Turbulent Collapse and Recovery in the Stable Boundary Layer Using an Idealized Model of Pressure-Driven Flow with a Surface Energy Budget

The evolution of the stable boundary layer is simulated using an idealized single-column model of pressure-driven flow coupled to a surface energy budget. Several commonly used parameterizations of turbulence are examined. The agreement between the simulated wind and temperature profiles and tower o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the atmospheric sciences 2019-05, Vol.76 (5), p.1307-1327
Main Authors: Holdsworth, Amber M., Monahan, Adam H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmosphere
Atmospheric boundary layer
Boundary layer stability
Boundary layers
Cloud cover
Cold
Collapse
Computational fluid dynamics
Computer simulation
Energy
Energy budget
Geostrophic winds
Gravitational waves
Heat
Inertial oscillations
Internal waves
Oscillations
Pressure
Pressure gradients
Profiles
Recovery
Stability
Stable boundary layer
Surface energy
Surface properties
Temperature
Temperature profile
Temperature profiles
Thermal conductivity
Tower observations
Towers
Turbulence
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Summary:The evolution of the stable boundary layer is simulated using an idealized single-column model of pressure-driven flow coupled to a surface energy budget. Several commonly used parameterizations of turbulence are examined. The agreement between the simulated wind and temperature profiles and tower observations from the Cabauw tower is generally good given the simplicity of the model. The collapse and recovery of turbulence is explored in the presence of a large-scale pressure gradient, but excluding transient submesoscale atmospheric forcings such as internal waves and density-driven currents. The sensitivity tests presented here clarify the role of both rotation and the surface energy budget in the collapse and recovery of turbulence for the pressure-driven dry stable boundary layer (SBL). Conditions of stability are affected strongly by the geostrophic winds, the cloud cover, and the thermal conductivity of the surface. Inertial oscillations and the subsurface temperature have a weaker influence. Particularly noteworthy is the relationship between SBL regime and the relative importance of the terms in the surface energy budget.
ISSN:0022-4928
1520-0469
DOI:10.1175/JAS-D-18-0312.1