Diabatic wind speed profiles in coastal regions: Comparison of an internal boundary layer (IBL) model with observations

A model is presented to transform wind speed observations at a single height over sea or near the coast to any possible location and height in a topographic flat coastal region (up to distances of about 5 km from the coast and up to heights of 100 m). Only moderate and strong winds from the sea are considered, which are particularly important for wind energy applications. The model, called diabatic coast model, which is based on the well known internal boundary layer (IBL) concept and Monin-Obukhov similarity theory, describes the effects of the roughness transition from sea to land as well as the effect of stability on the shape of the profiles and the IBL growth. The predicted IBL heights are compared with published data.In the second part of this paper, the model is compared with measurements taken at the Maasvlakte location near the Dutch coast. It is shown that a neutral formulation of the IBL height is sufficient to model the overall mean wind speed with height, but that stability corrections are needed to describe the diurnal variations in wind speed properly. Finally, an application is given, where a single routine wind speed observation at the coast, combined with air-water temperature differences is used to predict the wind speed at 500m from the coast at heights of 10 and 53 m. The results are in good agreement with the measurements.     

A Case Study of the Near-Neutral Coastal Internal Boundary-Layer Growth: Aircraft Measurements Compared with Different Model Estimates

A simplified version of a model of the internalboundary layer evolution is compared with aircraftmeasurements across the southern part of the east coast ofSweden (Blekinge). The two flight occasions used hererepresent relatively high wind velocities and negligiblesurface heat flux. Both the vertical potential temperaturegradient and the surface temperaturedifference between land and sea are small. Modelpredictions of the internal boundary-layer (IBL)height agree well with data, for both short and largerdistances from the coastline. The contributions to theIBL growth from the mechanical turbulence and theZilitinkevich correction are discussed, as are thesensitivities of the growth to a number of physicalparameters. In near neutralconditions, the vertical potential temperaturegradient is found to be an important parameter for thegrowth of the IBL.A comparison with several simple model estimates forthe height of the IBL is presented. The majority ofthe models overestimate the IBL height. Some of themodels give reasonable results close to the coast, butgenerally the simple models perform less well atlarger distances.     

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).     

Wind Profile Diagnosis from Surface Routine Meteorological Data Over a Coastal Area

A simple algorithm is proposed in order to transform routine surface wind speed observations near the coast to a wind at the height of the equilibrium planetary boundary layer as well as to any other height over a relatively flat coastal region. The model is based on the well known internal boundary layer (IBL) concept, Monin-Obukhov similarity theory and the resistance law, and describes the effects of the roughness transition from sea to land as well as the effect of stability on the shape of the profiles and the IBL growth. The required input weather data are no more than surface wind speed, air temperature and total cloud cover. Satisfactory agreement was found between measurements at Hellinikon airport and estimations made with the scheme. The introduction of a transition layer above the IBL did not improve the agreement to any significant extent. Mean values of the estimated wind differed by less than 1 m s ^-1 from the observed ones, a difference within the accuracy of the reported rawinsonde values. The rms error varied in the range of 17–22% of the observed average value, giving the best agreement under unstable conditions. The correlation coefficient between the observed and the estimated values of the wind, at the height of the equilibrium planetary boundary layer, ranged between 0.74 and 0.90.     

Investigation on the fine structure of sea-breeze during ESCOMPTE experiment

Surface and remote-sensing instruments deployed during ESCOMPTE experiment over the Marseille area, along the Mediterranean coast, were used to investigate the fine structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) during sea-breeze circulation in relation to pollutant transport and diffusion. Six sea-breeze events are analyzed with a particular focus on 25 June 2001.Advection of cool and humid marine air over land has a profound influence on the daytime ABL characteristics. This impact decreases rapidly with the inland distance from the sea. Nearby the coast (3 km inland), the mixing height Zi rises up to 750 m and falls down after 15:00 (UT) when the breeze flow reaches its maximum intensity. A more classical evolution of the ABL is observed at only 11-km inland where Zi culminates in the morning and stabilizes in the afternoon at about 1000 m height.Fine inspection of the data revealed an oscillation of the sea-breeze with a period about 2 h 47 min. This feature, clearly discernable for 3 days at least, is present in several atmospheric variables such as wind, temperature, not only at the ground but also aloft in the ABL as observed by sodar/RASS and UHF wind profilers. In particular, the mixing height Zi deduced from UHF profilers observations is affected also by the same periodicity. This pulsated sea-breeze is observed principally above Marseille and, at the northern and eastern shores of the Berre pond.In summary, the periodic intrusion over land of cool marine air modifies the structure of the ABL in the vicinity of the coast from the point of view of stability, turbulent motions and pollutants concentration. An explanation of the source of this pulsated sea-breeze is suggested.     

Response of neutral boundary layers to changes of roughness

When air blows across a change in surface roughness, an internal boundary layer (IBL) develops within which the wind adapts to the new surface. This process is well described for short fetches, > 1 km. However, few data exist for large fetches on how the IBL grows to become a new equilibrium boundary layer where again the drag laws can be used to estimate the surface wind.To study this problem, data have been sampled for two years from four 30-m meteorological masts placed from 0 to 30 km inland from the North Sea coast of Jutland in Denmark. The present analysis is limited to neutral stratification, and the surface roughness is the main parameter. The analysis of wind data and two simple models, a surface layer and a planetary boundary layer (PBL) model, are described.Results from both models are discussed and compared with data analysis. Model parameters have been evaluated and the model sensitivity to those parameters has been investigated. Using the model parameters, a large-scale roughness length has been estimated.Istituto Di Fisica dell' Atmosfera I.F.A. — CNR, Rome, Italy.     

海面与海岸陆面风速廓线特征

利用位于江苏海岸陆地的两座测风塔以及福建海面的一座测风塔气象要素资料,分析了这两种下垫面风速、湍流等要素的日变化规律及廓线特征,探讨了这两种不同下垫面特征导致的风力特征差异。结果表明:海岸陆面日最大风速出现时间较内陆滞后,最小风速出现时间与内陆相差不大,风速日变化位相随高度滞后,日振幅随高度减小,冬季70 m高度风速日变化特征与10 m高度风速日变化特征相反,夜间大于白天,说明冬季的过渡层转换高度低于夏季;海面风速的日变化位相、日振幅等特征随高度变化很小。两种下垫面的风廓线用对数律、指数律拟合的效果相当,海岸陆面的风廓线指数呈现的规律为离岸风组大于向岸风组,冬季大于夏季;海面风廓线指数呈现的规律则是向岸风组大于离岸风组,夏季大于冬季。     

The stably stratified internal boundary layer for steady and diurnally varying offshore flow

A two-dimensional numerical mesoscale model is used to investigate the internal structure and growth of the stably stratified internal boundary layer (IBL) beneath warm, continental air flowing over a cooler sea. Two situations are studied — steady-state and diurnally varying offshore flow. In the steady-state case, vertical profiles of mean quantities and eddy diffusion coefficients (K) within the IBL show small, but significant, changes with increasing distance from the coast. The top of the IBL is well defined, with large vertical gradients within the layer and a maximum in the coast-normal wind component near the top. Well away from the coast, turbulence, identified by non-zero K, decreases to insignificant levels near the top of the IBL; the IBL itself is characterised by a critical value of the layer-flux Richardson number equal to 0.18. The overall behaviour of the mean profiles is similar to that found in the horizontally homogeneous stable boundary layer over land.A simple physical model is used to relate the depth of the layer h to several relevant physical parameters viz., x, the distance from the coast and U, the large-scale wind (both normal to the coastline) and g/, being the temperature difference between continental mixed-layer air and sea surface, is the mean potential temperature and g is the acceleration due to gravity. Excellent agreement with the numerical results is found, with h = 0.014x ^1/2 U (g/)^–1/2.In the diurnally varying case, the mean profiles within the IBL show only small differences from the steady-state case, although diurnal variations, particularly in the wind maximum, are evident within a few hundred kilometres of the coast. A mesoscale circulation normal to the coast, and superimposed upon the mean offshore flow, develops seawards of the coastline with maximum vertical velocities about sunset, of depth about 2 km and horizontal scale 500 km. The circulation is related to the advection, and subsequent decay, of daytime convective turbulence over the sea.     

The turbulent structure of the internal boundary layer near the shore

The mean structure within the internal boundary layer (IBL) near the shore, which develop from the coast in the presence of a sea breeze, has been described in Part I of this study (Ogawa and Ohara, 1984). This paper presents the results of the similarity and energy budget analysis for the purpose of parameterization of the turbulent structure within the IBL. The analysis of the turbulent kinetic energy balance, turbulent intensities and spectra show that the wind is strongly affected by mechanical turbulence in comparison with the past results in a fully developed convective layer where thermal convection dominated. The standard deviations of the wind velocities normalized by the friction velocity u _* (surface-layer scaling parameter) are functions only of the normalized height z/Z _i within 160 m of the shoreline, where Z _i is the IBL. On the other hand, the standard deviations of temperature normalized by _* (mixing-layer scaling parameter) have less scatter with distance than those normalized by T _* (surface-layer scaling parameter). The data showed that both u _* (not a mixed-layer parameter), and Z _i (not a surface-layer parameter) are necessary to describe the turbulent characteristics of the IBL near the shore.Deceased March, 1984.     

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.     

The nocturnal IBL over an hilly island with reference to the diffusion of radioactive nuclei

The dynamics of the nocturnal IBL over a small hilly island on the Mediterranean Sea are discussed, particularly for clear nights characterized by light wind, when typically a nocturnal inversion may grow. Among different cases, two typical situations are observed, depending on the steadiness of the wind. In the first case the inversion alternatively grows and is eroded from aloft until it is destroyed; in the second, it grows with half the speed usual at inland sites and its height is bounded by the top of the hill. The Stüve diagrams show that the warm sea surface can supply the energy required to lift airborne pollutants over the CCL.     

Models for estimating offshore winds from onshore meteorological measurements

To understand and estimate wind speed differences across the coastal zone, two models, one theoretical and another semi-empirical, have been developed and verified by available data sets. Assuming that: (1) mean horizontal motion exists across the coastal zone; and (2) the geostrophic wind does not change appreciably at the top of the planetary boundary layer (PBL), the equation of motion in the direction of the wind can be reduced so that 341-01, where U, H, and C _D are wind speed, height of PBL, and drag coefficient over the sea and land, respectively. For practice, C _D SEA has been modified from a formula with U _LAND as the only input. H _SEA may be estimated routinely from known H _{D LAND LAND} and the temperature difference between land and sea, which can be provided by such means as remote sensing from meteorological satellites. For a given coast, Cmay be estimated also. This formula is recommended for weather forecasters. The semiempirical formula is based mainly on the power law wind distribution with height in the PBL. The formula states that 341-02. Simultaneous offshore and onshore wind measurements made at stations ranging from Somalia, near the equator, to the Gulf of Alaska indicated that values of a and b are 2.98 and 0.34 with a correlation coefficient of -0.95. For oceanographic applications, a simplified equation, i.e., 341-03, is also proposed.     

我国不同下垫面的近地层风切变指数研究

利用国家气候中心2009-2011年在内蒙古锡林浩特市、河北黄骅市、江西湖口县和星子县开展的100 m铁塔大气湍流观测试验数据,分析不同下垫面、不同稳定度条件下地面到100 m的风切变指数变化情况,得到了一些有意义的结论:(1)内陆简单地形整体风切变指数α0.3的情况出现在稳定和非常稳定层结状态下,分层风切变指数α0.4的频率为2.95%;(2)沿海平坦地形大气层结越稳定,整体风切变指数α的高值出现频率越高,分层风切变指数α0.4的频率略高,为4.2%;(3)对于内陆湖复杂地形,星子地形更为复杂,大于0.3的整体风切变指数出现频率高,分层风切变指数α0.4的频率高达10%,而湖口大于0.3的整体风切变指数值出现频率略低,分层风切变指数α0.4的频率为3.37%。(4)按照风力发电机组设计要求中假设风切变指数α为0.2,一般会过高的估计轮毂高度的风速。     

The Atmospheric Boundary Layer In An Arctic Wintertime On-Ice Air Flow

A warm on-ice air flow from the open water over the Arctic sea ice in the Fram Straitwas, for the first time, systematically measured on 12 March 1998 by aircraft in thelowest 3 km over a 300-km long distance. The air mass modification and the processesinvolved are discussed.Over the water, air temperature was lower than water temperature so that a convectiveboundary layer (CBL) was present as initial condition. As soon as the CBL passed theice edge, a shallow stable internal boundary layer (IBL) was formed. In the residual CBL, turbulence and pre-existing convective clouds dissolved within about 20 km. Within about the same distance, due to the transition from unstable to stable stratification, the influence of surface friction increased in the IBL and decreased above the IBL with consequent generation of a low-level jet at IBL top. The IBL was strongly stratified with respect to both temperature and wind. The wind shear was around 0.1 s^-1 so that the Richardson number in the IBL was subcritical and turbulence was generated. The IBL top grew to about 145 m over 230 km distance. The growth of the IBL was not monotonic and was influenced by (a) inhomogeneous ice surface temperatures causedby both different ice thickness and changes in the cloud conditions, and (b) leads in theice deck. At the front side of the on-ice flow, the air mass boundary between the warmair and the cold Arctic air was sharp (12 K over 10 km) at low levels and tilted withheight. Observations suggest that the stratified IBL was lifted as a slab on top of thecold air.     

Local advection processes in the surface layer of the marginal ice zone

Micro-scale turbulent transport processes over the marginal ice zone have been studied by use of a two-dimensional numerical model. It has been found that internal boundary layers (IBLs) of horizontal mean velocity, temperature, and specific humidity reveal a near field and a far field. In the near field, the change in surface roughness dominates the height and growth rate of a velocity IBL. The change in surface heat flux governs the near field of a temperature and humidity IBL. In the far field, approximately x/¦L _*2 ¦ ~ 20, where L _*2 is the downstream Obukhov length, the downstream stratification more and more influences the growth rate of IBLs basically by modifying the eddy viscosity.Above more complex terrain consisting of an ensemble of ice strips and leads, a merging height h ^M develops, below which the horizontal variability of the surface modification is clearly observed; h ^M varies with the length scale L of surface modification approximately in proportion to h ^M /L ~ 1/20 – 1/10, as a rule of thumb. Above the merging height, an enveloping IBL exists, whose growth depends on the ice cover, i.e., on the integral of surface modification, but changes very little with L.Local advection of momentum, heat, and moisture clearly affects the local surface heat fluxes. Sensible and latent heat fluxes are found to show also a near and far field. However, if areally averaged surface fluxes are to be deduced from grid-averaged flow variables, then details of local advection can be neglected to a reasonably good approximation.     

A Lagrangian Model to Predict the Modification of Near-Surface Scalar Mixing Ratios and Air–Water Exchange Fluxes in Offshore Flow

A model was developed to predict the modification with fetch in offshore flow of mixing ratio, air–water exchange flux, and near-surface vertical gradients in mixing ratio of a scalar due to air–water exchange. The model was developed for planning and interpretation of air–water exchange flux measurements in the coastal zone. The Lagrangian model applies a mass balance over the internal boundary layer (IBL) using the integral depth scale approach, previously applied to development of the nocturnal boundary layer overland. Surface fluxes and vertical profiles in the surface layer were calculated using the NOAA COARE bulk algorithm and gas transfer model (e.g., Blomquist et al. 2006, Geophys Res Lett 33:1–4). IBL height was assumed proportional to the square root of fetch, and estimates of the IBL growth rate coefficient, α, were obtained by three methods: (1) calibration of the model to a large dataset of air temperature and humidity modification over Lake Ontario in 1973, (2) atmospheric soundings from the 2004 New England Air Quality Study and (3) solution of a simplified diffusion equation and an estimate of eddy diffusivity from Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST). Reasonable agreement was obtained between the calibrated and MOST values of α for stable, neutral, and unstable conditions, and estimates of α agreed with previously published parametrizations that were valid for the stable IBL only. The parametrization of α provides estimates of IBL height, and the model estimates modification of scalar mixing ratio, fluxes, and near-surface gradients, under conditions of coastal offshore flow (0–50 km) over a wide range in stability.     

Thermal effect of the sea breeze on the structure of the boundary layer and the heat budget over land

The daytime boundary-layer heating process and the air-land heat budget were investigated over the coastal sea-breeze region by means of observations over the Sendai plain in Japan during the summer. In this area, the onset of the sea breeze begins at the coast around 0900 LST, intruding about 35 km inland by late afternoon. The cold sea breeze creates a temperature difference of over 10°C between the coastal and inland areas in the afternoon. On the other hand, warm air advection due to the combination of the counter-sea breeze and land-to-sea synoptic wind occurs in the layer above the cold sea breeze in the coastal region. Owing to this local warm air advection, there is no significant difference in the daytime heating rate over the entire atmospheric boundary layer between the coastal and inland areas. The sensible heat flux from the land surface gradually decreases as distance from the coastline increases, being mainly attributed to the cold sea breeze. The daytime mean cold air advection due to the sea breeze is estimated asQ _adv ^local =–29 W m^–2 averaged over the sea breeze region (035 km from the coastline). This value is 17% of the surface sensible heat fluxH over the same region. The results of a two-dimensional numerical model show that the value ofQ _adv ^local /H is strongly affected by the upper-level synoptic wind direction. The absolute value ofQ _adv ^local /H becomes smaller when the synoptic wind has the opposite direction of the sea breeze. This condition occurred during the observations used in the present study.     

Wind Measurements in a Square Plot Enclosed by a Shelter Fence

Wind statistics were measured within a square plot (sidelengthD = 20 m) that was sheltered on all four sides by a porous plasticwindbreak fence (height h=1.25 m, resistance coefficient k_r0 = 2.4, porosity p = 0.45), standing on otherwise uniform land (sparse stubble, roughness length z₀ 0.015 m). At any given point within the plot, short term wind statistics were extremely sensitive to the mean wind direction relative to thefences. Whereas the entire plot was sheltered from a wind blowingnormal to any side of the plot, whenever the wind was oriented soas to blow over a corner, wind reduction was observed onlyover a small fraction of the plot, in the near lee of the upwindfences.     

The internal boundary layer — A review

A review is given of relevant work on the internal boundary layer (IBL) associated with:

1. Small-scale flow in neutral conditions across an abrupt change in surface roughness,
2. Small-scale flow in non-neutral conditions across an abrupt change in surface roughness, temperature or heat/moisture flux,
3. Mesoscale flow, with emphasis on flow across the coastline for both convective and stably stratified conditions.

The major theme in all cases is on the downstream, modified profile form (wind and temperature), and on the growth relations for IBL depth.     

Formation and Characteristics of Coastal Internal Boundary Layers During Onshore Flows

The development and characteristics of coastal internal boundary layers were investigated in 28 tests. These were made at all seasons and in both gradient and sea-breeze flows but only during mid-day periods. Measurements of turbulence and temperature were taken from a light aircraft which flew traverses across Long Island at successive altitudes parallel to the wind direction. These were used to locate the boundary between modified and unmodified air as a function of height and distance from the coast. The same measurements plus tower measurements of wind, turbulence and temperature, pilot balloon soundings and measurements of land and water surface temperatures by a remote sensing IR thermometer were used to quantify the characteristics of the modified and unmodified air. The boundary layer slope was steep close to the land-water interface and became shallower with downwind distance. Growth of the boundary layer was initially slower with stable lapse rates upwind than with neutral or unstable conditions over the water. An equilibrium height was found in many tests except under conditions of free convection when the internal boundary layer merged into the mixed layer inland and with sea-breeze conditions. The equilibrium height depended on downwind conditions and was greater with low wind speeds and strong land surface heating than with stronger winds and small land-water temperature differences. Current theoretical models are not adequate to predict the height of the boundary layer at the altitudes and distances studied but reasonably good predictions were given by an empirical model developed earlier. Wind speed in the modified air averaged about 70% of that at the coast but turbulence levels were several times higher both near the surface and aloft. These findings have important implications for diffusion from coastal sites.