Comparing Estimates of Turbulence Based on Near-Surface Measurements in the Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer

Tethered Lifting System (TLS) estimates of the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (e){(\varepsilon)} are reasonably well correlated with concurrent measurements of vertical velocity variance (s_w²){(\sigma_{w}^{2})} obtained from sonic anemometers located on a nearby 60-m tower during the CASES-99 field experiment. Additional results in the first 100 m of the nocturnal stable boundary layer confirm our earlier claim that the presence of weak but persistent background turbulence exists even during the most stable atmospheric conditions, where e{\varepsilon} can exhibit values as low as 10⁻⁷ m² s⁻³. We also present a set of empirical equations that incorporates TLS measurements of temperature, horizontal wind speed, and e{\varepsilon} to provide a proxy measurement for s_w²{\sigma_{w}^{2}} at altitudes higher than tower heights.     

A Model to Estimate Global Radiation in Complex Terrain

Global radiation is an important parameter necessary for most ecological models. However, in situ data barely meets the needs of modelling mountainous ecosystems since most field stations are located in flat areas. Consequently, it is usually necessary to extrapolate radiation measurements obtained from an adjacent flat area to the complex terrain of concern. The distribution of radiation in complex terrain depends upon two factors: the local atmospheric conditions, which determine the radiation potentially available to a supposed flat surface in a given location, and the topographic effects on this possible radiation. The latter have been included in detail in most radiation models for complex terrain, but the former are often only simply treated as constant or estimated by over-simplified empirical algorithms. In this paper we propose a novel model that uses a parametric atmospheric model to calculate the potential radiation for a supposed flat surface in a given location, and then account for topographic effects. Direct radiation, diffuse radiation and reflected radiation are calculated separately in the model due to the distinctive characteristics of and the effects by topography. Based on the parametric model, this paper has investigated the relationship between radiation transmittance, clearness indices and altitude under a series of water vapour content and turbidity conditions. This combines three ratios, R _b, R _d, and R _r, defined as the direct radiation, diffuse radiation and reflected radiation received by the arbitrary surface, respectively, to their counterparts in the horizontal surface, to estimate the global radiation for any given location. The model has been validated with data from measurements in National Park Berchtesgaden, Germany, where six measurement sites with various altitudes and topographic characteristics have been deployed. The r ² of modelled and measured hourly global radiation are greater than 0.90 in all six sites, with RMSE varies from 16 to 100 W m⁻². Sensitivity analysis revealed that the model was not sensitive to change in water vapour content, which suggests the possibility to use an exponential algorithm of water vapour content when there is no in situ water vapour content information in complex terrains. The NRMSE was only reduced by 0.04, on average, in five of the six sites when water vapour content information was calculated from the in situ air temperature and relative humidity measurements.     

Spectrum Analysis of Wind Profiling Radar Measurements

Unlike previous studies on wind turbulence spectrum in the planetary boundary layer, this investigation focuses on high-altitude （1-5 km） wind energy spectrum and turbulence spectrum under various weather conditions. A fast Fourier transform （FFT） is used to calculate the wind energy and turbulence spectrum density at high altitudes （1-5 km） based on wind profiling radar （WPR） measurements. The turbulence spectrum under stable weather conditions at high altitudes is expressed in powers within a frequency range of 2 × 10-5-10-3 s-1, and the slope b is between -0.82 and -1.04, indicating that the turbulence is in the transition from the energetic area to the inertial sub-range. The features of strong weather are reflected less obviously in the wind energy spectrum than in the turbulence spectrum, with peaks showing up at different heights in the latter spectrum. Cold windy weather appears over a period of 1.5 days in the turbulence spectrum. Wide-range rainstorms exhibit two or three peaks in the spectrum over a period of 15-20 h, while in severe convective weather conditions, there are two peaks at 13 and 9 h. The results indicate that spectrum analysis of wind profiling radar measurements can be used as a supplemental and helpful method for weather analysis.     

基于三台测风激光雷达的大气湍流和三维风场研究

为了获取大气湍流和空间三维风场结构,利用3台同型号的测风激光雷达开展协同观测试验。（1）利用虚拟铁塔协同观测技术开展大气湍流探测,与香河102 m铁塔安装的三维超声风速仪观测结果做对比,32 m处高频（10 Hz）风速的相关系数高达0.92,平均误差为0.77 m/s,均方根误差为0.41 m/s;大气湍流强度（TKE）的相关系数高达0.99,平均误差为?0.02 m2/s2,均方根误差为0.08 m2/s2,并且协同观测的高频风速与三维超声风速仪的观测结果具有相同的频谱结构。（2）利用扫描协同观测技术开展三维风场探测,与铁塔上的常规测风设备相比,其90 m高度处的水平风速和风向的相关系数分别为0.92和0.93,平均误差为?0.41 m/s和0°,均方根误差为0.73 m/s和34°。相比于单台测风激光雷达,基于3台测风激光雷达协同观测技术具有一定的优势:不需要风场水平均匀的假设、探测精度更高等。但其对观测环境的要求较高:观测路径上不能有遮挡、观测必须协同等。在科研业务应用中,需要根据实际的观测需求合理制定观测方案。      

Characteristics and sources of inertia-gravity waves revealed in the KEOP-2007 radiosonde data

Characteristics and sources of inertia-gravity waves are investigated using high-resolution radiosonde data observed at ten stations in Korea during 15 June to 15 July 2007. The wave analyses are performed in the lower stratospheric region (Z = 17–30 km). The average intrinsic frequency, vertical wavelength, and horizontal wavelength for the observed waves are 2.77f (where f is the Coriolis parameter), 2.58 km, and 620.11 km, respectively. The average eastward and westward momentum fluxes are 0.005 m² s^?2 and ?0.003 m² s^?2, respectively, and the average northward and southward momentum fluxes are 0.007 m² s^?2 and ?0.002 m² s^?2, respectively. To understand the propagation and the sources of the observed gravity waves, a three-dimensional ray-tracing model is used. The observed gravity waves are classified into two groups based on the existence of convection when and where the rays reach altitudes of 6–13 km. Sources are mostly located in the northeast and southeast of the observation stations below Z = 5 km for the convection-related cases (CONV), while those for the other cases (NCONV) are located in the northeast and southeast of the observation stations above Z = 20 km. The average intrinsic frequency and vertical wavelength of the CONV cases are somewhat larger than those of the NCONV cases. The average potential, kinetic, and total wave energies of the CONV cases are less than those of the NCONV cases.     

Concentration fluctuations according to fluctuating plume models in one and two dimensions

Concentration probability density functions (pdfs) calculated according to fluctuating plume models in one- and two-dimensions, representing the limiting cases of one-dimensional dispersion from a line source or a point source in strongly anisotropic turbulence and of axisymmetric dispersion from a point source in isotropic turbulence, are discussed and analyzed in terms of the location of the sampling point within the mean plume and of the ratio, s/m, of the standard deviations for relative dispersion and meandering.In both cases, the pdfs cover the finite concentration range from zero to C ₀, the centreline concentration of the instantaneous plume. The main difference between them is that whereas the 2-D pdf is always unimodal, the 1-D pdf has a singularity at C ₀ which under some circumstances results in a bimodal form. However, the probability associated with this singularity is not always significant. Differences of practical importance in the shape of the pdfs occur mainly for centreline or near-centreline sampling locations when meandering is not too much larger than relative dispersion (1 < m ²/s² < 10) and for sampling locations a distance of order s from the centreline when relative dispersion is not too much larger than meandering (1 < s ²/m² < 5).Comparison against wind tunnel measurements not too far downstream of a line source in grid turbulence shows that the 1-D model reproduces the essential features and trends of the measurements. Under appropriate circumstances the measurements show the bimodal pdf predicted by the 1-D model (but not by the 2-D model) confirming that the effect of the anisotropy in the source distribution is observable.Present address: School of Mechanical Engineering, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece.     

Characteristics of Turbulent Transfer during Episodes of Heavy Haze Pollution in Beijing in Winter 2016/17

We analyzed the structure and evolution of turbulent transfer and the wind profile in the atmospheric boundary layer in relation to aerosol concentrations during an episode of heavy haze pollution from 6 December 2016 to 9 January 2017. The turbulence data were recorded at Peking University’s atmospheric science and environment observation station. The results showed a negative correlation between the wind speed and the PM_2.5 concentration. The turbulence kinetic energy was large and showed obvious diurnal variations during unpolluted (clean) weather, but was small during episodes of heavy haze pollution. Under both clean and heavy haze conditions, the relation between the non-dimensional wind components and the stability parameter z/L followed a 1/3 power law, but the normalized standard deviations of the wind speed were smaller during heavy pollution events than during clean periods under near-neutral conditions. Under unstable conditions, the normalized standard deviation of the potential temperature σ _θ /|θ_*| was related to z/L, roughly following a –1/3 power law, and the ratio during pollution days was greater than that during clean days. The three-dimensional turbulence energy spectra satisfied a –2/3 power exponent rate in the high-frequency band. In the low-frequency band, the wind velocity spectrum curve was related to the stability parameters under clear conditions, but was not related to atmospheric stratification under polluted conditions. In the dissipation stage of the heavy pollution episode, the horizontal wind speed first started to increase at high altitudes and then gradually decreased at lower altitudes. The strong upward motion during this stage was an important dynamic factor in the dissipation of the heavy haze.     

Measurements of Trace Substances in the Arctic Troposphere as Potential Precursors and Constituents of Arctic Haze

During two measuring campaigns in early spring 1994 and 1995 (March/April) and one campaign in summer 1994, measurements of ozone, PAN, sulfur dioxide, nitric acid, and particulate nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium (only 1995) were recorded in the Arctic. Observations were made by aircraft at various sites in the eastern and western Arctic. Ozone concentrations showed a steady increase with altitude both in spring and summer. During five flights in springtime, low ozone events (LOEs) could be observed near the surface and up to altitudes of 2000 m. SO₂ background concentrations, ranging from detection limit (0.5 nmol/m³) to 5 nmol/m³, were observed during both spring and summer. Distinct maxima up to 55 nmol/m³ in lower altitudes were only obtained in springtime. Concentrations of the organic nitrate PAN were within a similar range as those of the inorganic nitrate HNO₃ during spring campaigns. In contrast, concentrations of particulate nitrate were one half an order of magnitude lower. HNO₃ concentrations increased significantly with altitude. Evidently, HNO₃ was intruded from the stratosphere into the troposphere. Sulfate concentrations ranged between 5 and 30 nmol/m³; ammonium concentrations were obtained within a range from 10 to 50 nmol/m³.     

均匀裸土地表土壤热通量计算方法对比及对能量闭合的影响

利用"内蒙古微气象观测蒸发试验"的观测资料,对6种地表土壤热通量计算方法(Plate Cal法、TDEC法、谐波法、热传导对流法、振幅法和相位法)进行比较,检验了6种方法在不同干湿地表状况下的适用性,并研究了6种方法计算地表土壤热通量的差异以及对地表能量闭合度的影响。结果表明:一般情况下,Plate Cal法计算的2 cm土壤热通量与观测值最接近,计算结果的均方差为6.9 W/m2。在不同干湿地表状况下,干燥和降水条件下适合使用Plate Cal法,计算结果的均方差分别为14.0 W/m2和30.1 W/m2;湿润条件下适合使用谐波法,计算结果的均方差为21.4 W/m2。6种方法计算的地表土壤热通量存在明显差别,最大相差178.6 W/m2,不同方法计算地表土壤热通量的最大差值超过25 W/m2的时次占样本的96.3%。不同方法计算地表土壤热通量的差异对地表能量闭合度的大小有明显影响,但不影响近地层能量闭合度随湍流混合增强而增大的规律。     

Helicopter-Borne Flux Measurements in the Nocturnal Boundary Layer Over Land – a Case Study

This case study introduces measurements of turbulent fluxes in a nocturnal boundary layer in North Germany with the new helicopter-borne turbulence measurement system HELIPOD, a detailed data analysis and examination in regard of systematic errors of the instrument, and some comparison with local similarity theory and experiments of the past, in order to confirm the occurrence of small vertical turbulent fluxes. The examined nocturnal boundary layer offered excellent conditions to analyse the quality of the measurement system. In this connection, a detailed look at a strong ground-based inversion disclosed small turbulent fluxes with a spectral maximum at ten metres wavelength or less, embedded in intermittent turbulence. For verification of these fluxes, the measurements were compared with well established results from past experiments. Local similarity theory was applied to calculate dimensionless variances of the turbulent quantities, which were found in good agreement with other observations. Since shear and stratification varied significantly on the horizontal flight legs due to global intermittency, a method was developed to determine vertical gradients on a horizontal flight pattern, by use of small fluctuations of the measurement height. With these locally determined gradients, gradient transport theory became applicable and the turbulent diffusivities for heat and momentum, the Richardson number, and the flux Richardson number were estimated within isolated strong turbulent outbursts. Within these outbursts the flux Richardson number was found between 0.1 and 0.2. The functional relationship between the gradient Richardson number and the turbulent Prandtl number agreed well with observations in past experiments and large eddy simulation. The impact of the stratification on the vertical turbulent exchange, as already described for the surface layer using Monin–Obukhov similarity, was analogously observed in the very stably stratified bulk flow when local scaling was applied.     

A kite based atmospheric sounding system

A newly developed kite based atmospheric sounding system is described that can be deployed under a wide range of weather conditions. The Delta Kite system can be flown in wind speeds ranging from 4 to 25 ms^-1, while the exceptional lift capabilities of the kite allow several kilograms of payload to be attached to the kite and/or tether. In conjunction with its battery powered winch, the Delta Kite atmospheric sounding system is ideally suited to meteorological studies in remote locations where vehicle access may not be possible.     

Aircraft Observations Of The Mean And Turbulent Structure Of A Shallow Boundary Layer Over The Persian Gulf

Stable internal boundary layers form when warm air isadvected over a cooler surface, a common occurrence incoastal areas. The internal boundary layer deepenswith distance along-wind, eventually reachingequilibrium with the surface and becoming a fullydeveloped marine boundary layer. We presentobservations of the late stages of internalboundary-layer evolution made bythe U.K. Meteorological Office'sC-130 Hercules research aircraft over the Persian Gulfin April 1996. Northwesterly winds brought warm dryair from the surrounding desert landmass across thecooler waters of the Gulf. Loss of heat to the surfaceresulted in the formation of a shallow, stableinternal boundary layer downwind of the coast. The aircraftmeasurements were made several hundred kilometresdownwind, by which point the original deep convectiveboundary layer had been eroded away and the internalboundary layer was well developed, effectively a newmarine atmospheric boundary layer. Throughout most ofits depth the boundary layer was statically stable anda downward heat flux of approximately 15 W m^-2was observed; however, an exceptionally strong latentheat flux, in excess of 250 W m^-2 near thesurface, was sufficient to overcome the downwards heatflux and maintain weak buoyant convection in the lower30–50% of the boundary layer.Scaling of boundary-layer turbulence statistics usinglocal similarity theory produces results in agreementwith previous studies. Because of the strong humiditycontribution to the buoyancy flux, however, care isrequired with the definition of the similarity scales.It is usual for either the sensible heat or buoyancyflux to be used in the definitions of both thetemperature and length scales; the latter being usedover water where humidity plays a significant role indetermining stability. In the present case we findthat while the buoyancy flux is appropriate in thedefinition of the length scale, the temperature scalemust be defined in terms of the sensible heat flux.     

Impressions of the turbulence variability in a weakly stratified,flat-bottom deep-sea ‘boundary layer’

The character of turbulent overturns in a weakly stratified deep-sea is investigated in some detail using 144 high-resolution temperature sensors at 0.7 m intervals, starting 5 m above the bottom. A 9-day, 1 Hz sampled record from the 912 m depth flat-bottom (<0.5% bottom-slope) mooring site in the central-north Alboran Sea (W-Mediterranean) demonstrates an overall conservative temperature range of only 0.05 °C, a typical mean buoyancy period as large as 3 h and a 1 Hz-profile-vertically-averaged turbulence dissipation rate maximum of only 10⁻⁸ m² s⁻³. Nonetheless, this ‘boundary layer’ varies in height between <6 and >104 m above the bottom and is thus not homogeneous throughout; the temperature variations are seldom quiescent and are generally turbulent in appearance, well exceeding noise levels. The turbulence character is associated with small-scale internal waves; examples are found of both shear- and convection-driven turbulence; particular association, although not phase-locked, is found between turbulence variations and tidal rather than with inertial motions; the mean buoyancy frequency of a few times the inertial frequency implies the importance of ‘slantwise convection’ in the direction of the earth rotational vector rather than in the direction of gravity. Such convection is observed both in near-homogeneous and weakly stratified form.     

黄山层状云和对流云降水不同高度的雨滴谱统计特征分析

根据2011年6~7月在黄山不同高度采用PARSIVEL雨滴谱仪测得的雨滴谱数据,对不同海拔高度上两类（层状云和对流云）降水粒子谱的微物理特征量、Gamma函数拟合以及雨滴的下落速度进行对比分析,结果表明:对流云降水的雨水含量和降水强度、雨滴的各类尺度参数和数浓度都比相同位置上层状云降水的大,同类降水中,山腰的雨滴尺度大于山顶和山底,这可能与各观测点和云底相对位置的不同有关;随降水强度增加,雨滴的质量加权平均直径D_m逐渐增大,广义截距参数（log₁₀N_w）的标准差逐渐减小。拟合结果表明各高度的雨滴谱都比较符合Gamma分布,由拟合参数分析雨滴谱的演变,发现相对于对流云降水,层状云降水粒子谱随高度的变化较小,雨滴谱的演变较为稳定。此外,本文还对两类降水中雨滴的下落速度及影响落速的因素进行了分析。     

Aerosol black carbon measurements in the Arctic haze during AGASP-II

During the second Arctic Gas and Aerosol Sampling Program conducted in April 1986, we performed measurements of the optically absorbing carbonaceous component of the ambient aerosol from the NOAA WP-3D aircraft operating between sea level and 10 km altitude. We collected the aerosol of filters that were exposed for several hours; we also operated the aethalometer to measure the concentration of aerosol black carbon in real time. The filter analyses represent averages over the altitude range and time span during which the filter was collecting. The real-time results were sorted by altitude to calculate vertical profiles of black carbon concentration. Values typically ranged from 300 to 500 ng m^–3 at lower altitudes, decreasing gradually to 25 to 100 ng m^–3 at 8–10 km. Strong stratification at lower altitudes was frequently observed. The magnitude of these concentrations suggests that the sources are distant regions of considerable fuel consumption. The presence of this material in the tropospheric column and its probable deposition to the high-albedo surface may result in perturbations of the solar radiation balance. The concentrations measured at the highest altitudes may mean that particulate carbon and accompanying emissions for which it is a tracer are mixing into the stratosphere.     

Assessing climate persistence from climatic ‘noise’

Changes in climate are generally defined as differences between means. The autocorrelation usually encountered in geophysical series and the implied persistence, or reduced number of independent observations, tend to render significance tests of mean differences inconclusive until a considerable amount of data has accumulated, by which time a climatic change could be well under way. A more efficient alternative approach is provided by small-sample variances. Under slightly idealized conditions their frequency distribution is of the chi-square type with a number of degrees of freedom that measures the persistence in the series and can be monitored on a short time scale with a sequential sampling procedure.Also at homein CIRES, Campus Box 449, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, U.S.A.     

Turbulence and Rainfall Microphysical Parameters Retrieval and Their Relationship Analysis Based on Wind Profiler Radar Data

Rainfall is triggered and mainly dominated by atmospheric thermo-dynamics and rich water vapor.Nonetheless, turbulence is also considered as an important factor influencing the evolution of rainfall microphysical parameters. To study such an influence, the present study utilized boundary layer wind profiler radar measurements. The separation point of the radar power spectral density data was carefully selected to classify rainfall and turbulence signals;the turbulent dissipation rate ε and rainfall microphysical parameters can be retrieved to analyze the relationship betweenε and microphysical parameters. According to the retrievals of two rainfall periods in Beijing 2016, it was observed that(1) ε in the precipitation area ranged from 10~(-3.5) to 10~(-1) m~2 s~(-3) and was positively correlated with the falling velocity spectrum width;(2) interactions between turbulence and raindrops showed that small raindrops got enlarge through collision and coalescence in weak turbulence, but large raindrops broke up into small drops under strong turbulence, and the separation value of ε being weak or strong varied with rainfall attributes;(3) the variation of rainfall microphysical parameters(characteristic diameters, number concentration, rainfall intensity, and water content) in the middle stage were stronger than those in the early and the later stages of rainfall event;(4) unlike the obvious impacts on raindrop size and number concentration, turbulence impacts on rain rate and LWC were not significant because turbulence did not cause too much water vapor and heat exchange.     

Characteristics of atmospheric turbulence in the surface layer over Antarctica

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

A group-kinetic theory with a closure by memory loss for modeling turbulence in the atmosphere and the oceans

Summary The principle of the group-kinetic method is elucidated. This method of renormalization serves as the basis for analyzing the spectral structure of turbulence. The spectral distributions include the Kolmogoroff lawk ^–5/3 for isotropic turbulence, the power lawk ^–1 for shear turbulence, the spectrum for stratified turbulence not in the power law form, the power lawk ^–3 for two-dimensional geostrophic turbulence, and the power lawsk ^–3,k ^–2 andk ^–5 for two-dimensional Rossby wave turbulence with uniform and differential rotations. We discuss a spectrum-dependent modeling in reference to the problems of the universal functions and parameters in the similarity theories for the atmospheric surface layer and the planetary boundary layer. A renormalization-based modeling of atmospheric turbulence is proposed.