Boltzmann-Jaynes variational method and the temperature distribution of thermals in the turbulent convective atmospheric surface layer

A statistical mechanism that explains the formation of probability distribution functions of thermals according to temperature fluctuations is considered. In the proposed approach based on the Boltzmann-Jaynes variational method, a statistical ensemble of convective thermals is characterized by a class of stationary probability densities that depend on temperature fluctuations. It is assumed that the probability density functions of this class may depend on the potential energy, as well as on the available potential energy. For a class of stationary probability density functions, the entropy functional is defined to be an analogue of the Boltzmann H-entropy. The equilibrium distributions of thermals according to temperature fluctuations correspond to the most probable distributions that yield a maximum of the entropy functional. The exponential and normal distributions of thermals according to temperature fluctuation that are constructed using the variational method quite adequately approximate field atmospheric observations, as well as the results of laboratory modeling.     

On the theory of rising convective jets

Some new results related to the theory of rising convective jets over heat and momentum sources are presented. The consideration is not restricted to free convective or forced jets—mixed situations are also possible. A known model is generalized to the case of a noticeable contribution of the effects of water-vapor buoyancy. It is established that a universal conservation law that is valid for any entrainment hypotheses exists. A simple approximate criterion of the possibility that jets “break” through barrier layers is derived. An analytic solution that describes a moist-adiabatic rise of a jet above the condensation level is found. The influence of jets on the transport of passive admixtures is assessed. A model is proposed for the horizontal spreading of the warm air transported by a jet below an intense barrier layer.     

On the theory of convective jets and thermals in the atmosphere

In traditional theoretical models of convection from isolated sources, results usually depend little on their sizes: convective jets and isolated thermals rapidly “forget” the source geometry. However, new problems in which the sizes of a source are relatively large and can significantly influence results have recently become important. These are, for example, problems of the dynamics of intensive methane emissions of geologic origin. The paper generalizes some well-known integral models of thermals and jets. Although these simple schemes cannot compete with complicated numerical models in describing the spatial structure of the currents, they are shown to be able to reproduce a number of important numerical results rather well (the height and time of the rise of convective elements) and, moreover, to find clear physical laws and determine explicit dependences on parameters of the problem.     

On the vertical lifting of dust in a convective unstable atmospheric boundary layer

A model for the density Q of vertical mass flux of sand (dust) in the convective atmospheric boundary layer as a function of the number density N of convective elements (including vortices), friction velocity u _*, and vertical (turbulent) buoyancy flux B is proposed. It is shown that the flux Q is proportional to the product of the square root of B and the sixth power of u _*. This finding is consistent with empirical dependences Q(u _*) reported in the literature. We discuss two methods for experimentally determining density N when the lifting of dust occurs, mainly due to (terrestrial and Martian) dust devils.     

Electricity of the convective atmospheric boundary layer: Field observations and numerical simulation

The electric state of the middle-latitude convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is investigated during a point in time when it is not disturbed by clouds, precipitation, mist, or industrial aerosols. A numerical model is developed that estimates the electroaerodynamic state of the convective ABL. The model is parameterized using results of field observations and laboratory experiments. According to the model, vertical profiles of atmospheric electric field strength, space charge density, electric conductivity, and atmospheric electric current density are calculated in the horizontally homogeneous approximation with a high space-time resolution.     

热带气旋快速加强与海表温度分布统计特征研究

为加强海表温度对热带气旋快速加强影响的认识,利用中国气象局上海台风研究所整编的热带气旋最佳路径数据集和欧洲中尺度天气预报中心提供的海温数据,选取1979−2019年期间的西北太平洋热带气旋,统计分析了海温和热带气旋强度快速变化的特征。研究结果表明：（1）约90%的热带气旋快速加强发生在夏季和秋季,分别占快速加强总次数的32.8%和56.4%,绝大部分热带气旋以跨越1个强度等级的快速加强为主,由强热带风暴快速加强到台风和由台风快速加强到强台风是出现次数较多的两种情况。（2）夏季大于28℃,秋季大于27.5℃的海表温度条件有利于热带气旋快速加强,较低强度等级的热带气旋需要更高的海表温度（> 29℃）才易出现快速加强;热带气旋快速移动有利于其中心处海温维持较高状态。（3）海温的时间变率在±0.2℃/(6 h)内,水平空间梯度低于0.4℃/(°)是热带气旋快速加强的有利条件;热带气旋强度越强,越需要平稳的海表温度环境。（4）热带气旋处于强热带风暴及以上级别时,仅利用海表温度条件对其是否发生快速加强的判断准确性较好。这一工作量化了有利于热带气旋加强的海表温度环境,为业务上基于海表温度定量预报热带气旋强度演变提供了一种技术参考。     

Some regularities of the ozone distribution in the near-water atmospheric layer

The results of measurements of the ozone concentration obtained during the first cruise of the R/VVladimir Parshin close to the European Atlantic coast and in the adjacent seas are analysed. A sharp (four-fold) decrease in the ozone concentration off the coast along 50° N was found. This effect is associated with ozone absorption by the ocean, which is conditioned by the interaction of ozone with surface-active substances in the surface microlayer of seawater. This assumption is supported by the local decrease of the ozone concentration when approaching the coast, observed in the Black Sea several times. It is shown that the correlation between the ozone concentration and carbon monoxide above the ocean agrees with the regularity observed.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Temperature fluctuations in the atmospheric surface layer over the thermally inhomogeneous underlying surface

The influence of both spatial and temporal temperature inhomogeneities of the underlying surface on the temperature field in an unstably stratified atmospheric surface layer is considered. The methods of correlation and spectral analyses are proposed to estimate statistical characteristics of surface-air temperature fluctuations caused by both turbulent mixing and inhomogeneities in the temperature of the underlying surface. Analysis of experimental data obtained from measurements in the atmospheric surface layer yields estimates for the contribution made by the time-dependent thermal properties of the underlying surface to the total variance of air-temperature fluctuations. It is shown that the additional air-temperature fluctuations generated by surface-temperature inhomogeneities and unrelated to shear flow may reach 70% and 30% of the total variance of measured fluctuations under variable cloudiness and clear skies, respectively. For the height z = 2 m within the wave-number range 2 × 10^?3 rad m^?1 < k < 0.1 rad m^?1, the contribution made by a spatial surface-temperature inhomogeneity to the variance of air-temperature fluctuations does not exceed 10% of the total variance. Correlation and spectral analyses of experimental data make it possible to isolate the spectra of properly turbulent fluctuations from the measured fluctuations and thus to obtain more accurate values of the universal function of similarity theory for temperature in the range of small wave numbers beyond the inertial range.     

Dimethyl sulfide in the atmospheric surface layer of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

This paper reports a case study of atmospheric stability effect on dimethyl sulfide(DMS) concentration in the air. Investigation includes model simulation and field measurements over the Pacific Ocean. DMS concentration in surface sea water and in the air were measured during a research cruise from Hawaii to Tahiti. The diurnal variation of air temperature over the sea surface differed from the diurnal cycle of sea surface temperature because of the high heat capacity of sea water. The diurnal cycle of average DMS concentration in the air was studied in relation to the atmospheric stability parameter and surface heat flux. All these parameters had minima at noon and maxima in the early morning. The correlation coefficient of the air DMS concentration with wind speed (at 15 m high) was 0. 64. The observed concentrations of DMS in the equatorial marine surface layer and their diurnal variability agree well with model simulations. The simulated results indicate that the amplitude of the cycle and the mean     

Countergradient heat transfer in the atmospheric boundary layer over a rough surface

The nonlocality of the mechanism of turbulent heat transfer in the atmospheric boundary layer over a rough surface manifests itself in the form of bounded areas of countergradient heat transfer, which are diagnosed from analysis of balance items in the transport equation for the variance of temperature fluctuations and from calculation of the coefficients of turbulent momentum and heat transfer invoking the model of “gradient diffusion.” It is shown that countergradient heat transfer in local regions is caused by turbulent diffusion or by the term of the divergence of triple correlation in the balance equation for the temperature variance.     

Fine structure of the turbulent atmospheric boundary layer over the water surface

In this paper, the results of a laboratory experiment on investigating the wind-velocity field over a water surface using the PIV method are described. The use of a rapid CCD-camera made it possible to perform a detailed study of the eddy structure of airflow. We have measured the velocity fields over a flat plate by wind waves and waves induced by a wave generator. The model of a turbulent boundary layer over a rough surface was directly verified. It has been shown that the wind-velocity profiles over waves obtained by averaging the instantaneous fields over the ensemble of samples and horizontal coordinate are satisfactorily consistent with the profiles calculated within the frameworks of the model of wind flow over rough water surface.     

On two small-scale circulation mechanisms of fine-aerosol transport in the atmospheric surface layer

Small-scale processes are taken to mean the disturbances of the atmospheric basic background which are caused by the thermal inhomogeneity of the underlying surface and under which one can neglect the effects of both centripetal and Coriolis accelerations. Slight disturbances suggest the use of linearized hydrothermodynamic equations of a weakly compressible atmosphere. Two models are considered. In one of the models, circulation over a weakly sloping barchan is analyzed using a refined model of mountain—valley circulation (the well-known Prandtl model). The other model, which is a model of a thermal spot in a geostrophic flow, can conditionally be called “anticonvective.” This problem is solved using the method of universal functions for parabolic equations with variable coefficients.     

On transformation of the near-surface atmospheric boundary layer in the ocean temperature front area

A two-dimensional, quasi-analytical model for the formation of the internal atmospheric boundary layer in the ocean temperature front area is described, developed on the basis of integral relations for motion and thermal conductivity equations. The computed data are matched with wind speed observations, as well as with direct and indirect dynamic velocity measurements in the air, obtained across the Gulf Stream frontal zone.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Spatial spectra and characteristic horizontal scales of temperature and velocity fluctuations in the convective boundary layer of the atmosphere

Using a high-resolution LES numerical model, we calculated the turbulent thermal convection for high ratios of horizontal and vertical sizes of the computational domain (26: 26: 1). The natural analog of the simulated process is a planetary boundary layer (PBL) of the atmosphere growing with height in the background of stably stratified overlying air layers over a horizontally homogeneous heated surface under a weak average wind. We obtained the spectral distributions of variances of fluctuations in potential temperature and velocity components in ranges corresponding to scales from a few tens of meters to a few tens of kilometers. We found energetically significant segments of the spectrum of large-scale fluctuations in the potential temperature for which the power dependences S ～ k ^?1/3 and S ～ k ^?4/3 are satisfied with good accuracy. We calculated the characteristic spatial scales of horizontal fluctuations in velocity and temperature. We obtained a dependence of these scales on the height of the growing convective PBL. We discuss the characteristic features of large-scale distributions in terms of the self-similarity of the growing boundary layer behavior.     

The concentration and distribution of dimethyl sulfide in the marine atmospheric boundary layer near the equator

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Comparative analysis of pollution of the surface atmospheric layer in such megalopolises as Moscow and Beijing

The results of simultaneous investigations of atmospheric aerosol in two large megalopolises—Moscow and Beijing—are presented. The purpose of these investigations was to compare parameters and reveal common characteristics of urban aerosols. Aerosol parameters were measured in the megalopolises simultaneously from October 23, 2007, through November 2, 2007. The mass concentrations of aerosols were measured continuously with a nephelometer (Mosscow) and discretely with the use of aspiration samplers according to the weight method (Moscow, Beijing). The number concentration and the particle size distribution function were determined with analyzers of the size spectrum in the interval 0.15–15.0 μm and were measured synchronously with sampling for elementary analysis. The elementary compositions of samples were determined by mass spectrometry, which made it possible to identify 60 chemical elements.     

Variability of trace gases in the atmospheric surface layer from observations in the city of Moscow

The results of continuous minute measurements of the surface concentrations of ozone, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide during the 2002–2004 period at the environmental station of the Oboukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP), and the Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University (MSU), are discussed. It is shown that the conditions of Moscow’s southwestern region remote from large local pollution sources reflect the general regularities of the variability of trace gases in an urban atmosphere. This is manifested in the mean annual value of the ratio NO/NO₂ (a little less than 1), decreased daylight values of O₃, increased values of the rest of the trace gases as compared to the background region, and the presence of a secondary nocturnal maximum in the diurnal cycle of O₃. The features of the annual and diurnal cycles of the concentrations of the substances under analysis are discussed. In the diurnal cycle of the primary products of combustion (NO and CO), an excess of the morning maximum (over the evening one) is observed during both warm and transition periods and higher values of the night maximum (as compared to the daylight one) are noted for summer. The temperature stratification properties determined from the MSU long-term acoustic sounding data serve as a possible cause for both of the effects revealed. The annual cycle of the concentration of surface ozone is characterized by the highest values for spring and summer. The annual cycles of NO, NO₂, CO, and SO₂ do not demonstrate any obvious seasonal regularities. A significant seasonal variation of the ratio NO/NO₂, which is associated with the oxidizing properties of the urban atmosphere, is revealed. The record high concentrations of trace gases in the atmosphere over Moscow are given, and the meteorological conditions for their accumulation are discussed.     

Three-parameter model of turbulence for the atmospheric boundary layer over an urbanized surface

A modified three-parameter model of turbulence for a thermally stratified atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is presented. The model is based on tensor-invariant parametrizations for the pressure-strain and pressure-temperature correlations that are more complete than the parametrizations used in the Mellor-Yamada model of level 3.0. The turbulent momentum and heat fluxes are calculated with explicit algebraic models obtained with the aid of symbol algebra from the transport equations for momentum and heat fluxes in the approximation of weakly equilibrium turbulence. The turbulent transport of heat and momentum fluxes is assumed to be negligibly small in this approximation. The three-parameter E ? ε ? 2> model of thermally stratified turbulence is employed to obtain closed-form algebraic expressions for the fluxes. A computational test of a 24-h ABL evolution is implemented for an idealized two-dimensional region. Comparison of the computed results with the available observational data and other numerical models shows that the proposed model is able to reproduce both the most important structural features of the turbulence in an urban canopy layer near the urbanized ABL surface and the effect of urban roughness on a global structure of the fields of wind and temperature over a city. The results of the computational test for the new model indicate that the motion of air in the urban canopy layer is strongly influenced by mechanical factors (buildings) and thermal stratification.     

Characteristics of radiative heat transfer in the atmospheric surface layer from the results of direct measurements

Results of direct measurements of the long-wavelength (LW) radiative heat influx (RHI) in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) are presented. These measurements were performed in August 2003 at the IAP RAS base in Tsimlyansk under the conditions of unstable and stable stratification during a weak wind and a cloudless sky and under nonsteady conditions during cumulus cloudiness in the daytime. The underlying surface was dry steppe with spars grass. The in situ RHI measurements were performed with an original optoacoustic receiver having a quasi-spherical angle of view at heights from 0.15 to 4 m. It is shown that the radiative heating in the ASL was many times the actual heating, especially during near-noon hours. In the daytime, the radiative heating attained its maximum at the heights of measurements 0.15–1 m and decreased with height. The radiative heating at these heights in the near-noon hours was on average about 20 K/h, attaining 60 K/h under a cloudless sky and a weak wind. Under inversion stratification, the radiative cooling usually exceeded the actual cooling, amounting on average from 0 to ?8 K/h and changing with height only slightly. Periods with close (in phase) fluctuations of the radiative and actual cooling, sometimes changing to heating, were observed during the night. Regression equations, showing a high correlation between the RHI values at the heights of measurements 0.5 and 1 m and the soil-air temperature differences at the height of measurements, are obtained for different heights. The diurnal mean RHI profiles are characterized by a heating on the order of several K/h in the lower part of the layer of measurements, which decreases with height and changes to cooling at heights of up to 4 m. A change in the effective radiation with height in the layer of measurements, which was obtained through the summation of RHI values at several heights, was significant, attaining on average ?25 W/m² in the near-noon hours and +10 W/m² in the evening hours. The nonradiative (turbulent) heat influx, obtained as the difference between the rates of actual and radiative temperature variations measured in situ, decreased the radiative heating in the daytime many times. The main sources of error in direct RHI measurements are estimated.