A mathematical note on the slow diffusive character of the long-wave radiative transfer in the stable atmospheric nocturnal boundary layer

A simple equation of diffusion is derived from the longwave radiative flux transfer equation for the atmospheric stable nocturnal boundary layer. This simplification is valid with clear-sky conditions, light wind speeds and near the top of the inversion layer which has already been established.The known physical behavior of such a layer in the given conditions (the weak and slow destabilization, and spreading of the top of the inversion layer) is explained by this simple equation of mathematical physics instead of a complicated expression written in terms of the net longwave radiative flux divergence.     

Radiative Processes in the Stable Boundary Layer: Part I. Radiative Aspects

The structure of the radiatively dominated stable boundary layer is analysed using idealized calculations at high vertical and spectral resolution. The temperature profile of a nocturnal radiative boundary layer, developing after the evening transition, is found to be well described in terms of radiative cooling to the surface, although radiative exchanges within the atmosphere become increasingly important with time. The treatment of non-black surfaces is discussed in some detail and it is shown that the effect of reducing the surface emissivity is to decrease rather than to increase the radiative cooling rate in the surface layer. It is also argued that an accurate assessment of the impact of non-black surfaces requires careful attention to the spectral and directional characteristics of the surface emissivity. A polar nocturnal boundary layer, developing above snow-covered ground, is simulated and found to reach a slowly evolving state characterized by a strong radiative divergence near the surface that is comparable to observed values. Radiative boundary layers are characterized by large temperature gradients near the surface. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Radiative Processes in the Stable Boundary Layer: Part II. The Development of the Nocturnal Boundary Layer

The interaction between radiation and turbulence in the stable boundary layer over land is explored using an idealized model, with a focus on the surface layer after the evening transition. It is shown that finer vertical resolution is required in transitional boundary layers than in developed ones. In very light winds radiative cooling determines the temperature profile, even if similarity functions without a critical Richardson number are used; standard surface similarity theory applied over thick layers then yields poor forecasts of near-surface air temperatures. These points are illustrated with field data. Simulations of the developing nocturnal boundary layer are used to explore the wider role of radiation. Comparatively, radiation is less significant within the developed stable boundary layer than during the transition; although, as previous studies have found, it remains important towards the top of the stable layer and in the residual layer. Near the ground, reducing the surface emissivity below one is found to yield modest relative radiative warming rather than intense cooling, which reduces the potential importance of radiation in the developed surface layer. The profile of the radiative heating rate may be strongly dependent on other processes, leading to quite varied behaviour.     

Nocturnal stable boundary layer height model and its application

A model of the evolution of the nocturnal stable boundary layer height, based on the heat conservation equation for a turbulent flow, is presented. This model is valid for nights with weak winds and little cloudiness in rural areas. The model includes an expression of vertical profile of potential temperature within the boundary layer, which is obtained using micrometeorological information from Prairie Grass, Wangara and O'Neill Projects. The expression turned out to be a second-grade polynomial of the dimensionless height of the nocturnal stable boundary layer. The resulting model is a function of the Monin–Obukhov length, the surface potential temperature of air and the roughness length. This model was satisfactorily compared with micrometeorological data. It was applied at three stations of Argentina, using surface hourly meteorological information. From the results that were obtained, the monthly average values of the stable boundary layer thickness were analysed. The maximum monthly average values occur during the cold season and the minimum ones take place during the hot season. It was observed that the monthly average thickness increases with latitude.     

A parameterization of the stable atmospheric boundary layer

Two formulations of the stable atmospheric boundary layer are proposed for use in weather forecasting or climate models. They feature the log-linear profile near the surface, but are free from the associated critical Richardson number. The diffusion coefficients in the Ekman layer are a natural extension of the surface layer. They are locally determined using wind shear in one case and turbulent kinetic energy in the other. The parameterizations are tested in a one-dimensional model simulating the evolution of the nocturnal boundary layer with and without radiative cooling. Both formulations give very similar results, except near the top of the boundary layer where the transition to the free atmosphere is smoother with the wind shear formulation. A distinctive feature of these schemes is that they retain their simulating skill when resolution is reduced. This is verified for a wide range of situations. In practice, this means that there is no need for a large-scale model to have a level below 50 m or so.     

Impact of Different Aerosols on the Evolution of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

The present work analyzes the effect of aerosols on the evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over Shangdianzi in Beijing.A one-dimensional ABL model and a radiative transfer scheme are incorporated to develop the structure of the ABL.The diurnal variation of the atmospheric radiative budget,atmospheric heating rate,sensible and latent heat fluxes,surface and the 2 m air temperatures as well as the ABL height,and its perturbations due to the aerosols with different single-scattering albedo (SSA) are studied by comparing the aerosol-laden atmosphere to the clean atmosphere.The results show that the absorbing aerosols cause less reduction in surface evaporation relative to that by scatting aerosols,and both surface temperature and 2 m temperature decrease from the clean atmosphere to the aerosol-laden atmosphere.The greater the aerosol absorption,the more stable the surface layer.After 12:00 am,the 2 m temperature increases for strong absorption aerosols.In the meantime,there is a slight decrease in the 2 m temperature for purely scattering aerosols due to radiative cooling.The purely scattering aerosols decrease the ABL temperature and enhance the capping inversion,further reducing the ABL height.     

Mechanisms of diurnal precipitation over the US Great Plains: a cloud resolving model perspective

The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer heating.     

Atmospheric thermic structure studied by acoustic echo sounder, boundary layer model, and direct measurements

In this work, the thermic structure of the atmospheric boundary layer is analyzed by means of direct measurements with radiosonde equipment, remote exploration with a three-monostatic Doppler sodar, and a boundary layer model of order one-and-a-half. Intercomparisons of radiosonde data, sodar data, and model results are made through the study of radiative nocturnal inversion, subsidence inversion, development and height of the mixing layer, and calculus of the temperature structure parameter. The ability of sodar to find the mixing layer height and to detect stable layers is enhanced when these layers are low enough.     

The Impact of Radiation on the GABLS3 Large-Eddy Simulation through the Night and during the Morning Transition

Large-eddy simulation in the GABLS3 intercomparison is concerned with the developed stable boundary layer (SBL) and the ensuing morning transition. The impact of radiative transfer on simulations of this case is assessed. By the time of the reversal of the surface buoyancy flux, a modest reduction of the lapse rate in the developed SBL is apparent in simulations that include longwave radiation. Subsequently, with radiation, the developing mixed layer grows significantly more quickly, so that four hours after the transition the mixed layer is roughly 40 % deeper; the resulting profiles of potential temperature and specific humidity are in better agreement with observations. The inclusion of radiation does not substantively alter the shape of turbulent spectra, but it does indirectly reduce the variance of temperature fluctuations in the mixed layer. The deepening of the mixed layer is interpreted as a response to the reduction of the strength of the capping inversion, resulting from cumulative radiative cooling in the residual layer and around the top of the former SBL. Sensitivity studies are performed to separate the two effects. Solar radiative heating of the atmosphere has a smaller impact on the development of the mixed layer than does longwave radiative cooling and slightly reduces its rate of growth, compared to simulations including longwave radiation alone. These simulations demonstrate that nocturnal radiative processes have an important effect on the morning transition and that they should be considered in future large-eddy simulations of the transition.     

A Sensitivity Analysis of the Nocturnal Boundary-Layer Properties to Atmospheric Emissivity Formulations

A one-dimensional model for the mean potential temperature within the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) was used to assess the sensitivity of three NBL properties (height, thermal stratification strength, and near-surface cooling) to three widely used atmospheric emissivity formulations. The calculations revealed that the NBL height is robust to the choice of the emissivity function, though this is not the case for NBL Richardson number and near-surface cooling rate. Rather than endorse one formulation, our analysis highlights the importance of atmospheric emissivity in modelling the radiative properties of the NBL especially for clear-sky conditions.     

复杂地形城市冬季边界层对气溶胶辐射效应的响应

作者着眼于城市气溶胶辐射效应与大气边界层的相互作用问题,针对地形复杂的兰州市及周边地区,开发应用了WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting,天气研究和预报)模式,使之与包含了大气气溶胶辐射效应和气溶胶粒子扩散的综合大气边界层数值模式嵌套起来.通过个例分析,揭示了冬季气溶胶辐射效应对边界层结构的定量影响.主要特征为夜间气溶胶的长波辐射效应使地面附近的气温增高,增温幅度为0.1～0.3 K/h,使低空(25～300 m)大气层冷却,降温幅度为0.08～0.15 K/h,风速在150 m以下减小;白天气溶胶的短波辐射效应使地面层内明显增温,1 h内升温约0.5 K,增温最大值在混合层顶500～600 m高度.受增温影响,垂直风场和水平风场随之调整,风速在450 m以下增大约0.1 m/s左右,而在450 m以上风速减小0.1 m/s左右.     

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 parameterization of the nocturnal ozone reduction in the residual layer by verticla downward mixing during summer smog situations using sodar data

The reduction of ozone in the nocturnal residual layer by vertical mixing to the surface was investigated for several summer smog episodes on the Swiss plateau in the years 1990 and 1991. Using a limited data set of SODAR measurements and surface ozone concentrations, a parameterization of the ozone depletion in the nocturnal residual layer due to vertical mixing to the ground is proposed. This model is not intended to be physically complete but is rather simple with limited input information required. The nocturnal ozone reduction within the whole planetary boundary layer (nocturnal boundary layer plus residual layer) over the complex terrain of the Swiss plateau for the days investigated is between 20 and 50%.     

城乡过渡地带低空温度平流和边界层特征的观测分析

利用兰州河谷盆地城乡过渡区边界层观测资料,分析了该地区的温度平流和边界层特征。分析表明:(1)夜间热岛环流明显,白天则较弱;(2)夜间200m高度以下有较强的冷平流,在250～400m高度有较弱的暖平流,冷暖温度平流对测点上空边界层温度和层结变化有显著影响;(3)由声雷达确定的夜间边界层高度对应于Ri<1.0的高度,在这一高度范围内存在逆位温和强的风切变。本地区下垫面和复杂的地形导致夜间边界层高度随时间周期性地升高和降低,变化周期约3h。     

A moving grid finite-element model of the bulk properties of the atmospheric boundary layer

A moving-grid finite-element model has been developed to model numerically the vertically integrated properties of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) in one dimension. The model equations for mean wind velocity and potential temperature are combined with a surface energy budget and predictive equations for boundary-layer height to simulate both stable and unstable ABLs. The nodal position defining the top of the boundary layer is one of the model unknowns and is determined by boundary-layer dynamics. The finite-element method, being an integral method, has advantages of accurate representation of both bulk values and their vertical derivatives, the latter being essential properties of the nocturnal boundary layer. Compared with observations and results of other models, the present model predicts bulk properties very well while retaining a simple and economical form.Journal Paper No. J-12996 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, Project No. 2779.     

Thermodynamic budget of the five day wave over the Saharan desert during summer

Summary A spectral analysis of the domain averaged height field at 1000 hPa surface over the Sahara using ECMWF data reveals a major oscillation of about five days. A composite analysis technique has then been developed which permits to emphasize the major characteristics of the evolution of the thermal low over the Sahara during a five day period in the summer season. This analysis shows that the composite structure of the termal field reveals a well mixed layer with an almost constant potential temperature and specific humidity from the surface up to about 650 hPa.The computation of the vertical velocity and the horizontal divergence reveals a presence of a two cell vertical circulation over the thermal low region. Although the heat low over the Saharan desert appears as a shallow low pressure area confined into the mixed layer, the entire troposphere seems to be dynamically active.In the surface layer, the response of the height field to the temperature field has a lag time of about one day.Adjustment of the theoretical net radiative heating rate have been applied assuming dust to have an effect on both shortwave and longwave irradiances. The results compare reasonably well with measurements obtained from the literature, and provide an improvement for the surface heat fluxes as compared to those deduced from conventional radiative transfer model.The thermodynamic budget over the desert region reveals that the contribution of the advective terms is to stabilize the mixed layer by removing the excess of heat from the surface layer. Furthermore, the destabilization of the mixed layer seems to result from a thermal unbalance between the net radiative heating and the convergence of the eddy sensible heat flux during the formative stage of the thermal low.Downward motion developing above the mixed layer during the occurrence of the heat low seems to be responsible for the cooling of the surface layer and a decrease of the surface temperature, which marks the decaying phase of the thermal wave.A qualitative inference of the top of the dust layer from the large scale variables has been attempted, and a simple scheme for the parameterization of the net solar radiation as a function of the large scale apparent heating is proposed. The results appear to be a reasonable approach for the definition of the net radiative heating.The moisture budget reveals that water vapor is supplied to the domain via horizontal advection from the region of the West African monsoon. Furthermore, its vertical distribution appears to be controlled by the complex vertical eddy motions in the dry thermals which develop over the warm Saharan desert during the afternoon hours.With 27 Figures     

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).     

A study of multiple stable layers in the nocturnal lower atmosphere

The structure of nocturnal inversions in the first 300 m of the atmosphere is analyzed using observational data from the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) from March through June 1981. The temperature profiles show more than one inversion layer 41% of the time during the observational period. The vertical distributions of wind speed and moisture also show evidence of stratification during these multiple-layer events. The relation between the radiative cooling rate in time and height, including moisture, and the vertical structure of the multiple layers is calculated. The vertical distribution of eddy kinetic energy and the turbulent vertical fluxes of heat and momentum are also calculated. Turbulent structure in the elevated inversion layers is more complicated than that in the single-layer, stable nocturnal boundary layer. The total heat budget for a multiple-layer case is calculated, and turbulent cooling is found to be negligible relative to radiative cooling and to horizontal advection and/or horizontal divergence of heat flux.     

On the relation between ozone storage in the residual layer and daily variation in near-surface ozone concentration — A case study

Summary Numerous tethered balloon soundings which measured meteorological parameters and ozone concentration during the POLLUMET field experiments are investigated. They give indications of the influence of ozone conservation in the nocturnal residual layer (RL) on the development of the near surface ozone concentration of the next day. Mixing down from the RL to the surface is simulated by a simple model based on transilient turbulence theory, using measured profiles as initial values or model verification. The cases investigated show that the ozone mixed down from the RL contributes 50–70% to the maximum concentration near the surface on the following day, the rest coming from chemical production and possibly advection. Various features of exchange characteristics between the RL and the nocturnal boundary layer, (NBL) are described by the analysis of the soundings. It can be shown that the vertical exchange situation during the night can have a considerable influence on the ozone concentration of the following day.     

Factors influencing the marine boundary layer during a cold-air outbreak

The model for the cloud-topped marine boundary layer during a cold air outbreak developed by Stage and Businger (1981a) is used in conjunction with a test profile based on a fall outbreak episode over Lake Ontario to study factors influencing marine boundary-layer evolution. Sensitivity tests are done which show changes in layer evolution resulting from variation of wind speed, radiative sky temperature, water surface temperature, humidity of the shoreline sounding and divergence. The behavior of the layer in the presence of a region of cold-water upwelling near the shore is also investigated. It is found that the main effect of the upwelling region is to delay modification of the boundary-layer air.