The performance of RAMS in representing the convective boundary layer structure in a very steep valley

Data from a comprehensive field study in the Riviera Valley of Southern Switzerland are used to investigate convective boundary layer structure in a steep valley and to evaluate wind and temperature fields, convective boundary layer height, and surface sensible heat fluxes as predicted by the mesoscale model RAMS. Current parameterizations of surface and boundary layer processes in RAMS, as well as in other mesoscale models, are based on scaling laws strictly valid only for flat topography and uniform land cover. Model evaluation is required to investigate whether this limits the applicability of RAMS in steep, inhomogeneous terrain. One clear-sky day with light synoptic winds is selected from the field study. Observed temperature structure across and along the valley is nearly homogeneous while wind structure is complex with a wind speed maximum on one side of the valley. Upvalley flows are not purely thermally driven and mechanical effects near the valley entrance also affect the wind structure. RAMS captured many of the observed boundary layer characteristics within the steep valley. The wind field, temperature structure, and convective boundary layer height in the valley are qualitatively simulated by RAMS, but the horizontal temperature structure across and along the valley is less homogeneous in the model than in the observations. The model reproduced the observed net radiation, except around sunset and sunrise when RAMS does not take into account the shadows cast by the surrounding topography. The observed sensible heat fluxes fall within the range of simulated values at grid points surrounding the measurement sites. Some of the scatter between observed and simulated turbulent sensible heat fluxes are due to sub-grid scale effects related to local topography.     

Weak-wind mesoscale meandering in the nocturnal boundary layer

This study examines the strength and statistical behavior of mesoscale motions on time scales up to 1 h using eight data sets over different surface types. The mesoscale motions include internal gravity waves, microfront-like structures, horizontal modes, and a complex variety of other signatures, perhaps resulting from superposition of different modes. With weak large-scale flow, the mesoscale motions lead to meandering of the wind direction, as found in previous studies. However, the meandering often takes the form of sudden wind shifts rather than oscillation of wind direction. The relative strength and impact of such mesoscale motions are examined in terms of the constancy of the wind vector, the within-record standard deviation of the wind direction and the ratio of a meso-velocity scale to the speed of the large-scale flow. The strength of the mesoscale flow varies by an order of magnitude between nights at a given site and varies systematically between sites. The statistics of the vertical structure of such motions are examined for two of the data sets, both with sonic anemometers at seven levels.     

Eddy diffusivity: a single dispersion analysis of high resolution drifters in a tidal shallow estuary

In an estuary, mixing and dispersion resulting from turbulence and small scale fluctuation has strong spatio-temporal variability which cannot be resolved in conventional hydrodynamic models while some models employs parameterizations large water bodies. This paper presents small scale diffusivity estimates from high resolution drifters sampled at 10 Hz for periods of about 4 h to resolve turbulence and shear diffusivity within a tidal shallow estuary (depth <3 m). Taylor’s diffusion theorem forms the basis of a first order estimate for the diffusivity scale. Diffusivity varied between 0.001 and 0.02 m²/s during the flood tide experiment. The diffusivity showed strong dependence (R² > 0.9) on the horizontal mean velocity within the channel. Enhanced diffusivity caused by shear dispersion resulting from the interaction of large scale flow with the boundary geometries was observed. Turbulence within the shallow channel showed some similarities with the boundary layer flow which include consistency with slope of 5/3 predicted by Kolmogorov’s similarity hypothesis within the inertial subrange. The diffusivities scale locally by 4/3 power law following Okubo’s scaling and the length scale scales as 3/2 power law of the time scale. The diffusivity scaling herein suggests that the modelling of small scale mixing within tidal shallow estuaries can be approached from classical turbulence scaling upon identifying pertinent parameters.     

A high resolution measurement of the morning ABL transition using distributed temperature sensing and an unmanned aircraft system

We used an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to lift and suspend distributed temperature sensing (DTS) technologies to observe the onset of an early morning transition from stable to unstably stratified atmospheric conditions. DTS employs a fiber optic cable interrogated by laser light, and uses the temperature dependent Raman scattering phenomenon and the speed of light to obtain a discrete spatial measurement of the temperature along the cable. The UAS/DTS combination yielded observations of temperature in the lower atmosphere with high resolution (1 s and 0.1 m) and extent (85 m) that revealed the detailed processes that occurred over a single morning transition. The experimental site was selected on the basis of previous experiments and long term data records; which indicate that diurnal boundary layer development and wind sectors are predictable and consistent. The data showed a complex interplay of motions that occur during the morning transition that resulted in propagation and growth of unstable wave modes. We observed a rapid cooling of the air aloft (layer above the strong vertical temperature gradient) layer directly after sunrise due to vertical mixing followed by an erosion of the strong gradient at the stable layer top. Midway through the transition, unstable wave modes were observed that are consistent with Kelvin–Helmholtz motions. These motions became amplified through the later stages of the transition.     

Canopy-wake dynamics and wind sheltering effects on Earth surface fluxes

The atmospheric boundary layer adjustment at the abrupt transition from a canopy (forest) to a flat surface (land or water) is investigated in a wind tunnel experiment. Detailed measurements examining the effect of canopy turbulence on flow separation, reduced surface shear stress and wake recovery are compared to data for the classical case of a solid backward-facing step. Results provide new insights into the interpretation for flux estimation by eddy-covariance and flux gradient methods and for the assessment of surface boundary conditions in turbulence models of the atmospheric boundary layer in complex landscapes and over water bodies affected by canopy wakes. The wind tunnel results indicate that the wake of a forest canopy strongly affects surface momentum flux within a distance of 35–100 times the step or canopy height, and mean turbulence quantities require distances of at least 100 times the canopy height to adjust to the new surface. The near-surface mixing length in the wake exhibits characteristic length scales of canopy flows at the canopy edge, of the flow separation in the near wake and adjusts to surface layer scaling in the far wake. Components of the momentum budget are examined individually to determine the impact of the canopy wake. The results demonstrate why a constant flux layer does not form until far downwind in the wake. An empirical model for surface shear stress distribution from a forest canopy to a clearing or lake is proposed.     

Single-column model and large eddy simulation of the evening transition in the planetary boundary layer

In the present study, the well-known case of day 33 of the Wangara experiment is resimulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in an idealized single-column mode to assess the performance of a frequently used planetary boundary layer (PBL) scheme, the Yonsei University PBL scheme. These results are compared with two large eddy simulations for the same case study imposing different surface fluxes: one using previous surface fluxes calculated for the Wangara experiment and a second one using output from the WRF model. Finally, an alternative set of eddy diffusivity equations was tested to represent the transition characteristics of a sunset period, which led to a gradual decrease of the eddy diffusivity, and replaces the instantaneous collapse of traditional diagnostics for eddy diffusivities. More appreciable changes were observed in air temperature and wind speed (up to 0.5 K, and 0.6 m s^?1, respectively), whereas the changes in specific humidity were modest (up to 0.003 g kg^?1). Although the representation of the convective decay in the standard parameterization did not show noticeable improvements in the simulation of state variables for the selected Wangara case study day, small changes in the eddy diffusivity over consecutive hours throughout the night can impact the simulation of distribution of trace gases in air quality models. So, this work points out the relevance of simulating the turbulent decay during sunset, which could help air quality forecast models to better represent the distribution of pollutants storage in the residual layer during the entire night.     

Deducing an upper bound to the horizontal eddy diffusivity using a stochastic Lagrangian model

We present a method for estimating the upper bound of the horizontal eddy diffusivity using a non-stationary Lagrangian stochastic model. First, we identify a mixing barrier using a priori evidence (e.g., aerial photographs or satellite imagery) and using a Lagrangian diagnostic calculated from observed or modeled spatially non-trivial, time-dependent velocities [for instance, the relative dispersion (RD) or finite time Lyapunov exponent (FDLE)]. Second, we add a stochastic component to the observed (or modeled) velocity field. The stochastic component represents sub-grid stochastic diffusion and its mean magnitude is related to the eddy diffusivity. The RD of Lagrangian trajectories is computed for increasing values of the eddy diffusivity until the mixing barrier is no longer present. The value at which the mixing barrier disappears provides a dynamical estimate of the upper bound of the eddy diffusivity. The erosion of the mixing barrier is visually observed in numerical simulations, and is quantified by computing the kurtosis of the RD at each value of the eddy diffusivity. We demonstrate our method using the double gyre circulation model and apply it to high frequency (HF) radar observations of surface currents in the Gulf of Eilat.     

Analytical evaluation of mesoscale fluxes and pressure field

Terrain in natural areas is never homogeneous: there may be a variety of vegetation types and patches of vegetated and unvegetated areas which can modify the mesoscale atmospheric flow. Moreover, horizontal thermal inhomogeneities in the planetary boundary layer are a well known source of mesoscale circulation systems such as land and sea breezes, mountain-valley winds, and urban heat island circulations. Since those phenomena are not resolved in regional scale numerical models, therefore an analytic procedure able to evaluate the relative importance of mesoscale and turbulent heat fluxes associated with surface thermal heterogeneities is of crucial importance in the optic of developing a parameterization of mesoscale effects generated by these heterogeneities for use in larger scale models. In the present paper we analyze how small a horizontal variation in surface heating can be and still produce a significant mesoscale circulation, how the heat and momentum fluxes associated to mesoscale flows can penetrate deeply into the mid-troposphere, and how they modify tropospheric relevant climate parameters, such as the atmospheric static stability. In addition, we evaluate the terms of the pressure gradient force, nonlinear and linear, non-hydrostatic and hydrostatic, as function of time and space scales of the mesoscale flow. The present paper is mainly a review of analytical results, the numerical comparison and verification using RAMS is in progress.     

Three-Dimensional Modelling of Concentration Fluctuations in Complicated Geometry

The strong fluctuating component in the measured concentration time series of a dispersing gaseous pollutant in the atmospheric boundary layer, and the hazard level associated to short-term concentration levels, demonstrate the necessity of calculating the magnitude of turbulent fluctuations of concentration using computational simulation models. Moreover the computation of concentration fluctuations in cases of dispersion in realistic situations, such as built-up areas or street canyons, is of special practical interest for hazard assessment purposes. In this paper, the formulation and evaluation of a model for concentration fluctuations, based on a transport equation, are presented. The model is applicable in cases of complex geometry. It is included in the framework of a computational code, developed for simulating the dispersion of buoyant pollutants over complex geometries. The experimental data used for the model evaluation concerned the dispersion of a passive gas in a street canyon between 4 identical rectangular buildings performed in a wind tunnel. The experimental concentration fluctuations data have been derived from measured high frequency concentrations. The concentration fluctuations model is evaluated by comparing the model's predictions with the observations in the form of scatter plots, quantile-quantile plots, contour plots and statistical indices as the fractional bias, the geometrical mean variance and the factor-of-two percentage. From the above comparisons it is concluded that the overall model performance in the present complex geometry case is satisfactory. The discrepancies between model predictions and observations are attributed to inaccuracies in prescribing the actual wind tunnel boundary conditions to the computational code.     

Numerical simulation of water mixing and renewals in the Barcelona harbour area: the winter season

In the present paper, we use numerical simulation to investigate currents, mixing and water renewal in Barcelona harbour under typical conditions of wind forcing for the winter season. This site is of particular importance due to the interplay between touristic and commercial activities, requiring detailed and high-definition studies of water quality within the harbour. We use Large Eddy Simulation (LES) which directly resolves the anisotropic and energetic large scales of motion and parametrizes the small, dissipative, ones. Small-scale turbulence is modelled by the anisotropic Smagorinsky model (ASM) to be employed in presence of large cell anisotropy. The complexity of the harbour is modelled using a combination of curvilinear, structured, non-staggered grid and the immersed boundary method. Boundary conditions for wind and currents at the inlets of the port are obtained from in-situ measurements. Analysis of the numerical results is carried out based on both instantaneous and time-averaged velocity fields. First- and second-order statistics, such as turbulent kinetic energy and horizontal and vertical eddy viscosities, are calculated and their spatial distribution is discussed. The study shows the presence of intense current in the narrow and elongated part of the harbour together with sub-surface along-shore elongated rolling structures (with a time scale of a few hours), and they contribute to the vertical water mixing. Time-averaged velocity field reveals intense upwelling and downwelling zones along the walls of the harbour. The analysis of second-order statistics shows strong inhomogeneity of turbulent kinetic energy and horizontal and vertical eddy viscosities in the horizontal plane, with larger values in the regions characterized by stronger currents. The water renewal within the port is quantified for particular sub-domain regions, showing that the complexity of the harbour is such that certain in-harbour basins have a water renewal of over five days, including the yacht marina area. The LES solution compares favourably with available current-meter data. The LES solution is also compared with a RANS solution obtained in literature for the same site under the same forcing conditions, the comparison demonstrating a large sensitivity of properties to model resolution and frictional parametrization.     

Performance analysis of WRF and LES in describing the evolution and structure of the planetary boundary layer

We implemented the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model and WRF Large-Eddy Simulation (WRF–LES), focusing on calculations for the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and compared the results against a data set of a well-documented campaign, in the Houston–Galveston area, Texas, in summer 2006. A methodology using WRF in a mesoscale and LES was implemented to assess the performance of the model in simulating the evolution and structure of the PBL over Houston during the Vertical Mixing Experiment. Also, the WRF model in a real case mode was examined to explore potential differences between the results of each simulation approach. We analyzed both WRF results for key meteorological parameters like wind speed, wind direction and potential temperature, and compared the model results against the observations. The reasonably good agreement of LES results forced with observed surface fluxes provides confidence that LES describes turbulence quantities such as turbulent kinetic energy correctly and warrants further turbulence structure analysis. The LES results indicate a weak but noticeable nighttime turbulent kinetic energy which was produced by wind shear in Houston’s planetary boundary layer and which may likely be related to intermittent turbulence. This is supported by observations made at the University of Houston Moody Tower air quality station when intermittent peaks of carbon monoxide occurred in the evening, although the variability in wind conditions was very little.     

Wind-induced pressure at a tunnel portal

In order to properly size the mechanical ventilation system of a tunnel, it is essential to estimate the wind-driven pressure difference that might rise between its two portals. In this respect, we explore here the pressure distribution over a tunnel portal under the influence of an incident atmospheric boundary layer and, in particular, its dependency on wind direction and on tunnel geometry. Reduced scale models of generic configurations of a tunnel portal are studied in an atmospheric wind tunnel. Pressure distributions over the front section of different open cavities are measured with surface taps, which allows us to infer the influence of the tunnel aspect ratio and wind direction on a pressure coefficient \(C_{P}\), defined as a spatially and time averaged non-dimensional pressure. Experiments reveal that the magnitude of the coefficient \(C_{P}\), as a function of the wind direction, is significantly influenced by the portal height-to-width ratio and almost insensitive to its length. The experimental data set is completed by hot-wire anemometry measurements providing vertical distribution of velocity statistics. The same configurations are simulated by numerically solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, adopting the standard \(k - \varepsilon\) turbulence model. Despite some discrepancies between numerical and experimental estimates of some flow parameters (namely the turbulent kinetic energy field), the numerical estimates of the pressure coefficients \(C_{P}\) show very good agreement with experimental data. The latter is also compared to the predictions of an analytical model, based on the estimate of a spatially averaged velocity within an infinitely long street canyon. The results of the model, which takes into account varying canyon aspect ratios, are in reasonable agreement with experimental data for all cases studied. Notably, its predictions are significantly better than those provided by the simple analytical relations usually adopted as a reference in tunnel ventilation studies.     

RANS simulation of neutral atmospheric boundary layer flows over complex terrain by proper imposition of boundary conditions and modification on the k-ε model

In this study, a modelling methodology is proposed for RANS simulations of neutral Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) flows on the basis of the standard k-ε model, which allows the adoption of an arbitrary shear stress model. This modelling methodology is first examined in the context of an open flat terrain in an empty domain to ascertain there are no substantial changes in the prescribed profiles. The results show that relatively good homogeneity can be achieved with this modelling methodology for various sets of inflow boundary profiles. In addition, to extend the solutions derived from the standard k-ε model to RNG k-ε model, the RNG k-ε model is in detail assembly and tuned. Finally, the topographic effects on surface wind speeds over a complex terrain are assessed with the combined use of the proposed methodology and the modified RNG model. The numerical results are in good agreement with wind tunnel testing results and long-term field observations. A discussion of the effects of horizontal homogeneity and turbulence models on the simulated wind flows over a complex terrain is also given.     

Some characteristics of the urban boundary layer above Rome, Italy, and applicability of Monin–Obukhov similarity

Air temperature and wind speed profiles measured during one year by means of a SODAR-RASS system located within a large park were examined for the urban boundary layer (UBL) over Rome, Italy. These data, combined with velocity and temperature measurements performed near the ground were used to analyze the vertical structure of the boundary layer and to estimate some turbulence parameters characterizing the surface layer. About 52,000 vertical profiles of wind speed and temperature were used for the analysis, allowing investigation for a large variety of stability conditions. First, friction velocity and Obukhov length were examined, showing clearly their dependence on the time of day and season. Second, the applicability of the Monin–Obukhov (MO) similarity theory—developed over rural terrain—was tested up to 200?m above ground level. For the wind speed profiles, the performance of the MO similarity degrades with both increasing height and stability, with maximum errors that are on the order of 300?% at 200?m for the most stable case. In contrast, for the air temperature the error always remains below 50?%.     

Turbulence investigation in the roughness sub-layer of a near wall flow

The turbulence behaviour along a wall roughened by pyramidal elements was analysed in the region extending from the apex of the roughness elements up to the external limit of the roughness sub-layer. The data used for the analysis were obtained by particle image velocimetry technique. The rough wall turbulent boundary layer flow is characterized by a relatively low Reynolds number. All the results on the rough wall were compared with data referring to the canonical flow on a smooth wall turbulent boundary layer. Mean values and turbulence quantities for the two flows collapse when approaching the external limit of the roughness sublayer. The quadrant analysis of the Reynolds shear stress, in the region near the surface, shows that the contribution of the sweep motions is about equivalent for the two flows (except for wall distances lower than 40 viscous units). The contribution of the ejection motions appears to be more important over the smooth wall than over the rough wall with increasing differences approaching the wall. The probability density functions of the streamwise fluctuating velocity field for the rough wall case appear to be positively skewed in the zone very close to the pyramid apex, in contrast with the behavior observed for the smooth wall case at corresponding distances from the wall. The integral and Taylor scales for the rough wall case appear to be strongly reduced by the presence of the roughness, while the Kolmogorov microscale shows higher values.     

A new model for the CBL growth based on the turbulent kinetic energy equation

Starting from the evolution equation for the turbulent energy density spectrum (EDS), we develop a new model for the growth of the Convective boundary layer (CBL). We apply dimensional analysis to parameterize the unknown inertial transport and convective source term in the dynamic equation for the three-dimensional (3-D) spectrum and solve the 3-D EDS equation. The one-dimensional vertical spectrum is derived from the 3-D spectrum, employing a weight function. This allows us to select the magnitude of the vertical spectral component for the construction of the growing 3-D EDS. Furthermore, we employ the vertical component of the energy spectrum to calculate the eddy diffusivity (required in dispersion models). Currently there are no available experimental data to directly verify our EDS model.     

A closure approach with multi-scale mixing length,and its application to wind and shear stress profiles within the atmospheric boundary layer

A method to determine flow specific first-order closure for the turbulent flux of momentum in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is presented. This is based on the premise that eddy viscosity is a flow rather than a fluid property, and the physically more realistic assumption that the transfer of momentum and other scalar quantities in a turbulent flow takes place by a large, but finite number of length scales, than the often used single length scale, the ‘mixing length’. The resulting eddy viscosity is flow specific and when applied to the study of the ABL, yields the vertical profiles of shear stress and mean wind velocity in good agreement with observations. The method may be extended to other types of turbulent flows, however it should be recognized that each type of flow may yield a different eddy viscosity profile. Using the derived eddy viscosity the paper presents simple analytical solutions of the ABL equations to determine observationally consistent wind speed and shear stress profiles in the ABL for a variety of practical applications including air pollution modelling.     

A new view of dispersion in well-mixed estuaries

A two-dimensional simulation of Delaware estuary hydrodynamics has been constructed. This simulation has been achieved through a rational estimate of the character of natural turbulence. Non-homogeneous velocities, on the cross-section, are employed in two-dimensional, laterally homogeneous species mass balances. In turn, concentration profiles are interpreted in the form of classical, one-dimensional dispersion coefficients. Variation of dispersion as a function of both freshwater inflow and longitudinal distance was generated. Variation of dispersion in time within a tidal cycle was found to be insignificant while no significant variation from one tidal cycle to the next has been detected.The modeling process involves the solution of tractable equations by implicit numerical methods and is capable of being excited by a wide range of input conditions.A study of the sensitivity of dispersion due to vertical mass diffusion revealed that longitudinal mixing characteristics are inversely proportional to vertical eddy diffusivity and analysis of the numerical results showed the dispersion coefficient is essentially insensitive to variation of longitudinal mass diffusivity. This leads to the conclusion that turbulent diffusivity of mass in the longitudinal direction may be taken as constant for most purposes in the study of a two-dimensional species mass balance model.A field program was carried out near the Delaware Memorial Bridge to collect velocity profiles. Substantial portions of the scheme have been verified (i.e. one- and two-dimensional tidal dynamic models) through the use of these data.     

Evaluation of wind environment around a residential complex using a PIV velocity field measurement technique

Wind-tunnel simulations were employed to evaluate the wind environment around a tested residential area located near industrial complexes. The scaled-down geomorphological model of the test area was placed in the test section of a boundary layer wind tunnel. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were made in five vertical planes and one horizontal plane around the test area for two prevailing wind directions. The results showed that the wind speed decreased in the near surface layer and the velocity fluctuations increased in the upper region due to the presence of hills and high-rise buildings around the test area. Regions of flow separation and low-speed flow were found inside the test area for both the wind directions. The result suggests that the high-rise buildings should be well arranged with respect to the main wind directions to increase the natural ventilation inside the residential complex at the initial design stage.