Influence of Baroclinicity in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Ekman Friction on the Surface Wind Speed During Cold-Air Outbreaks in the Arctic

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-157
Author(s):  
D. G. Chechin ◽  
E. V. Zabolotskikh ◽  
I. A. Repina ◽  
B. Shapron
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Cold Air Outbreaks

Estimation of Dissipative Heating Using Low-Level In Situ Aircraft Observations in the Hurricane Boundary Layer

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1853-1862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun A. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Dissipative Heating ◽  
Eddy Correlation ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Hurricane Boundary Layer ◽  
Rate Of Dissipation

Abstract Data collected in the low-level atmospheric boundary layer in five hurricanes by NOAA research aircraft are analyzed to measure turbulence with scales small enough to retrieve the rate of dissipation. A total of 49 flux runs suitable for analysis are identified in the atmospheric boundary layer within 200 m above the sea surface. Momentum fluxes are directly determined using the eddy correlation method, and drag coefficients are also calculated. The dissipative heating is estimated using two different methods: 1) integrating the rate of dissipation in the surface layer and 2) multiplying the drag coefficient by the cube of surface wind speed. While the latter method has been widely used in theoretical models as well as several numerical models simulating hurricanes, these analyses show that using this method would significantly overestimate the magnitude of dissipative heating. Although the dataset used in this study is limited by the surface wind speed range <30 m s−1, this work highlights that it is crucial to understand the physical processes related to dissipative heating in the hurricane boundary layer for implementing it into hurricane models.

scholarly journals EPIC 95°W Observations of the Eastern Pacific Atmospheric Boundary Layer from the Cold Tongue to the ITCZ

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 426-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon P. de Szoeke ◽  
Christopher S. Bretherton ◽  
Nicholas A. Bond ◽  
Meghan F. Cronin ◽  
Bruce M. Morley
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Radiative Cooling ◽  
Entrainment Rate ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Sst Front

Abstract The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) along 95°W in the eastern equatorial Pacific during boreal autumn is described using data from the East Pacific Investigation of Climate (EPIC) 2001, with an emphasis on the evolution of the thermodynamic ABL properties from the cold tongue to the cold-advection region north of the sea surface temperature (SST) front. Surface sensible and latent heat fluxes and wind stresses between 1°S and 12°N are calculated from data from eight NCAR C-130 research aircraft flights and from Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) buoys. Reduced surface wind speed and a 10 m s−1 jet at a height of 500 m are found over the equatorial cold tongue, demonstrating the dependence of the surface wind speed on surface stability. The ABL exhibits a maximum in cloud cover on the north (downwind) side of the warm SST front, at 1°–3°N. Turbulent mixing driven by both surface buoyancy flux and radiative cooling at the cloud tops plays a significant role in maintaining the depth and structure of the ABL. The ABL heat budget between the equator and 3°N is balanced by comparable contributions from advective cooling, radiative cooling, surface warming, and entrainment warming. Entrainment drying is a weak contributor to the moisture budget, relative to dry advection and surface evaporation. Both the heat and moisture budgets are consistent with a rapid entrainment rate, 12 ± 2 mm s−1, deduced from the observed rise of the inversion with latitude between 0° and 4°N.

scholarly journals Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layers and Diurnal Cycles: Challenges for Weather and Climate Models

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (11) ◽  
pp. 1691-1706 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. M. Holtslag ◽  
G. Svensson ◽  
P. Baas ◽  
S. Basu ◽  
B. Beare ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Diurnal Cycles ◽  
Low Wind Speed ◽  
Weather And Climate

The representation of the atmospheric boundary layer is an important part of weather and climate models and impacts many applications such as air quality and wind energy. Over the years, the performance in modeling 2-m temperature and 10-m wind speed has improved but errors are still significant. This is in particular the case under clear skies and low wind speed conditions at night as well as during winter in stably stratified conditions over land and ice. In this paper, the authors review these issues and provide an overview of the current understanding and model performance. Results from weather forecast and climate models are used to illustrate the state of the art as well as findings and recommendations from three intercomparison studies held within the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) Atmospheric Boundary Layer Study (GABLS). Within GABLS, the focus has been on the examination of the representation of the stable boundary layer and the diurnal cycle over land in clear-sky conditions. For this purpose, single-column versions of weather and climate models have been compared with observations, research models, and large-eddy simulations. The intercomparison cases are based on observations taken in the Arctic, Kansas, and Cabauw in the Netherlands. From these studies, we find that even for the noncloudy boundary layer important parameterization challenges remain.

scholarly journals Retrieval of Sea Surface Wind Speed from Spaceborne SAR over the Arctic Marginal Ice Zone with a Neural Network

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Ming Li ◽  
Tingting Qin ◽  
Ke Wu
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Sea Surface Wind ◽  
The Neural Network ◽  
Marginal Ice Zone

In this paper, we presented a method for retrieving sea surface wind speed (SSWS) from Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) horizontal-horizontal (HH) polarization data in extra-wide (EW) swath mode, which have been extensively acquired over the Arctic for polar monitoring. In contrast to the conventional algorithm, i.e., using a geophysical model function (GMF) to retrieve SSWS by spaceborne SAR, we introduced an alternative retrieval method based on a GMF-guided neural network. The SAR normalized radar cross section, incidence angle, and wind direction are used as the inputs of a back propagation (BP) neural network, and the output is the SSWS. The network is developed based on 11,431 HH-polarized EW images acquired in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the Arctic from 2015 to 2018 and their collocated scatterometer wind measurements. Verification of the neural network based on the testing dataset yields a bias of 0.23 m/s and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.25 m/s compared to the scatterometer wind data for wind speeds less than approximately 30 m/s. Further comparison of the SAR retrieved SSWS with independent buoy measurements shows a bias and RMSE of 0.12 m/s and 1.42 m/s, respectively. We also analyzed the uncertainty of the retrieval when reanalysis model wind direction data are used as inputs to the neural network. By combining the detected sea ice cover information based on SAR data, sea ice and marine-meteorological parameters can be derived simultaneously by spaceborne SAR at a high spatial resolution in the Arctic.

scholarly journals The Influence of Boundary Layer Processes on the Diurnal Variation of the Climatological Near-Surface Wind Speed Probability Distribution over Land*

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 6441-6458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanping He ◽  
Norman A. McFarlane ◽  
Adam H. Monahan
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Probability Distribution ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Vertical Structure ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Near Surface

Abstract Knowledge of the diurnally varying land surface wind speed probability distribution is essential for surface flux estimation and wind power management. Global observations indicate that the surface wind speed probability density function (PDF) is characterized by a Weibull-like PDF during the day and a nighttime PDF with considerably greater skewness. Consideration of long-term tower observations at Cabauw, the Netherlands, indicates that this nighttime skewness is a shallow feature connected to the formation of a stably stratified nocturnal boundary layer. The observed diurnally varying vertical structure of the leading three climatological moments of near-surface wind speed (mean, standard deviation, and skewness) and the wind power density at the Cabauw site can be successfully simulated using the single-column version of the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) fourth-generation atmospheric general circulation model (CanAM4) with a new semiempirical diagnostic turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) scheme representing downgradient turbulent transfer processes for cloud-free conditions. This model also includes a simple stochastic representation of intermittent turbulence at the boundary layer inversion. It is found that the mean and the standard deviation of wind speed are most influenced by large-scale “weather” variability, while the shape of the PDF is influenced by the intermittent mixing process. This effect is quantitatively dependent on the asymptotic flux Richardson number, which determines the Prandtl number in stable flows. High vertical resolution near the land surface is also necessary for realistic simulation of the observed fine vertical structure of wind speed distribution.

scholarly journals Influence of a Hailstreak on Boundary Layer Evolution

2005 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 942-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zewdu T. Segele ◽  
David J. Stensrud ◽  
Ian C. Ratcliffe ◽  
Geoffrey M. Henebry
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
South Dakota ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Sea Breeze ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Severe Thunderstorms

Severe thunderstorms developed on 20 June 1997 and produced heavy precipitation, damaging winds, and large hail over two swaths in southeastern South Dakota. Calculations of fractional vegetation coverage (scaled from 0 to 1) based upon composite satellite data indicate that, within the hailstreak region, vegetation coverage decreased from 0.50 to near 0.25 owing to the damaging effects of hail on the growing vegetation. The northern edge of the larger hailstreak was located a few kilometers south of Chamberlain, South Dakota, a National Weather Service surface observation site. Hourly observations from Chamberlain and several nearby surface sites in South Dakota are averaged over 7 days both before and after this hail event. These observations illustrate that the late-afternoon (nighttime) temperatures are 2°C higher (2°C lower) near the hailstreak after the event than before the event. Similarly, daily average dewpoint temperatures after the event are 2.6°C lower near the hailstreak. These changes are consistent with the influences of a recently devegetated zone on changes to the surface energy budget. To explore how these hailstreaks further affected the evolution of the planetary boundary layer in this region, two model simulations are performed using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU–NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5). In the control run, climatology is used for the land surface characteristics, and hence the simulation is independent of the hailstreaks. In the hailstreak simulation (HSS), the fractional vegetation coverage and soil moisture in the hailstreak regions are modified to reflect the likely conditions within the hailstreaks. Two different days are simulated: one with low surface wind speeds and one with stronger surface wind speeds. For the low surface wind speed case, the HSS simulation produces a sea-breeze-like circulation in the boundary layer by midmorning. For the stronger surface wind speed case, this sea-breeze-like circulation does not develop in the HSS, but the simulated low-level temperatures are modified over a larger area. These results suggest that to capture and reasonably simulate the evolution of boundary layer structures, there is a need for routine daily updates of land surface information. Hailstreaks also are important to consider in the future as the focus for observational studies on nonclassical mesoscale circulations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document