A study of multiple stable layers in the nocturnal lower atmosphere

The structure of nocturnal inversions in the first 300 m of the atmosphere is analyzed using observational data from the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) from March through June 1981. The temperature profiles show more than one inversion layer 41 percent of the time during the observational per...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Boundary-layer meteorology 1983-06, Vol.26 (2), p.157-168
Main Authors: LI XING-SHENG, GAYNOR, J. E, KAIMAL, J. C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Convection, turbulence, diffusion. Boundary layer structure and dynamics
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Meteorology
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Summary:The structure of nocturnal inversions in the first 300 m of the atmosphere is analyzed using observational data from the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) from March through June 1981. The temperature profiles show more than one inversion layer 41 percent of the time during the observational period. The vertical distributions of wind speed and moisture also show evidence of stratification during these multiple-layer events. The relation between the radiative cooling rate in time and height, including moisture, and the vertical distribution of eddy kinetic energy and the turbulent vertical fluxes of heat and momentum are also calculated. Turbulent structure in the elevated inversion layers is more complicated than that in the single-layer, stable nocturnal boundary layer. The total heat budget for a multiple-layer case is calculated, and turbulent cooling is found to be negligible relative to radiative cooling and to horizontal advection and/or horizontal divergence of heat flux.
ISSN:0006-8314
1573-1472
DOI:10.1007/bf00121540