The limitations on stress parameterization imposed by intermittency in turbulent flow

The indirect dissipation technique is used to estimate 1-min averages of friction velocity u _*in the surface layer over the tropical ocean. These estimates are compared to estimates of u _*obtained using a drag coefficient and the relative difference between the two is examined in relation to stability and averaging time. Plumes and downdrafts are found to be responsible for an anomalous behavior of the drag coefficient estimates. Certain factors relating to plume properties, derived using conditional sampling as described in Khalsa (1980), are shown to be related to the variance between the two estimates of friction velocity. An investigation into the effects of increasing the averaging time reveals that plume spacing, which is dependent on stability, and the mean wind speed determine the minimum time for smoothing the influence of plumes and downdrafts.Department of Atmospheric Sciences contribution number 513.     

Wind structure near a city centre

Wind speed and temperature profiles to a height of 8 m were recorded for 30-, 60-, and 90-min averaging times over a striated snow surface at the geographic South Pole during the austral winter of 1975. A gradient Richardson number was calculated for each averaging time to determine conditions of neutral stability under which the logarithmic wind law would hold. A log-linear regression technique was used to determine values of aerodynamic roughness height (Z ₀) for those profile averages recorded in conditions of neutral stability. A plot of Z ₀ as a function of average wind direction revealed a variation in Z ₀ of almost three orders of magnitude, from 0.01 to 7 cm, over 120 deg of wind direction. A simple model is presented to justify the fact that aerodynamic roughness is a function of wind direction and erosion history.     

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.     

Influence of non-flat terrain and wind direction shear on canopy turbulence

We have analyzed eddy covariance data collected within open canopy to investigate the influence of non-flat terrain and wind direction shear on the canopy turbulence. The study site is located on non-flat terrain with slopes in both south-north and east-west directions. The surface elevation change is smaller than the height of roughness element such as building and tree at this site. A variety of turbulent statistics were examined as a function of wind direction in near-neutral conditions. Heterogeneous surface characteristics results in significant differences in measured turbulent statistics. Upwind trees on the flat and up-sloping terrains yield typical features of canopy turbulence while upwind elevated surface with trees yields significant wind direction shear, reduced u and w skewness, and negligible correlation between u and w. The directional dependence of turbulence statistics is due that strong wind blows more horizontally rather than following terrain, and hence combination of slope related momentum flux and canopy eddy motion decreases the magnitude of Sk _w and r _uw for the downslope flow while it enhances them for the upslope flow. Significant v skewness to the west indicates intermittent downdraft of northerly wind, possibly due to lateral shear of wind in the presence of significant wind direction shear. The effects of wind direction shear on turbulent statistics were also examined. The results showed that correlation coefficient between lateral velocities and vertical velocity show significant dependence on wind direction shear through change of lateral wind shear. Quadrant analysis shows increased outward interaction and reduced role of sweep motion for longitudinal momentum flux for the downslope flow. Multi-resolution analysis indicates that uw correlation shows peak at larger averaging time for the upslope flow than for the downslope flow, indicating that large eddy plays an active role in momentum transfer for the upslope flow. On the other hand, downslope flow shows larger velocity variances than other flows despite similar wind speed. These results suggest that non-flatness of terrain significantly influences on canopy-atmosphere exchange.     

Nocturnal boundary layer height prediction from surface routine meteorological data

Summary A number of well known diagnostic equations for the determination of the height,h, of the nocturnal boundary layer. with minimum data requirements of at most surface wind speed, air temperature and total cloud cover, have been tested as to their effectiveness. The computed values have been compared with direct estimation ofh, from temperature or wind profiles of rawinsonde ascents available at 00Z (02h LST). The comparison between computed and observed values shows that best agreement is found when the nocturnal boundary layer height is determined through wind profiles. The ratio of the computed to the observed values reveals a strong dependence on stability, resulting in overestimation by the models for very low stability and underestimation for strong stability. The simple expressions involving the wind speed rather than other stability parameters resulted in a better overall fit to the observed values. A simple prognostic model is shown to provide the best estimates of the NBL height compared to both wind and temperature profile definition.With 5 Figures     

Representativeness of wind measurements on a mesoscale grid with station separations of 312 m to 10 km

A field experiment was carried out in which wind speed and direction were measured over flat terrain at a height of 10 m using 13 identical instruments spaced logarithmically along two perpendicular 10 km lines. Station separations ranged from 312 m to 10 km. One-minute data from 11 sampling periods of duration 6 to 10 h were studied. p ]The statistics showed little dependence on whether the line of instruments was oriented along the wind or across the wind. The correlation coefficients between wind fluctuations at two stations separated by distance x were found to vary exponentially with x, with an integral distance scale on the order of 1 km. The integral time scale derived from the variation of the single station variances with averaging time was found to equal several minutes. At a station separation of 10 km, the correlation coefficients between the wind components at the two sites were calculated to be 0.24, 0.37, and 0.47 for averaging times of 1, 10, and 60 min, respectively. These values for the correlation coefficients correspond to root-mean-square differences in wind speed at the two stations of about 1.3, 1.0, and 0.7 m/s, respectively.Exponential formulas based on dimensional analysis are suggested for fitting these observations. It is found that the observations of spatial correlations are best fit if two independent integral distance scales are used — a boundary-layer distance scale of about 300 m that best applies to small station separations and a mesoscale distance scale of about 10 km that applies to larger station separations.     

Turbulent Flow at 190 m Height Above London During 2006–2008: A Climatology and the Applicability of Similarity Theory

Flow and turbulence above urban terrain is more complex than above rural terrain, due to the different momentum and heat transfer characteristics that are affected by the presence of buildings (e.g. pressure variations around buildings). The applicability of similarity theory (as developed over rural terrain) is tested using observations of flow from a sonic anemometer located at 190.3 m height in London, U.K. using about 6500 h of data. Turbulence statistics—dimensionless wind speed and temperature, standard deviations and correlation coefficients for momentum and heat transfer—were analysed in three ways. First, turbulence statistics were plotted as a function only of a local stability parameter z/Λ (where Λ is the local Obukhov length and z is the height above ground); the σ _i /u _* values (i = u, v, w) for neutral conditions are 2.3, 1.85 and 1.35 respectively, similar to canonical values. Second, analysis of urban mixed-layer formulations during daytime convective conditions over London was undertaken, showing that atmospheric turbulence at high altitude over large cities might not behave dissimilarly from that over rural terrain. Third, correlation coefficients for heat and momentum were analyzed with respect to local stability. The results give confidence in using the framework of local similarity for turbulence measured over London, and perhaps other cities. However, the following caveats for our data are worth noting: (i) the terrain is reasonably flat, (ii) building heights vary little over a large area, and (iii) the sensor height is above the mean roughness sublayer depth.     

Wind energy estimates by use of a diagnostic model

A diagnostic model is a relatively simple and practical tool for modeling the wind flow of the boundary layer in complex terrain. The model begins with a wind analysis based on available surface wind reports and geostrophic winds (computed from pressure data). The height of the boundary layer top (upper surface of the computational domain) is prescribed to fit local conditions. Using the continuity equation in terrain-following coordinates, the winds at mesh points are adjusted to produce nondivergence while maintaining the original vertical component of vorticity. The method of computing the nondivergent winds uses direct alterations. This method may be useful for other modeling purposes and will be described. Data for a long period (usually a year) are analyzed to obtain eigenvectors and the associated time series of their coefficients at each observation time. The model is run only for the five or six eigenvectors that explain most of the variance. The wind field at any particular time is reconstructed from the eigenvector solutions and their appropriate coefficients. Comparisons of model results with measured winds at sites representing different types of terrain will be shown. The accuracy and economy of the model make it a useful tool for estimating wind energy and also for giving wind fields for low-level diffusion models.     

Full-scale measurements of the wind regime over a saddle,and correlation with wind-tunnel tests

The Gebbies Pass region consists of a saddle at a height of approximately 300 m, bounded by two ranges of hills approximately 500 m high. A survey technique which yielded mean wind speeds at a height of 10 m in this region is shown to provide excellent reproducibility for data collected 6 months apart. The survey results are also shown to correlate extremely well with those obtained from a 1:4000 scale model analysed in a Planetary Boundary Layer wind tunnel.Wind structure information obtained upstream of the saddle and at its crest is presented and compared with the wind tunnel model and other studies where possible. The velocity profile was measured up to 160 m at the crest and was found to be almost vertical; however, there was a noticeable jet at the 15 m height, which was not apparent on the model. Measurements at 10 m height showed a velocity increase of 40–60% at the crest compared to the approach terrain velocity at the same height above ground level. The longitudinal r.m.s. turbulence component _u was found to increase at the saddle but still resulted in reduced turbulence intensity values relative to the upstream situation. The longitudinal component of the energy spectrum at the upwind site was in excellent agreement with the theoretical model proposed by Kaimal et al. (1972). However, at the saddle crest the theoretical spectrum was too high and required further modification to fit the measured data. It is proposed that a terrain factor be used to make the necessary adjustment since the theoretical spectra are strictly only valid for flat homogeneous terrain.     

Determination Of The Surface Drag Coefficient

This study examines the dependence of the surface drag coefficienton stability, wind speed, mesoscale modulation of the turbulent flux and method of calculation of the drag coefficient. Data sets over grassland, sparse grass, heather and two forest sites are analyzed. For significantly unstable conditions, the drag coefficient does not depend systematically on z/L but decreases with wind speed for fixed intervals of z/L, where L is the Obukhov length. Even though the drag coefficient for weak wind conditions is sensitive to the exact method of calculation and choice of averaging time, the decrease of the drag coefficient with wind speed occurs for all of the calculation methods. A classification of flux calculation methods is constructed, which unifies the most common previous approaches.The roughness length corresponding to the usual Monin–Obukhovstability functions decreases with increasing wind speed. This dependence on wind speed cannot be eliminated by adjusting the stability functions. If physical, the decrease of the roughness length with increasing wind speed might be due to the decreasing role of viscous effectsand streamlining of the vegetation, although these effects cannot be isolated from existing atmospheric data.For weak winds, both the mean flow and the stress vector often meander significantly in response to mesoscale motions. The relationship between meandering of the stress and wind vectors is examined. For weak winds, the drag coefficient can be sensitive to the method of calculation, partly due to meandering of the stress vector.     

The Frequency Response of Sonic Anemometers

The frequency response of different types of sonic anemometers due to spatialaveraging of turbulent fluctuations along the sonic path is investigated byapplying modeling procedures and by sonic measurements. The data wereobtained simultaneously at up to 4 heights over extreme smooth andhomogeneous terrain during stationary situations, varying fromslightly stable to unstable. It is shown thatcorrections for the variance of the vertical wind component areneeded for measurements close to the ground. A correction procedure, based ona response function for the vertical wind and on parameters derived frompower spectra, is applied to the measurements. At a height of about onemetre, the variance of the vertical wind component is typicallyunderestimated by about 10%. The error decreases with increasing height. It isalso shown that in the height range down to one metre other turbulencequantities, as for example the variances of the horizontal wind components andthe turbulent fluxes of momentum and sensible heat, are not markedly affectedby the sonic spatial response. Experimental data support these findings.     

Effects of Topographical Slope Angle and Atmospheric Stratification on Surface-Layer Turbulence

The effect of topographical slope angle and atmospheric stratification on turbulence intensities in the unstably stratified surface layer have been parameterized using observations obtained from a three-dimensional sonic anemometer installed at 8 m height above the ground at the Seoul National University (SNU) campus site in Korea for the years 1999–2001. Winds obtained from the sonic anemometer are analyzed according to the mean wind direction, since the topographical slope angle changes significantly along the azimuthal direction. The effects of the topographical slope angle and atmospheric stratification on surface-layer turbulence intensity are examined with these data. It is found that both the friction velocity and the variance for each component of wind normalized by the mean wind speed decrease with increase of the topographical slope angle, having a maximum decreasing rate at very unstable stratification. The decreasing rate of the normalized friction velocity (u _* /U) is found to be much larger than that of the turbulence intensity of each wind component due to the reduction of wind shear with increase in slope angle under unstable stratification. The decreasing rate of the w component of turbulence intensity (σ _w /U) is the smallest over the downslope surface whereas that of the u component (σ _u /U) has a minimum over the upslope surface. Consequently, σ _w /u _* has a maximum increasing rate with increase in slope angle for the downslope wind, whereas σ _u /u _* has its maximum for the upslope wind. The sloping terrain is found to reduce both the friction velocity and turbulence intensity compared with those on a flat surface. However, the reduction of the friction velocity over the sloping terrain is larger than that of the turbulence intensity, thereby enhancing the turbulence intensity normalized by the friction velocity over sloping terrain compared with that over a flat surface.     

Estimation of abl Parameters Using the Vertical Velocity Measurements of an Acoustic Sounder

The friction velocity, the surface heat flux and the height of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) are important parameters. In this work, vertical velocity variance ( _w ² ) and wind velocity structure parameter (C _v ² ) profiles estimated by acoustic sounder measurements are used, along with similarity relations, to estimate these parameters in the unstable Atmospheric Boundary Layer and the friction velocity in the stable one. The data were collected by two acoustic sounders with different height range and resolution under various atmospheric conditions (stability) and at two experimental sites in different terrain. The C _v ² profiles are estimated using gate difference of the vertical velocity measurements and the assumption of local isotropy. The vertical velocity data are corrected for the significant effects of noisy measurements and sampling volume averaging on the _w ² and C _v ² estimations using original techniques that are presented in this work. The results of the similarity method using acoustic sounder data are compared against estimates of the corresponding atmospheric parameters obtained from direct measurements. The comparison confirms the ability of the method to provide reasonably accurate estimates of these parameters especially in the middle of the day.     

黄土高原复杂地形受中尺度运动影响的稳定边界层湍流特征

利用兰州大学半干旱气候与环境观测站(Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University,简称SACOL)2008年12月观测资料,研究了稳定边界层湍流特征.使用涡动相关资料研究湍流通量时,定义湍流的平均时间τ内的中尺度运动是造成湍流统计量变化范围大的主要原因,稳定情形? τ取几十秒至几分钟.对梯度理查森数大于0.3的强稳定情形的湍流尺度分解(MRD)谱分析表明,感热通量在112.4～449.9 s存在谱隙,尺度大于谱隙的中尺度运动造成了通量观测资料离散性大,甚至有支配性影响.动量通量的谱隙在112.4～224.9 s之间.弱风时,中尺度运动的影响更大,垂直风速标准差以0.1的比率随中尺度风速变化;垂直风速标准差同广义风速表现出很好的相关性,并随着广义风速消失而消失.三维风速标准差与摩擦速度呈很好的线性关系,垂直、水平、横风风速的无量纲标准差分别为1.35、2.54、2.21.对湍流动能的研究发现,在梯度理查森数大于0.3的条件下,仍然存在连续的湍流.以湍动能为依据,分析了湍流的平稳时间长度,其长度随稳定度变化而变化,2008年12月7～11日从133.5 s变化到856.2 s,湍流平稳时间长度反映了中尺度运动的发生频率.     

On the memory of wind standard deviation for upstream roughness

Big eddies in the outer part of the atmospheric boundary layer contribute to the variance of the horizontal velocity fluctuations near the surface. Because of the slow adjustment of these eddies to new boundary conditions, they carry the roughness characteristics of a large upstream terrain. A scaling relation is proposed that accounts for the memory effects in the big eddies. It is concluded that the standard deviation of the horizontal wind ( _u ) measured at a given height is representative for the shear stress at greater height. This gives at least qualitative support to existing work where u is used for exposure correction of mean wind.     

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

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

精细PBL模式及其诊断应用

在已建立的一种三维非静力细网格Ｅ－ε湍能闭合的动力学框架基础上,作了一些改进的技术处理和试验,包括：（１）利用ＧＩＳ提供的地形资料,较精确地计算太阳辐射,进而诊断地面温度;（２）引进位势流概念,处理稳定层结条件下初始内插风场的风向变化;（３）引入动力学调整项Ｇ（αｏｂｓ－α）。在此基础上,就地理信息系统（ＧＩＳ）提供的一个 ６０ｋｍ×４８ｋｍ区域作了边界层结构和湍流特征的数值模拟试验,并与实测作了比较,讨论了精细ＰＢＬ模式的模拟效果,结果表明,新建的ＰＢＬ模式能较好地模拟表征出复杂下垫面地域的陡峭地形和不规则海岸线对局地风场和湍流场的动力和热力学作用。     

Shapes of annual frequency distributions of wind speed observed on high meteorological masts

Annual wind distributions from six masts are used to investigate the annual variability of hourly-average wind. A variability extremum occurs at the height where the average diurnal cycle of wind reverses its phase from a nocturnal minimum to a nocturnal maximum. A simple profile model shows that in non-complex terrain, this reversal height varies approximately between 50 m at coasts and 90 m inland. The Weibull distribution shape factor k has a maximum at the reversal height, and with decreasing height, k decreases approximately as a linear function of height. Therefore estimation of wind distribution shape from surface data is possible in the surface layer. In the upper PBL, however, such estimation is not very feasible, because no simple methods are available to estimate the reversal height from routine surface observations.Also: Dept. of Applied Physics, Technical University, Delft, Netherlands.     

Stably stratified flow in a marine atmospheric surface layer

Data from the marine atmospheric surface layer have been analysed. The data set consists of about two weeks with tower measurements up to 31 m of mean profiles of wind, temperature, and humidity, together with 20 Hz turbulence data. Mean wind, temperature, and humidity profiles up to 2000 m are also available from pibal trackings and radio soundings. Wave height was measured at 2 Hz, using an inverted echo-sounder.It was found from pibal wind profiles that low level jets were present during 2/3 of the measurements, having their maxima in the height interval 40 to 300 m. Here only data from the remaining 1/3 of the measurements, without low level jets, have been analysed.Non-dimensional wind and temperature gradients agree with results over homogeneous land surfaces as regards stability dependence during stable conditions that prevailed during this experiment. Linear regression gave _m = 1 + 6.8z/L and _m = 1 + 8.3z/L. No significant sea wave influence was found. The same was vrue for me dimensionless standard deviations of the three wind components, except for the vertical component. The expected wind speed dependence was found for the neutral drag coefficient, givingC _dN = 0.109U + 0.33 at 10 m, and a dependence on the wave parameter,C/u _*, was confirmed. Note, however, that the data set was restricted to low and moderate wind speeds and that stratification was mainly stable.Power spectra, non-dimensionalized according to suface-layer theories, do not follow the expected stability dependence. It was shown that this may be a consequence of the presence of gravity waves in the stable marine boundary layer. Indicators of gravity waves were found in most runs. The TKE budget agrees with findings over homogeneous land areas. The pressure transport term was found to be a source of energy also for near neutral conditions.     

Variability and Maintenance of Turbulence in the Very Stable Boundary Layer

The relationship of turbulence quantities to mean flow quantities, such as the Richardson number, degenerates substantially for strong stability, at least in those studies that do not place restrictions on minimum turbulence or non-stationarity. This study examines the large variability of the turbulence for very stable conditions by analyzing four months of turbulence data from a site with short grass. Brief comparisons are made with three additional sites, one over short grass on flat terrain and two with tall vegetation in complex terrain. For very stable conditions, any dependence of the turbulence quantities on the mean wind speed or bulk Richardson number becomes masked by large scatter, as found in some previous studies. The large variability of the turbulence quantities is due to random variations and other physical influences not represented by the bulk Richardson number. There is no critical Richardson number above which the turbulence vanishes. For very stable conditions, the record-averaged vertical velocity variance and the drag coefficient increase with the strength of the submeso motions (wave motions, solitary waves, horizontal modes and numerous more complex signatures). The submeso motions are on time scales of minutes and not normally considered part of the mean flow. The generation of turbulence by such unpredictable motions appears to preclude universal similarity theory for predicting the surface stress for very stable conditions. Large variation of the stress direction with respect to the wind direction for the very stable regime is also examined. Needed additional work is noted.