Cross‐shore variations of near‐surface wind velocity and atmospheric turbulence at the land‐sea boundary during CASP

Abstract

Airborne measurements of mean wind velocity and turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer under wintertime conditions of cold offshore advection suggest that at a height of 50 m the mean wind speed increases with offshore distance by roughly 20% over a horizontal scale of order 10 km. Similarly, the vertical gust velocity and turbulent kinetic energy decay on scales of order 3.5 km by factors of 1.5 and 3.2, respectively. The scale of cross‐shore variations in the vertical fluxes of heat and downwind momentum is also 10 km, and the momentum flux is found to be roughly constant to 300 m, whereas the heat flux decreases with height. The stability parameter, z/L (where z = 50 m and L is the local Monin‐Obukhov length), is generally small over land but may reach order one over the warm ocean. The magnitude and horizontal length scales associated with the offshore variations in wind speed and turbulence are reasonably consistent with model results for a simple roughness change, but a more sophisticated model is required to interpret the combined effects of surface roughness and heat flux contrasts between land and sea.

Comparisons between aircraft and profile‐adjusted surface measurements of wind speed indicate that Doppler biases of 1–2 m s^?1 in the aircraft data caused by surface motions must be accounted for. In addition, the wind direction measurements of the Minimet anemometer buoy deployed in CASP are found to be in error by 25 ± 5°, possibly due to a misalignment of the anemometer vane. The vertical fluxes of heat and momentum show reasonably good agreement with surface estimates based on the Minimet data.     

Impact of waves on air-sea exchange of sensible heat and momentum

The impact of sea waves on sensible heat and momentum fluxes is described. The approach is based on the conservation of heat and momentum in the marine atmospheric surface layer. The experimental fact that the drag coefficient above the sea increases considerably with increasing wind speed, while the exchange coefficient for sensible heat (Stanton number) remains virtually independent of wind speed, is explained by a different balance of the turbulent and the wave-induced parts in the total fluxes of momentum and sensible heat.Organised motions induced by waves support the wave-induced stress which dominates the surface momentum flux. These organised motions do not contribute to the vertical flux of heat. The heat flux above waves is determined, in part, by the influence of waves upon the turbulence diffusivity.The turbulence diffusivity is altered by waves in an indirect way. The wave-induced stress dominates the surface flux and decays rapidly with height. Therefore the turbulent stress above waves is no longer constant with height. That changes the balance of the turbulent kinetic energy and of the dissipation rate and, hence the diffusivity.The dependence of the exchange coefficient for heat on wind speed is usually parameterized in terms of a constant Stanton number. However, an increase of the exchange coefficient with wind speed is not ruled out by field measurements and could be parametrized in terms of a constant temperature roughness length. Because of the large scatter, field data do not allow us to establish the actual dependence. The exchange coefficient for sensible heat, calculated from the model, is virtually independent of wind speed in the range of 3–10 ms^-1. For wind speeds above 10 ms^-1 an increase of 10% is obtained, which is smaller than that following from the constant roughness length parameterization.The investigation was in part supported by the Netherlands Geosciences Foundation (GOA) with financial aid from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).     

Effects of Drag Coefficients on Surface Heat Flux during Typhoon Kalmaegi (2014)

The lack of in situ observations and the uncertainties of the drag coefficient at high wind speeds result in limited understanding of heat flux through the air-sea interface and thus inaccurate estimation of typhoon intensity in numerical models. In this study, buoy observations and numerical simulations from an air-sea coupled model are used to assess the surface heat flux changes and impacts of the drag coefficient parameterization schemes on its simulations during the passage of Typhoon Kalmaegi (2014). Three drag coefficient schemes, which make the drag coefficient increase, level off, and decrease, respectively, are considered. The air-sea coupled model captured both trajectory and intensity changes better than the atmosphere-only model, though with relatively weaker sea surface cooling (SSC) compared to that captured by buoy observations, which led to relatively higher heat flux and thus a stronger typhoon. Different from previous studies, for a moderate typhoon, the coupled simulation with the increasing drag coefficient scheme outputted an intensity most consistent with the observation because of the strongest SSC, reasonable ratio of latent and sensible heat exchange coefficients, and an obvious reduction in the overestimated surface heat flux among all experiments. Results from sensitivity experiments showed that surface heat flux was significantly determined by the drag coefficient-induced SSC rather than the resulting wind speed changes. Only when SSC differs indistinctively (<0.4°C) between the coupled simulations, heat flux showed a weak positive correlation with the drag coefficient-impacted 10-m wind speed. The drag coefficient also played an important role in decreasing heat flux even a long time after the passage of Kalmaegi because of the continuous upwelling from deeper ocean layers driven by the impacted momentum flux through the air-sea interface.     

Estimation of the Exchange Coefficient of Heat During Low Wind Convective Conditions

For the first time, the exchange coefficient of heat C_H has been estimated from eddy correlation of velocity and virtual temperature fluctuations using sonic anemometer measurements made at low wind speeds over the monsoon land atJodhpur (26°18' N, 73°04' E), a semi arid station. It shows strong dependence on wind speed, increasing rapidly with decreasing wind speed, and scales according to a power law C_H = 0.025U₁₀ ^-0.7 (where U₁₀ is the mean wind speed at 10-m height). A similar but more rapid increase in the drag coefficient C_Dhas already been reported in an earlier study. Low winds (<4 m s^-1) are associated with both near neutral and strong unstable situations. It is noted that C_H increases with increasing instability. The present observations best describe a low wind convective regime as revealed in the scaling behaviour of drag, sensible heat flux and the non-dimensional temperature gradient. Neutral drag and heat cofficients,corrected using Monin–Obukhov (M–O) theory, show a more uniform behaviour at low wind speeds in convective conditions, when compared with the observed coefficients discussed in a coming paper.At low wind convective conditions, M-O theory is unable to capture the observed linear dependence of drag on wind speed, unlike during forced convections. The non-dimensional shear inferred from the present data shows noticeable deviations from Businger's formulation, a forced convection similarity. Heat flux is insensitive to drag associated with weak winds superposed on true free convection. With heat flux as the primary variable, definition of new velocity scales leads to a new drag parameterization scheme at low wind speeds during convective conditionsdiscussed in a coming paper.     

青藏高原中部聂荣半干旱草地夏季近地层能量平衡与输送分析

利用青藏高原中部聂荣地区草地下垫面2014年7~8月近地层气象要素梯度观测及湍流观测数据,分析讨论了该地区观测期间的基本气象要素特征、能量平衡特征以及能量输送特征,主要结论如下:(1)向下、向上短波辐射和净辐射日变化规律一致,向下、向上长波辐射日变化平缓。反照率呈"U"型分布,早晚大,中午小,聂荣夏季地表平均反照率为0.20。(2)在夏季白天,聂荣地区净辐射大部分以潜热的形式加热大气。考虑了土壤浅层热储存和垂直运动引起的平流输送后,能量闭合率由0.65提高到0.80,闭合率有显著的提高。(3)在不稳定层结下,动量总体输送系数CD平均值为4.7×10~(-3)和热量总体输送系数CH平均值为3.5×10~(-3);在稳定层结下,CD平均值为3.4×10~(-3),CH平均值为1.8×10~(-3);C_D和C_H在近中性层结下的平均值分别为4.30×10~(-3)和2.39 10~(-3)。     

边界层对流对示踪物抬升和传输影响的大涡模拟研究

利用"西北干旱区陆气相互作用野外观测实验"加密观测期间敦煌站的实测资料以及大涡模式, 通过一系列改变地表热通量和风切变的敏感性数值试验, 分析了地表热通量和风切变对边界层对流的强度、形式, 以及对对流边界层结构和发展的影响。模拟结果显示风切变一定, 增大地表热通量时, 由于近地层湍流运动增强, 向上输送的热量也较多, 使对流边界层变暖增厚, 而且边界层对流的强度明显增强, 对流泡发展的高度也较高。当地表热通量一定, 增大风切变时, 由于风切变使夹卷作用增强, 将逆温层中的暖空气向下卷入混合层中, 使对流边界层增暖增厚, 但是对流泡容易破碎, 对流的强度也较弱。另外通过在模式近地层释放绝对浓度为100的被动示踪物方法, 用最小二乘法定量地分析了地表热通量和风切变分别与示踪物抬升效率和传输高度的关系。分析结果表明, 风切变小于10.5×10-3 s-1时, 增大地表热通量加强了上层动量的下传, 使示踪物的抬升效率也线性增大;地表热通量小于462.5 W m-2时, 增大风切变减弱了边界层对流的强度, 从而使示踪物的抬升效率减弱。当风切变一定时, 示踪物的平均传输高度随地表热通量增加而增大, 而地表热通量一定, 只有风切变大于临界值时, 示踪物平均传输高度才随风切变的增加而增大, 而临界风速的大小由地表热通量决定。     

The formation and maintenance of the North Water Polynya

Abstract

This paper investigates the formation and maintenance of the North Water Polynya, Baffin Bay in winter using a multi‐category sea‐ice model coupled with the Princeton ocean model. Monthly climatological atmospheric data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis provides the forcing. An objectively‐analysed climatology provides the initial ocean temperature and salinity. Wind stress drives the ice in a cyclonic gyre around northern Baffin Bay. Localized regions of thin ice form where wind drives ice away from coastlines or fast ice. The regions of thin ice are characterized by enhanced ice growth, exceeding 1.2 m mo^?1. In the regions of thin ice, surface ocean heat flux is also enhanced and is between 30–60 W m^?2. Surface heat flux is, in part, attributable to convective mixing and entrainment driven by ice growth. The surface heat flux reflects advection of the warm West Greenland Current. Heat and salt balances show that horizontal advective exchange counterbalances surface fluxes of heat and salt.     

A cold air outbreak near Spitsbergen in springtime — Boundary-layer modification and cloud development

A moderate cold air outbreak from the Arctic ice over the warm West-Spitsbergen current on 15 and 16 May 1988 during the field experiment ARKTIS '88 is analysed using data from four aircraft and one research vessel.The downstream development of cloud coverage appears to depend sensitively on the moisture content above the inversion. The cloud amount determines the energy balance at the sea surface. Under daytime conditions and little cloud cover, energy is added to the ocean in spite of sensible and latent heat losses.The downstream temperature increase in the boundary layer is controlled by sensible heat flux and by longwave radiation cooling. The entrainment sensible heat flux is the dominating term in the region near the ice edge. The downstream moisture increase is controlled by surface evaporation. Condensation processes play no significant role.On 16 May 1988 cloud streets near the ice edge changed to closed cloud meanders in the downstream direction. The aspect ratio increased from 3 to around 10 over a distance of 200 km. In the cloud street region, the dynamical generation of turbulent kinetic energy due to wind shear at the tilted inversion was larger than the thermal generation.Cloud droplet concentration, mean droplet radius and liquid water content increased linearly with height. The maximum liquid water content was only 0.1 g/kg near the top of a 400 m thick closed cloud and clearly below the adiabatic value. The net longwave radiation flux decreased by 50 W/m² at cloud top and increased by 13 W/m² at cloud base.     

Characteristic Study of the Boundary Layer Parameters over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal Using the QuikSCAT Dataset

The marine atmospheric boundary layer （MABL） plays a vital role in the transport of momentum and heat from the surface of the ocean into the atmosphere. A detailed study on the MABL characteristics was carried out using high-resolution surface-wind data as measured by the QuikSCAT （Quick scatterometer） satellite. Spatial variations in the surface wind, frictional velocity, roughness parameter and drag coefficient for the different seasons were studied. The surface wind was strong during the southwest monsoon season due to the modulation induced by the Low Level Jetstream. The drag coefficient was larger during this season, due to the strong winds and was lower during the winter months. The spatial variations in the frictional velocity over the seas was small during the post-monsoon season （-0.2 m s^-1）. The maximum spatial variation in the frictional velocity was found over the south Arabian Sea （0.3 to 0.5 m s^-1） during the southwest monsoon period, followed by the pre-monsoon over the Bay of Bengal （0.1 to 0.25 m s^-1）. The mean wind-stress curl during the winter was positive over the equatorial region, with a maximum value of 1.5×10^-7 N m^-3, but on either side of the equatorial belt, a negative wind-stress curl dominated. The area average of the frictional velocity and drag coefficient over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal were also studied. The values of frictional velocity shows a variability that is similar to the intraseasonal oscillation （ISO） and this was confirmed via wavelet analysis. In the case of the drag coefficient, the prominent oscillations were ISO and quasi-biweekly mode （QBM）. The interrelationship between the drag coefficient and the frictional velocity with wind speed in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal was also studied.     

Geometric and aerodynamic roughness of sea ice

The aerodynamic drag of Arctic sea ice is calculated using surface data, measured by an airborne laser altimeter and a digital camera in the marginal ice zone of Fram Strait. The influence of the surface morphology on the momentum transfer under neutral thermal stratification in the atmospheric boundary layer is derived with the aid of model concepts, based on the partitioning of the surface drag into a form drag and a skin drag. The drag partitioning concept pays attention to the probability density functions of the geometric surface parameters. We found for the marginal ice zone that the form drag, caused by floe edges, can amount to 140% of the skin drag, while the effect of pressure ridges never exceeded 40%. Due to the narrow spacing of obstacles, the skin drag is significantly reduced by shadowing effects on the leeward side of floe edges. For practical purposes, the fractional sea-ice coverage can be used to parameterize the drag coefficientC _dn, related to the 10 m-wind. C _dnincreases from 1.2 · 10^-3 over open water to 2.8 · 10^-3 for 55% ice coverage and decreases to 1.5 · 10^-3 for 100% ice coverage.Aircraft turbulence measurements are used to compare the model values of C _dnwith measureents. The correlation between measured and modelled drag coefficients results in r ² = 0.91, where r is the correlation coefficient.     

Coupled ice‐ocean variability in the Greenland Sea

Abstract

A major surface feature of the Greenland Sea during winter is the frequent eastward extension of sea ice south of 75°N and an associated embayment to the north. These features are nominally connected with the East Greenland Current, and both the promontory and the embayment are readily apparent on climatic ice charts. However, there are significant changes in these features on time‐scales as short as a few days. Using a combination of satellite microwave images (SSM/I) of ice cover, meteorological data and in situ velocity, temperature and salinity records, we relate the ice distribution and its changes to the developing structure and circulation of the upper ocean during winter 1988–1989. Our measurements illustrate the preconditioning that leads to convective overturn, which in turn brings warmer water to the surface and results in the rapid disappearance of ice. In particular, the surface was cooled to the freezing point by early December and the salinity then increased through ice formation (about 0.016 m d^‐1) and brine rejection. Once the vertical density gradient was sufficiently eroded, a period of high heat flux (>300 W m^‐2) in late January provided enough buoyancy loss to convectively mix the upper water column to at least 200 m. We estimate vertical velocities at about 3 cm s^‐1 downward during the initial sinking. The deepening of the thermocline raised surface temperatures by over 1°C resulting in nearly 1.5 × 10⁵ km² of ice‐melt within two days. Average rates of ice retreat are about 11 km d^‐1 southwestward, generally consistent with a wind‐driven flow. Comparison of hydrographic surveys from before and after the overturning indicate the fresh water was advected out of the area, possibly to the south and east of our moorings.     

Aircraft measurements of boundary-layer turbulence over the central Equatorial Pacific Ocean

We analyze gust probe measurements obtained in the convective boundary layer over the central equatorial Pacific as part of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean Climate Studies (EPOCS) program. From the lowest level flights, the bulk transfer coefficients are found to be 1.1 × 10^-3 and 1.4 × 10^-3 for latent and sensible heat fluxes, respectively. Vertical profiles of water vapor density, potential temperature and wind velocity are obtained as are the profiles of the fluxes of latent and sensible heat and momentum. From the extrapolated profiles, we obtain surface fluxes of 120 W m^-2 and 13 W m^-2 for latent and sensible heat, respectively, and 0.11 N m^-2 for momentum. The 10 m drag coefficient is 1.5 × 10^-3. Two convergence boxes, north and south of the ITCZ, are analyzed. Enhanced convergence is found in the northern trades relative to the southern trades. The advective acceleration is found to be comparable in magnitude to the other terms in the horizontal equations of motion.     

峨眉山地区近地层微气象特征研究

基于2019年12月至2020年11月峨眉山站梯度塔资料、辐射观测资料和地表通量资料,采用涡动相关法对峨眉山地区近地层的地表通量和蒸散发量的变化进行分析,并估算了零平面位移、空气动力粗糙度、空气热力粗糙度、动量通量输送系数和感热通量输送系数等重要的空气动力学和热力学参数.研究表明:近地面风速呈现高层高、低层低的特征,且...     

Large‐eddy simulation of small‐scale surface effects on the convective boundary‐layer structure

Abstract

The effects of small‐scale surface inhomogeneities on the turbulence structure in the convective boundary layer are investigated using a high‐resolution large‐eddy simulation model. Surface heat flux variations are sinusoidal and two‐dimensional, dividing the total domain into a checkerboard‐like pattern of surface hot spots with a 500‐m wavelength in the x and y directions, or 1/4 of the domain size. The selected wind speeds were 1 and 4 m s^‐l, respectively. As a comparison, a simulation of the turbulence structure was performed over a homogeneous surface.

When the wind speed is light, surface heat flux variations influence the horizontally averaged turbulence statistics, including the higher moments despite the small characteristic length of the surface perturbation. Stronger mean wind speeds weaken the effects of inhomogeneous surface conditions on the turbulence structure in the convective boundary layer.

Results from conditional sampling show that when the mean wind speed is small, weak mean circulations occur, with updraft branches above the high heat flux regions and down‐draft branches above the low heat flux regions. The inhomogeneous surface induces significant differences in the turbulence statistics between the high and low heat flux regions. However, the effect of the surface perturbations weaken rapidly when the mean wind speed increases. This research has implications in the explanation of the large‐scale variability commonly encountered in aircraft observations of atmospheric turbulence.     

A study of the planetary boundary layer over the polynya downwind of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea using aircraft data

Turbulence data collected with the gust probe system on the NOAA P-3 aircraft over the polynya downwind of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea are used to study the fluxes of heat, momentum, and moisture from the polynya. The data also allow study of the effect of the topography of St. Lawrence Island on the atmospheric boundary-layer flow over the polynya and ultimately on ice production in the polynya. Two cases are studied: one (Feb. 15, 1982) where the topographic effects are minimal and the other (Feb. 18, 1983) where the topographic effects are dominant. Calculation of the surface drag coefficient, C _D, for the Feb. 15, 1982 case over young grey/white ice gave a value of 1.2 × 10^-3, which is in close agreement with previous results. The value of the drag coefficient for the grey/white ice regime on Feb. 18, 1983, where the upstream topography on St. Lawrence Island had an important influence on the flow over the polynya, was 3.2 × 10^-3. It was determined that this higher value was related to the more efficient mixing of momentum downward by turbulent eddies generated by flow over and around the topography. The area-averaged heat transfer coefficient, C _H, over the polynya was on the order of 1.1 × 10^-3 for both days, but there were large variations in heat flux across the polynya due to variations in the flow caused by the topography. Conditional sampling techniques applied to the turbulence data showed that the fractional areas occupied by updrafts and downdrafts were 28% and 36%, respectively, and that these results were within the range of values found in previous studies for over-land and over-ocean conditions.     

Estimation of atmospheric surface layer parameters and numerical simulation using MM5 at Mangalore, West Coast of India

Atmospheric surface layer meteorological observations obtained from 20-m-high meteorological tower at Mangalore, situated along the west coast of India are used to estimate the surface layer scaling parameters of roughness length (z _o) and drag coefficient (C _D), surface layer fluxes of sensible heat and momentum. These parameters are computed using the simple flux–profile relationships under the framework of Monin–Obukhov (M–O) similarity theory. The estimated values of z _o are higher (1.35–1.54 m) than the values reported in the literature (>0.4–0.9 m) probably due to the undulating topography surrounding the location. The magnitude of C _D is high for low wind speed (<1.5 m s^?1) and found to be in the range 0.005–0.03. The variations of sensible heat fluxes (SHF) and momentum fluxes are also discussed. Relatively high fluxes of heat and momentum are observed during typical days on 26–27 February 2004 and 10–11 April 2004 due to the daytime unstable atmospheric conditions. Stable or near neutral conditions prevail after 1700 h IST with negative SHF. A mesoscale model PSU/NCAR MM5 is run using a high-resolution (1 km) grid over the study region to examine the influence of complex topography on the surface layer parameters and the simulated fluxes are compared with estimated values. Spatial variations of the frictional velocity (u _*), C _D, surface fluxes, planetary boundary layer (PBL) height and surface winds are noticed according to the topographic variations in the simulation.     

青藏高原总体输送系数的特征

利用中日亚洲季风机制合作研究计划设在西藏的 4个自动气象站（AWS）获得的5a多（199年7月～1998年12月）时次密集、观测连续的近地层梯度资料,以最小二乘法确定出相应站点各季节的地表粗糙度,并应用廓线-通量法计算了4站逐日的总体输送系数,分析了其随时间的变化特征。结果表明:青藏高原动量输送系数的多年平均值为3.53×10-3～4.99×10-3,热量输送系数为4.67×10-3～6.73×10-3,并且两种输送系数都存在明显的日变化和季节变化,部分站点还存在较明显的年际变化。另外,还讨论了总体输送系数与近地层大气层结稳定度、地表粗糙度以及地面风速等因子的关系,初步建立了可用常规气象站地面观测资料计算青藏高原总体输送系数的拟合公式。     

On the use of compliant fairings on conventional moorings

Abstract

Compliant fairing made of plastic ribbons or flexible rubber filaments can be attached to the cables of taut‐line moorings to reduce the drag force of the currents. The efficiency of such fairing depends upon its orientation in the flow and the Reynolds number of the cable. Results of using filament fairing manufactured by ENDECO Inc. on a 337‐m long mooring in the mouth of Hudson Strait are discussed. The fairing was found to be detrimental in this application because of twisting of the wire rope, producing a “bottle‐brush” configuration, and because the normal drag coefficient Cd ? 2.5 ± 0.45 was found to exceed that of a bare cable by 65 per cent on average. The Reynolds number range for this drag coefficient was 2.6 × 10³ to 4.2 × 10³ and was determined by force measurements in a flume. It is concluded that the problems of correctly orienting the fairing in the flow, and the true drag coefficient for Reynolds numbers less than about 5 × 10⁴ must be carefully addressed in the design of conventional taut‐line moorings. Drag coefficients found in this study imply that compliant fairings would not be warranted for Reynolds numbers below about 5 × 10⁴ unless strumming was expected for bare cables.     

A Case Study Of An On-Ice Air Flow Over The Arctic Marginal Sea-Ice Zone

A case study of warm air advection over the Arctic marginalsea-ice zone is presented, based on aircraft observations with direct flux measurements carriedout in early spring, 1998. A shallow atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) was observed, which wasgradually cooling with distance downwind of the ice edge. This process was mainly connected with astrong stable stratification and downward turbulent heat fluxes of about 10–20 W m^-2, but wasalso due to radiative cooling. Two mesoscale models, one hydrostatic and the other non-hydrostatic,having different turbulence closures, were applied. Despite these fundamental differences betweenthe models, the results of both agreed well with the observed data. Various closure assumptions had amore crucial influence on the results than the differences between the models.Such an assumption was, for example,the parameterization of the surface roughness for momentum (z₀) and heat (z_T). This stronglyaffected the wind and temperature fields not only close to the surface but also within and abovethe temperature inversion layer. The best results were achieved using a formulation for z₀ that took intoaccount the form drag effect of sea-ice ridges together withz_T = 0.1z₀. The stability within theelevated inversion strongly depended on the minimum eddy diffusivity K_min. A simple ad hocparameterization seems applicable, where K_min is calculated as 0.005 timesthe neutral eddy diffusivity. Although the longwave radiative cooling was largest within the ABL, theapplication of a radiation scheme was less important there than above the ABL. This was related to theinteraction of the turbulent and radiative fluxes. To reproduce the strong inversion, it wasnecessary to use vertical and horizontal resolutions higher than those applied in most regional andlarge-scale atmospheric models.