A conceptual framework to quantify the influence of convective boundary layer development on carbon dioxide mixing ratios

Interpretation of observed diurnal carbon dioxide (CO2) mixing ratios near the surface requires knowledge of the local dynamics of the planetary boundary layer. In this paper, we study the relationship between the boundary layer dynamics and the CO2 budget in convective conditions through a newly derived set of analytical equations. From these equations, we are able to quantify how uncertainties in boundary layer dynamical variables or in the morning CO2 distribution in the mixed-layer or in the free atmosphere (FA) influence the bulk CO2 mixing ratio. We find that the largest uncertainty incurred on the midday CO2 mixing ratio comes from the prescribed early morning CO2 mixing ratios in the stable boundary layer, and in the free atmosphere. Errors in these values influence CO2 mixing ratios inversely proportional to the boundary layer depth (h), just like uncertainties in the assumed initial boundary layer depth and surface CO2 flux. The influence of uncertainties in the boundary layer depth itself is one order of magnitude smaller. If we “invert” the problem and calculate CO2 surface exchange from observed or simulated CO2 mixing ratios, the sensitivities to errors in boundary layer dynamics also invert: they become linearly proportional to the boundary layer depth. We demonstrate these relations for a typical well characterized situation at the Cabauw site in The Netherlands, and conclude that knowledge of the temperature and carbon dioxide profiles of the atmosphere in the early morning are of vital importance to correctly interpret observed CO2 mixing ratios during midday

Navier-Stokes transport coefficients of dd-dimensional granular binary mixtures at low density

The Navier-Stokes transport coefficients for binary mixtures of smooth inelastic hard disks or spheres under gravity are determined from the Boltzmann kinetic theory by application of the Chapman-Enskog method for states near the local homogeneous cooling state. It is shown that the Navier-Stokes transport coefficients are not affected by the presence of gravity. As in the elastic case, the transport coefficients of the mixture verify a set of coupled linear integral equations that are approximately solved by using the leading terms in a Sonine polynomial expansion. The results reported here extend previous calculations [V. Garz\'o and J. W. Dufty, Phys. Fluids {\bf 14}, 1476 (2002)] to an arbitrary number of dimensions. To check the accuracy of the Chapman-Enskog results, the inelastic Boltzmann equation is also numerically solved by means of the direct simulation Monte Carlo method to evaluate the diffusion and shear viscosity coefficients for hard disks. The comparison shows a good agreement over a wide range of values of the coefficients of restitution and the parameters of the mixture (masses and sizes).Comment: 6 figures, to be published in J. Stat. Phy

A 14-year experience with kidney transplantation.

Between November, 1962 and August, 1975, 668 kidney transplants were done in 556 consecutive patients at Denver, Colorado. The Denver experience has been divided into 7 periods of time, according to the conditions of care during each period. The results in related transplantation have changed little during the decade beginning in 1966. The results in unrelated transplantation have not materially changed since 1968. The long-term patient survival after related transplantation has been better than after cadaver transplantation. The results of transplantation in 57 children ages 3 to 18 years have been slightly better than the results of adult transplantation. The outcome of kidney transplantation and the feasibility of improving this therapy with present techniques are limited by our inability to accurately match each patient with the immunologically best donor and by our inability to precisely control the immune system of the recipient. Rejection is still the main reason for graft loss, and sepsis remains the main cause of patient mortality. More specific and less toxic means of achieving graft acceptance are needed before a higher level of patient service can be realized. However, even with the tools now available, thousands of recipients throughout the world have been returned to useful lives

Conceptual analysis of the non-stationarity of wind fields in the CBL

Non-local transport and entrainment due to large rising thermals are typical and dominant features of the Convective Boundary Layer (CBL). For heat and scalar fluxes this is generally accepted implying that local diffusion alone is not an appropriate concept. To account for these effects different parameterizations, such as counter-Gradient (CG) and explicit entrainment schemes have been developed. Most recently also Mass Flux (MF) concepts, which primarily have been used for cumulus parameterizations, have been adapted highly successfully for the dry CBL. Such MF schemes were shown to be capable of simulating both non-local transport as well as entrainment. In the case of momentum transport, however, the role of non local-effects is not well understood. In atmospheric models momentum transport in the sub grid scale is mostly treated as a pure local diffusion process, which leads to systematic errors in the simulated wind fields. Investigation of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) results and observations indicate that non-local effects are also important for the transport of momentum. A deeper understanding of these processes is still missing and no consensus exists in the literature to what extent turbulent transport of momentum in the CBL could also be interpreted in a mass-flux-framework. In the present study we analyze LES data of dry CBLs with vertical wind shear and we investigate similarities and differences between the turbulent transport processes of thermodynamic variables, scalars and horizontal momentum. As such we analyze the momentum budget of updrafts and evaluate the potential of different mass flux formulations to account for momentum transport associated with large convective structures in the CBL

Convective boundary layer wind dynamics and inertial oscillations: the influence of surface stress

Investigating the influence of surface friction on the inertial oscillation (IO) of an extratropical, non-growing, convective boundary layer (CBL), we paid particular attention to the stability-dependent interactive coupling of shear-induced turbulence and turbulent friction, which leads to a nonlinear relationship between friction and velocity. We showed that in contrast to common perception, IO damping is controlled not only by friction but also by the dependence of friction on velocity. Furthermore, we found that surface friction not only causes damping but also modifies the restoring force. Using these basic principles, we studied the oscillatory properties (equilibrium, periodicity and damping) of the CBL by means of a model based on Monin–Obukhov surface-layer similarity (MOS) and the mixed-layer approximation. We found that the model complies with a quadratic surface stress–velocity relationship (QS) in the neutral limit, and a linear surface stress–velocity relationship (LS) in the proximity of the free-convective limit. Dynamically, the LS leads to a harmonic oscillation with a constant periodicity and exponential damping of the IO. However, the QS displays rather complex anharmonic behaviour; in comparison with the LS it produces a 50% stronger overall damping and a 100% larger contribution to the restoring force. Considering CBLs of arbitrary stability, we found that the MOS stress–velocity relation can be very well approximated by a much simpler linear combination of the LS and the QS which, respectively, represent the convective and the shear-induced contributions to friction. This enabled us to link the set of the external parameters (surface roughness, surface buoyancy flux and boundary layer depth) to a set of three effective parameters: the equilibrium velocity, the convective friction constant and the neutral friction constant. Together with the Coriolis coefficient, these parameters completely determine the IO