Atmospheric boundary layers become stably stratified at night over land when the surface becomes colder than the air layer above. In stable nocturnal boundary layers (SNBL), turbulence becomes weak and intermittent, terrain-induced phenomena such as drainage currents or gravity-waves emerge and the surface heterogeneity is enhanced. Because of their complexity...
The use of efficient basis functions to model and represent flows with
internal sharp velocity gradients, such as shocks or eddy microfronts, are
investigated. This is achieved by analysing artificial data, observed atmospheric
turbulence data and by the use of a Burgers' equation based spectral
model. The concept of an...
This study concentrates on analysis of LongEZ aircraft data taken offshore of the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Due to the land structure of the region, it was possible to isolate the effect of narrow land on air as it flows offshore. The narrow land (Outer Banks) separates inland...
The statistics describing variations of turbulent motions within the so called inertial range of length scales depend on the scale over which the motions are varying and the "average" rate at which the turbulent kinetic energy is being dissipated on the molecular scale. This hypothesis stemmed from the similarity arguments...
A two-scale approach for the turbulent mixing of momentum in an unstable stratified boundary layer is proposed in an attempt to eliminate existing inconsistencies between parameterized mixing of heat and momentum. The parameterization of the large eddy stress is suitable for simple boundary layer models where computational efficiency is important....
In plume theory it is generally assumed that a plume issuing from a round source maintains a round cross section throughout. The consequences of this hypothesis are significant; this fact should motivate research into its validity. This paper investigates conditions and analyzes mechanisms that cause fluid plumes to undergo systematic...
An analytical two-layer model consisting of a time-dependent stratified
boundary layer topped by stratified free flow is developed in order
to study atmospheric boundary layer production of vertical motion. To
avoid use of a constant eddy viscosity, the boundary layer equations are
layer-integrated over a fixed depth, and surface stress...
The influence of boundary layer pumping on an externally-forced
synoptic-scale flow is examined. The results follow earlier theories of
stratified incompressible Boussinesq flow. These theories state that
the spin-down time scale and the penetration depth of the influence of
boundary layer pumping are inversely proportional to the stratification
and directly...
An eigenvector analysis of the velocity-temperature correlation
matrix is applied to clear-air turbulence measured by aircraft in the
Bora. The eigenvectors are identified with the main eddies of the
turbulence. This study attempts to infer the three-dimensional
structure of these eddies. The results are compared with turbulent
structures in the...