the 1000m altitude. The shortening of the snow season concerns more the end (spring) rather than the beginning (autumn), so that it should be expected that snow melt will intervene much earlier in the season than under current conditions. The results of this study are of relevance to the estimations of the impacts that the projected warming may have on the amount and timing of water in hydrological basins, on the start of the vegetation season, and on the financial status of many mountain resorts.     

Infrared observations and numerical modelling of grassland fires in the Northern Territory, Australia

Summary This paper reports on a small-scale pilot experiment held early in the dry season near Darwin, Australia, in which fine-scale observations of several prescribed fires were made using infrared digital video. Infrared imaging is used routinely to locate fires as infrared radiation suffers little attenuation as it propagates through the smoke that normally obscures visible imagery. However, until now, little use has been made of digital video imagery in analyzing the convective-scale structure of prescribed (or wild) fires. The advantage of digital video imagery is that the individual frames can be objectively analyzed to determine the convective motion in the plane viewed by the camera. The infrared imagery shows mostly rising plumes, much like convective clouds. The flow is highly convective, and the vertical transport of heat is confined to relatively narrow thermals. The updrafts range from a few ms^–1 to around 15ms^–1. A numerical model is used to simulate one of the prescribed fires at very high-resolution. For the most part, the model predictions compare well to the observations. The model produces plumes that are around 7m high, and spaced around 5m apart, which is similar to that observed. The model correctly predicts the mean rate of spread of the fire to be 1.3ms^–1. Perhaps the most serious limitations to using infrared observations of the type presented here are the difficulties in interpreting precisely the relationship between the observed infrared temperature field and the air temperature calculated by the model, and the exact connection between the infrared camera derived flow field and that calculated by the model.     

Trends of summer dry spells in China during the late twentieth century

Summary In the present study the trends in frequency and duration of dry spells in six sub-regions of China were analyzed for the summer-half-year season (April–September) in period 1956–2000. A dry spell was defined as a number of consecutive days without measurable precipitation. For the frequency of short dry spells (length <10 days), significant changes are observed in the North, Northeast and Southwest China. For the frequency of long dry spells (length 10 days) there are significant trends in North and Northeast China; while no remarkable trends in frequency are found in other regions. There are also significant lengthening trends in dry spell duration in North and Northeast China, resulting mainly from the long-term changes in short dry spells. No significant change is observed for the maximum length in all regions. It is found that the temporal distribution of precipitation within the rainy season would notably impact the features of dry spells. An increase in the precipitation amount does not necessarily mean a synchronous reduction in dry spell frequency and/or duration. Seasonal mean anomalies of 500hPa heights in association with the long dry spells show similar spatial patterns over the middle to high latitudes for five of the six sub-regions (with exception of the case of Southwest China), resembling a west–east direction dipole in latitudes about 30°N northwards. For the case of Southwest China the dominant feature in 500hPa heights is the negative anomalies over most middle to high latitude Asia. Among these cases there are recognizable differences, particularly, in the tropical regions in western Pacific. That would provide useful information of circulation background for understanding the climate extremes.     

Land use and local climate: A case study near Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Summary The Tierras Bajas regions of eastern Santa Cruz, Bolivia have undergone among the most rapid rates of concentrated deforestation during the 1980s and 1990s. We investigate the sensitivity of local climate to these land cover changes as observed from Landsat images acquired between 1975 and 1999. The Simple Biosphere model (SiB2) is used to assess the effects of both morphological and physiological changes in vegetation and the implications for fluxes of water, energy and carbon between the vegetation and the atmosphere during the rainy season.Conversion from tropical forest to cropland implicates morphological changes in vegetation as the primary drivers for a daily maximum warming of about 2°C and a slight nighttime cooling, suggesting that clearing of tropical forests for agricultural use may increase the diurnal temperature range, mainly by increasing the maximum temperature. On the other hand, the conversion of wooded grassland to cropland resulted in a similar daily warming and drying but exclusively due to vegetation physiological activity.The area-averaged monthly mean response for each conversion type resulted in a warming of about 0.6°C for the conversion of broadleaf evergreen and 1.2°C for conversion of wooded grassland. These temperature differences represent an augmentation in the local heat source associated with a reduction in evapotranspiration due to land cover conversion and do not reflect variations forced by changes in atmospheric circulation.When averaged over the entire domain, the effect of landscape conversion results in a reduction of the latent heat flux and an increase in sensible heat flux, producing a large-scale apparent heat source of 0.5°C during January. This warming is in line with an increasing trend observed in monthly mean temperature in Santa Cruz, Bolivia during the same period.     

Black body temperature, orbital elements, the Milankovitch precession index, and the Seversmith psychroterms

Summary The temperature T of a black or gray body orbiting the Sun can be expressed in terms of spherical harmonics in latitude and longitude, its Keplerian orbital elements, and a variable describing rotation about its axis. Assuming that the Earth is a black or gray body without thermal inertia, the resulting equation for T exhibits previously unrecognized odd-degree zonal terms dubbed Seversmith psychroterms. They cause a hemispheric temperature difference which depends upon e sin _S, where e is the orbital eccentricity and _S is the Suns argument of perigee measured in an Earth-centered frame. The hemisphere containing perihelion is the cooler. For a gray body with the Earths average albedo of 0.3, an emissivity of unity, and an obliquity of 23.5°, the pole-to-pole temperature difference for the combined first and third degree spherical harmonic psychroterms can reach 3.4K for the present eccentricity of 0.016, and 12.9K for the maximum eccentricity of 0.06. While a thermally inertia-less black or gray body with boiling hot subsolar points and nights at absolute zero are poor models for the Earth, the Seversmith psychroterms will survive in more realistic models (although with smaller amplitudes) because the Earth radiates nonlinearly in T. The psychroterms acts in the direction opposite to the Milankovitch precession index, which also depends on e sin _S: by warming the cool northern summers, the psychroterms make it harder for the traditional Milankovitch mechanism to operate. The Seversmith psychroterms could in fact be responsible for the ice sheets that cycle with e sin _S, instead of the Milankovitch mechanism. By cooling the southern hemisphere for thousands of years when perihelion is in the south, the psychroterms may somehow cause the southern hemisphere to control the northern ice sheets associated with the 23kyr and 19kyr periods (kyr=10³ years), possibly through ice-albedo feedback in the sea ice surrounding Antarctica. Two other unexpected features besides the psychroterms are: while the average insolation increases with increasing e, the average temperature of the Earth paradoxically decreases; and the equator-to-pole temperature difference of 21K on a gray body with an albedo equal to 0.3 and an emissivity of unity is actually smaller than the observed difference of 28K on the real Earth.     

Remote sensing of the dynamic stability of the atmospheric boundary layer

Summary The relative strength of the stabilizing effect of buoyancy and the destabilizing effect of velocity shear in a stratified shear flow, such as a stable atmospheric boundary layer, is measured by the gradient Richardson number, Ri_g. The boundary layer static stability, as described by the buoyancy frequency, N, can be calculated from the virtual potential temperature gradient derived from RASS temperature profiles. The mean wind profiles from a sodar can be used to calculate the mean vertical velocity shear. In combination these profilers are potentially a powerful tool for the remotely sensing the dynamic stability of the boundary layer. However, experience shows that the combinations of two experimentally derived quantities, like N and shear, may give highly variable results. On the other hand, a simple sensitivity analysis shows that reasonable estimates of Ri_g are achievable over a range of conditions in the stable nocturnal boundary layer. To test this conclusion, high spatial and temporal resolution temperature and velocity soundings were obtained above 50m in the stable nocturnal boundary layer using a 920MHz continuous wave Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) and 1.875kHz and 5.00kHz Doppler sodars. Examples of the evolution of Ri_g are presented from 24 hours of observations of the boundary layer in Canberra, on the tablelands in south- eastern Australia. Most of the boundary layer had Ri_g between 0.1 and 1. Thus, it was marginally dynamically stable, even with the gradient Richardson number calculated from finite differences over a vertical interval of 68m. A comparison of the results from the two sodars showed that the velocity shear increased significantly when the vertical differencing interval was decreased from 68m to 20m.