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Atmosphere
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Turbulent Transport in Atmospheric Boundary Layers
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Turbulent Transport in Atmospheric Boundary Layers

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Meteorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2020) | Viewed by 14072

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Georgios Matheou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
Interests: turbulence; convection and clouds; stably stratified flows; subgrid-scale models; numerical methods; verification and validation; high-performance computing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The atmospheric boundary layer, the lowermost layer of the atmosphere, is host to a plethora of physical processes that strongly affect life on Earth and the planetary energy balance. The overarching goal of the Special Issue on “Turbulent Transport in Atmospheric Boundary Layers” is to address emerging problems in the understanding and modelling of the multi-physics character of the boundary layer. We aim to understand the links and interactions between classical turbulence dynamics and other processes, such as radiation, cloud microphysics, and land surface interactions.

Since the late 1960s, the boundary layer has been a hallmark for the study of classical turbulence dynamics, including stratification effects. Many observational campaigns and, more recently, modelling studies contributed valuable insights into the boundary layer by mostly focusing on idealized configurations. To transform the fidelity of the representation of the boundary layer in numerical models, a comprehensive understanding of the multi-scale multi-physics interactions is necessary, which includes the modification of atmospheric turbulence by other processes and the emerging feedbacks. Also significant are the effects of spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability.

The scope of this Special Issue is broad and aims to include diverse methodologies and applications, such as energy harvesting and conversion, air quality and atmospheric dispersion. Submissions will encompass theoretical, modelling, and observation-based studies. Observational studies using in situ or remote sensing data and reduced models are particularly encouraged.

Dr. Georgios Matheou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • stratified turbulence
  • convection
  • clouds
  • diurnal cycle
  • radiative transfer
  • topography
  • spatial heterogeneity
  • dispersion
  • turbulence model
  • observations
  • urban boundary layer
  • canopy flows

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 87884 KiB  
Article
The Spiderweb Structure of Stratocumulus Clouds
by Georgios Matheou, Anthony B. Davis and João Teixeira
Atmosphere 2020, 11(7), 730; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11070730 - 8 Jul 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4471
Abstract
Stratocumulus clouds have a distinctive structure composed of a combination of lumpy cellular structures and thin elongated regions, resembling canyons or slits. The elongated slits are referred to as “spiderweb” structure to emphasize their interconnected nature. Using very high resolution large-eddy simulations (LES), [...] Read more.
Stratocumulus clouds have a distinctive structure composed of a combination of lumpy cellular structures and thin elongated regions, resembling canyons or slits. The elongated slits are referred to as “spiderweb” structure to emphasize their interconnected nature. Using very high resolution large-eddy simulations (LES), it is shown that the spiderweb structure is generated by cloud-top evaporative cooling. Analysis of liquid water path (LWP) and cloud liquid water content shows that cloud-top evaporative cooling generates relatively shallow slits near the cloud top. Most of liquid water mass is concentrated near the cloud top, thus cloud-top slits of clear air have a large impact on the entire-column LWP. When evaporative cooling is suppressed in the LES, LWP exhibits cellular lumpy structure without the elongated low-LWP regions. Even though the spiderweb signature on the LWP distribution is negligible, the cloud-top evaporative cooling process significantly affects integral boundary layer quantities, such as the vertically integrated turbulent kinetic energy, mean liquid water path, and entrainment rate. In a pair of simulations driven only by cloud-top radiative cooling, evaporative cooling nearly doubles the entrainment rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Turbulent Transport in Atmospheric Boundary Layers)
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15 pages, 1749 KiB  
Article
Observations of Turbulent Heat Fluxes Variability in a Semiarid Coastal Lagoon (Gulf of California)
by Lidia Irene Benítez-Valenzuela and Zulia Mayari Sanchez-Mejia
Atmosphere 2020, 11(6), 626; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11060626 - 13 Jun 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3178
Abstract
Despite the critical role latent (LE) and sensible (H) heat play in turbulent processes and heat exchange in the water–air interface, there is a lack of studies of turbulent fluxes over the surface in semiarid regions. We collected continuous measurements of net radiation [...] Read more.
Despite the critical role latent (LE) and sensible (H) heat play in turbulent processes and heat exchange in the water–air interface, there is a lack of studies of turbulent fluxes over the surface in semiarid regions. We collected continuous measurements of net radiation (Rn), LE, H, and micrometeorological data at a coastal lagoon in the Gulf of California during 2019 with an eddy covariance (EC) system. We analyzed the time series, considering the North American Monsoon System, the pre-monsoon, and post-monsoon season. Results show that Rn (276 ± 118 W m−2) and turbulent fluxes were higher during the monsoon season (July–September) LE (129 ± 18 W m−2), and H (29 ± 9 W m−2). The monthly average of Rn, LE, and H was highest in June (493.9 W m−2), August (142 W m−2), and May (50 W m−2), respectively. Furthermore, during the monsoon season, the (H + LE)/Rn ratio (0.74) suggests that more than half of the Rn reaching the coastal lagoon is used for the turbulent exchange of LE and H. During the pre-monsoon, LE (r2 = 0.36) increases with a higher vapor pressure deficit (VPD), while H (r2 = 0.66) increases with a higher friction velocity (u*) during the monsoon season. Quantitative observations are essential for further research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Turbulent Transport in Atmospheric Boundary Layers)
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18 pages, 4841 KiB  
Article
Diurnal and Seasonal Variations of Surface Energy and CO2 Fluxes over a Site in Western Tibetan Plateau
by Xingbing Zhao, Changwei Liu, Nan Yang and Yubin Li
Atmosphere 2020, 11(3), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11030260 - 5 Mar 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2568
Abstract
Land surface process observations in the western Tibet Plateau (TP) are limited because of the abominable natural conditions. During the field campaign of the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Scientific Experiment (TIPEX III), continuous measurements on the four radiation fluxes (downward/upward short/long-wave radiations), three [...] Read more.
Land surface process observations in the western Tibet Plateau (TP) are limited because of the abominable natural conditions. During the field campaign of the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Scientific Experiment (TIPEX III), continuous measurements on the four radiation fluxes (downward/upward short/long-wave radiations), three heat fluxes (turbulent sensible/latent heat fluxes and soil heat flux) and also CO2 flux were collected from June 2015 through January 2017 at Shiquanhe (32.50° N, 80.08° E, 4279.3 m above sea level) in the western Tibetan Plateau. Diurnal and seasonal variation characteristics of these surface energy and CO2 fluxes were presented and analyzed in this study. Results show that (1) diurnal variations of the seven energy fluxes were found with different magnitudes, (2) seasonal variations appeared for the seven energy fluxes with their maxima in summer and minima in winter, (3) diurnal and seasonal variations of respiration caused by the biological and chemical processes within the soil were found, and absorption (release) of CO2 around 0.1 mg m−2 s−1 occurred at afternoon of summer (midnight of winter), but the absorption and release generally canceled out from a yearly perspective; and (4) the surface energy balance ratio went through both diurnal and seasonal cycles, and in summer months the slopes of the fitting curve were above 0.6, but in winter months they were around 0.5. Comparing the results of the Shiquanhe site with the central and eastern TP sites, it was found that (1) they all generally had similar seasonal and diurnal variations of the fluxes, (2) caused by the low rainfall quantity, latent heat flux at Shiquanhe (daily daytime mean always less than 90 W m−2) was distinctively smaller than at the central and eastern TP sites during the wet season (generally larger than 100 W m−2), and (3) affected by various factors, the residual energy was comparatively larger at Shiquanhe, which led to a small surface energy balance ratio. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Turbulent Transport in Atmospheric Boundary Layers)
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20 pages, 8114 KiB  
Article
Towards Unifying the Planetary Boundary Layer and Shallow Convection in CAM5 with the Eddy-Diffusivity/Mass-Flux Approach
by Marcin J. Kurowski, Heidar Th. Thrastarson, Kay Suselj and Joao Teixeira
Atmosphere 2019, 10(9), 484; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10090484 - 22 Aug 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3191
Abstract
The modular structure of the boundary layer and convection parameterizations in atmospheric models have long been affecting the numerical representation of subgrid-scale motions and their mutual interactions. A promising alternative, the eddy-diffusivity/mass-flux approach (EDMF), has the potential for unifying the existing formulations into [...] Read more.
The modular structure of the boundary layer and convection parameterizations in atmospheric models have long been affecting the numerical representation of subgrid-scale motions and their mutual interactions. A promising alternative, the eddy-diffusivity/mass-flux approach (EDMF), has the potential for unifying the existing formulations into a consistent scheme and improving some of the long-standing issues. This study documents a step towards developing such a unified approach by implementing a stochastic multi-plume EDMF scheme into the Community Atmosphere Model (Version 5.0). Its performance in single-column mode is evaluated against the control parameterization and large-eddy simulation (LES) for two benchmark cases: marine and continental shallow convection. Overall, the results for the two parameterizations agree well with each other and with LES in terms of mean profiles of moist conserved variables and their vertical fluxes, as well as the updraft properties. However, systematic differences between the two schemes, especially for transient continental convection, are also documented. Using EDMF helps improve some of the parameterized features of shallow convection. In particular, for the highest tested vertical resolution, the EDMF cloud base and top heights and the vertical fluxes of energy and water are remarkably close to LES. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Turbulent Transport in Atmospheric Boundary Layers)
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