Accuracy of Boundary Layer Temperature Profiles Retrieved With Multifrequency Multiangle Microwave Radiometry

2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 2195-2201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Crewell ◽  
Ulrich Lohnert
1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Henrique D. Guimarães ◽  
Sergio J. F. dos Santos ◽  
Jian Su ◽  
Atila P. Silva Freire

Abstract In present work, the dynamic and thermal behaviour of flows that develop over surfaces that simultaneously present a sudden change in surface roughness and temperature are discussed. In particular, the work is concerned with the physical validation of a newly proposed formulation for the near wall temperature profile. The theory uses the concept of the displacement in origin, together with some asymptotic arguments, to propose a new expression for the logarithmic region of the turbulent boundary layer. The new expressions are, therefore, of universal applicability, being independent of the type of rough surface considered. The present formulation may be used to give wall boundary conditions for two-equation differential models. The theoretical results are validated with experimental data obtained for flows that develop over flat surfaces with sudden changes in surface roughness and in temperature conditions. Measurements of mean velocity and of mean temperature are presented. A reduction of the data provides an estimate of the skin-friction coefficient, the Stanton number, the displacement in origin for both the velocity and the temperature profiles, and the thickness of the internal layers for the velocity and temperature profiles. The skin-friction co-efficient was calculated based on the chart method of Perry and Joubert (J.F.M., 17, 193–211, 1963) and on a balance of the integral momentum equation. The same chart method was used for the evaluation of the Stanton number and the displacement in origin.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 420-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Volino ◽  
T. W. Simon

Measurements from heated boundary layers along a concave-curved test wall subject to high (initially 8 percent) free-stream turbulence intensity and strong (K = (ν/U∞2) dU∞/dx) as high as 9 × 10−6) acceleration are presented and discussed. Conditions for the experiments were chosen to roughly simulate those present on the downstream half of the pressure side of a gas turbine airfoil. Mean velocity and temperature profiles as well as skin friction and heat transfer coefficients are presented. The transition zone is of extended length in spite of the high free-stream turbulence level. Transitional values of skin friction coefficients and Stanton numbers drop below flat-plate, low-free-stream-turbulence, turbulent flow correlations, but remain well above laminar flow values. The mean velocity and temperature profiles exhibit clear changes in shape as the flow passes through transition. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first detailed documentation of a high-free-stream-turbulence boundary layer flow in such a strong acceleration field.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1121-1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Löhnert ◽  
O. Maier

Abstract. The motivation of this study is to verify theoretical expectations placed on ground-based microwave radiometer (MWR) techniques and to confirm whether they are suitable for supporting key missions of national weather services, such as timely and accurate weather advisories and warnings. We evaluate reliability and accuracy of atmospheric temperature profiles retrieved continuously by the microwave profiler system HATPRO (Humidity And Temperature PROfiler) operated at the aerological station of Payerne (MeteoSwiss) in the time period August 2006–December 2009. Assessment is performed by comparing temperatures from the radiometer against temperature measurements from a radiosonde accounting for a total of 2107 quality-controlled all-season cases. In the evaluated time period, the MWR delivered reliable temperature profiles in 86% of all-weather conditions on a temporal resolution of 12–13 min. Random differences between MWR and radiosonde are down to 0.5 K in the lower boundary layer and increase to 1.7 K at 4 km height. The differences observed between MWR and radiosonde in the lower boundary layer are similar to the differences observed between the radiosonde and another in-situ sensor located on a close-by 30 m tower. Temperature retrievals from above 4 km contain less than 5% of the total information content of the measurements, which makes clear that this technique is mainly suited for continuous observations in the boundary layer. Systematic temperature differences are also observed throughout the retrieved profile and can account for up to ±0.5 K. These errors are due to offsets in the measurements of the microwave radiances that have been corrected for in data post-processing and lead to nearly bias-free overall temperature retrievals. Different reasons for the radiance offsets are discussed, but cannot be unambiguously determined retrospectively. Monitoring and, if necessary, corrections for radiance offsets as well as a real-time rigorous automated data quality control are mandatory for microwave profiler systems that are designated for operational temperature profiling. In the analysis of a subset of different atmospheric situations, it is shown that lifted inversions and data quality during precipitation present the largest challenges for operational MWR temperature profiling.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 7435-7469 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Löhnert ◽  
O. Maier

Abstract. The motivation of this study is to verify theoretical expectations placed on ground-based radiometer techniques and to confirm whether they are suitable for supporting key missions of national weather services, such as timely and accurate weather advisories and warnings. We evaluate reliability and accuracy of atmospheric temperature profiles retrieved continuously by a HATPRO (Humidity And Temperature PROfiler) system operated at the aerological station of Payerne (MeteoSwiss) in the time period August 2006–December 2009. Assessment is performed by comparing temperatures from the radiometer against temperature measurements from a radiosonde accounting for a total of 2088 quality-controlled all-season cases. In the evaluated time period, HATPRO delivered reliable temperature profiles in 88% of all-weather conditions with a temporal resolution of 15 min. Random differences between HATPRO and radiosonde are down to 0.5 K in the lower boundary layer and rise up to 1.7 K at 4 km height. The differences observed between HATPRO and radiosonde in the lower boundary layer are similar to the differences observed between the radiosonde and another in-situ sensor located on a close-by 30 m tower. Temperature retrievals from above 4 km contain less than 5% of the total information content of the measurements, which makes clear that this technique is mainly suited for continuous observations in the boundary layer. Systematic temperature differences are also observed throughout the retrieved profile and can account for up to ±0.5 K. These errors are due to offsets in the measurements of the microwave radiances that have been corrected for in data post-processing and lead to nearly bias-free overall temperature retrievals. Different reasons for the radiance offsets are discussed, but cannot be unambiguously determined retrospectively. Monitoring and, if necessary, corrections for radiance offsets as well as a real-time rigorous automated data quality control are mandatory for microwave profiler systems that are designated for operational temperature profiling. In the analysis of day/night differences, it is shown that systematic differences between radiosonde and HATPRO decrease throughout the boundary layer if 2 m surface temperature measurements are included in the retrieval.


1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. King

Wind and temperature profiles in the lowest 2000 m of the atmosphere at Halley (75°35′S, 26°50′W) have been analysed. Surface winds blow most frequently from the sector 090° ± 45° but the 2000 m wind direction is much more evenly distributed and appears to be determined by synoptic-scale pressure gradients. A simple one-dimensional boundary layer model, which includes the effects of stably-stratified air overlying a sloping surface, is able to reproduce some of the features of the observed profiles.


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