NASA Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX 2002/03): ground-based and near-surface meteorological observations

A short-term meteorological database has been developed for the Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX). This database includes meteorological observations from stations designed and deployed exclusively for CLPXas well as observations available from other sources located in the small regional study area (SRSA) in north-central Colorado. The measured weather parameters include air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, short- and long-wave radiation, leaf wetness, snow depth, snow water content, snow and surface temperatures, volumetric soil-moisture content, soil temperature, precipitation, water vapor flux, carbon dioxide flux, and soil heat flux. The CLPX weather stations include 10 main meteorological towers, 1 tower within each of the nine intensive study areas (ISA) and one near the local scale observation site (LSOS); and 36 simplified towers, with one tower at each of the four corners of each of the nine ISAs, which measured a reduced set of parameters. An eddy covariance system within the North Park mesocell study area (MSA) collected a variety of additional parameters beyond the 10 standard CLPX tower components. Additional meteorological observations come from a variety of existing networks maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. Temporal coverage varies from station to station, but it is most concentrated during the 2002/ 03 winter season. These data are useful in local meteorological energy balance research and for model development and testing. These data can be accessed through the National Snow and Ice Data Center Web site

Comparison of Heat and Moisture Fluxes from a Modified Soil-plant-atmosphere Model with Observations from BOREAS

This study evaluates the prediction of heat and moisture fluxes from a new land surface scheme with eddy correlation data collected at the old aspen site during the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) in 1994. The model used in this study couples a multilayer vegetation model with a soil model. Inclusion of organic material in the upper soil layer is required to adequately simulate exchange between the soil and subcanopy air. Comparisons between the model and observations are discussed to reveal model misrepresentation of some aspects of the diurnal variation of subcanopy processes. Evapotranspiratio

The Cospectral Gap and Turbulent Flux Calculations

An alternative method to Fourier analysis is discussed for studying the scale dependence of variances and covariances in atmospheric boundary layer time series. Unlike Fourier decomposition, the scale dependence based on multiresolution decomposition depends on the scale of the fluctuations and not the periodicity. An example calculation is presented in detail. Multiresolution decomposition is applied to tower datasets to study the cospectral gap scale, which is the timescale that separates turbulent and mesoscale fluxes of heat, moisture, and momentum between the atmosphere and the surface. It is desirable to partition the flux because turbulent fluxes are related to the local wind shear and temperature stratification through similarity theory, while mesoscale fluxes are not. Use of the gap timescale to calculate the eddy correlation flux removes contamination by mesoscale motions, and therefore improves similarity relationships compared to the usual approach of using a constant averaging timescale. A simple model is developed to predict the gap scale. The goal here is to develop a practical formulation based on readily available variables rather than a theory for the transporting eddy scales. The gap scale increases with height, increases with instability, and decreases sharply with increasing stability. With strong stratification and weak winds, the gap scale is on the order of a few minutes or less. Implementation of the gap approach involves calculating an eddy correlation flux using the modeled gap timescale to define the turbulent fluctuations (e.g., w′ and T′). The turbulent fluxes (e.g., w′T′) are then averaged over 1 h to reduce random sampling errors

Quality Control and Flux Sampling Problems for Tower and Aircraft Data

A series of automated tests is developed for tower and aircraft time series to identify instrumentation problems, flux sampling problems, and physically plausible but unusual situations. The automated procedures serve as a safety net for quality controlling data. A number of special flags are developed representing a variety of potential problems such as inconsistencies between different tower levels and the flux error due to fluctuations of aircraft height. The tests are implemented by specifying critical values for parameters representing each specific error. The critical values are developed empirically from experience of applying the tests to real turbulent time series. When these values are exceeded, the record is flagged for further inspection and comparison with the rest of the concurrent data. The inspection step is necessary to either verify an instrumentation problem or identify physically plausible behavior. The set of tests is applied to tower data from the Risø Air Sea Experiment and Microfronts95 and aircraft data from the Boreal Ecosystem–Atmosphere Study

Revisiting the Local Scaling Hypothesis in Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer Turbulence: an Integration of Field and Laboratory Measurements with Large-eddy Simulations

The `local scaling' hypothesis, first introduced by Nieuwstadt two decades ago, describes the turbulence structure of stable boundary layers in a very succinct way and is an integral part of numerous local closure-based numerical weather prediction models. However, the validity of this hypothesis under very stable conditions is a subject of on-going debate. In this work, we attempt to address this controversial issue by performing extensive analyses of turbulence data from several field campaigns, wind-tunnel experiments and large-eddy simulations. Wide range of stabilities, diverse field conditions and a comprehensive set of turbulence statistics make this study distinct

Flux-gradient relationship, self-correlation and intermittency in the stable boundary layer

The correlation between dimensionless shear ϕₘ and dimensionless height z/L, where L is the Obukhov length, for stable conditions is strongly influenced by self‐correlation for the present datasets. This effect is quite large for stronger stability but still significant for near‐neutral conditions. A conditional analysis of nocturnal stable boundary‐layer data, where ‘non‐turbulent’ parts of the record are removed, reduces the impact of nonstationarity and therefore reduces the scatter. The conditional analysis also reduces the relative importance of self‐correlation. Difficulties with estimating self‐correlation are also discussed.Keywords: Monin-Obukhov similarity, Nocturnal boundary layer, z-less similarity, CASES99Keywords: Monin-Obukhov similarity, Nocturnal boundary layer, z-less similarity, CASES9

On the Stratification of Turbulent Mixed Layers

The vertical distribution of density or temperature is studied in turbulent boundary layers stratified by either salt or temperature and driven in an annulus by a rotating screen. With rapidly growing boundary layers the buoyancy flux due to entrainment becomes sufficiently large that the boundary layer is no longer well mixed. Stratification in the boundary layer is largest near the entrainment interface, corresponding to extension of the density transition into the turbulent boundary layer. The stratification in the rest of the boundary layer is smaller and nearly independent of height. The mean boundary layer stratification and structure and integral properties of the density distribution are found to be strongly dependent on the ratio of the entrainment rate to the turbulent velocity scale

Low-Level Wind Maxima and Structure of the Stably Stratified Boundary Layer in the Coastal Zone

A Rutan Aircraft Factory Long-EZ aircraft flew numerous low-level slant soundings on two summer days in 2001 off the northeastern coast of the United States. The soundings are analyzed here to study the nonstationary vertical structure of the wind, temperature, and turbulence. An error analysis indicates that fluxes computed from the aircraft slant soundings are unreliable. The first day is characterized by a weakly stable boundary layer in onshore flow capped by an inversion. A low-level wind maximum formed at about 100 m above the sea surface. The second day is characterized by stronger stability due to advection of warm air from the upwind land surface. On this more stable day, the wind maxima are very sharp and the speed and height of the wind maxima increase with distance from the coast. Although trends in the vertical structure are weak, variations between subsequent soundings are large on time scales of tens of minutes or less. The vertical structure of the wind and turbulence is considerably more nonstationary than the temperature structure, although the existence of the wind maximum is persistent. Causes of the wind maxima and their variability are examined but are not completely resolved.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the American Meteorological Society and can be found at: http://journals.ametsoc.org/loi/apme

Interactions between downslope flows and a developing cold-air pool

A numerical model has been used to characterize the development of a region of enhanced cooling in an alpine valley with a width of order (Formula presented.) km, under decoupled stable conditions. The region of enhanced cooling develops largely as a region of relatively dry air which partitions the valley atmosphere dynamics into two volumes, with airflow partially trapped within the valley by a developing elevated inversion. Complex interactions between the region of enhanced cooling and the downslope flows are quantified. The cooling within the region of enhanced cooling and the elevated inversion is almost equally partitioned between radiative and dynamic effects. By the end of the simulation, the different valley atmospheric regions approach a state of thermal equilibrium with one another, though this cannot be said of the valley atmosphere and its external environment.Peer reviewe