CASES-99: a comprehensive investigation of the stable nocturnal boundary layer

The Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study—1999 (CASES-99) refers to a field experiment carried out in southeast Kansas during October 1999 and the subsequent program of investigation. Comprehensive data, primarily taken during the nighttime but typically including the evening and morning transition, supports data analyses, theoretical studies, and state-of-the-art numerical modeling in a concerted effort by participants to investigate four areas of scientific interest. The choice of these scientific topics is motivated by both the need to delineate physical processes that characterize the stable boundary layer, which are as yet not clearly understood, and the specific scientific goals of the investigators. Each of the scientific goals should be largely achievable with the measurements taken, as is shown with preliminary analysis within the scope of three of the four scientific goals. Underlying this effort is the fundamental motivation to eliminate deficiencies in surface layer and turbulent diffusion parameterizations in atmospheric models, particularly where the Richardson number exceeds 0.25. This extensive nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) dataset is available to the scientific community at large, and the CASES-99 participants encourage all interested parties to utilize it.Carmen Nappo acknowledges the support of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory under Grant MIPROB-NOAA007. JS and SB acknowledge the support of Army Research Office Grant DAAD 1999- 1-0320, National Science Foundation Grant ATM-9906637. JC and ET acknowledge the Spanish Commission for Science and Technology through Projects CLI97-0343 and CLI99-1326- E

A theoretical analysis of the surface stress in mountainous regions

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1963.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-117).by William Blumen.Ph.D

Intermittent Turbulence Associated with a Density Current Passage in the Stable Boundary Layer

Using the unprecedented observational capabilities deployed during the Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study-99 (CASES-99), we found three distinct turbulence events on the night of 18 October 1999, each of which was associated with different phenomena: a density current, solitary waves, and downward propagating waves from a low-level jet. In this study, we focus on the first event, the density current and its associated intermittent turbulence. As the cold density current propagated through the CASES-99 site, eddy motions in the upper part of the density current led to periodic overturning of the stratified flow, local thermal instability and a downward diffusion of turbulent mixing. Propagation of the density current induced a secondary circulation. The descending motion following the head of the density current resulted in strong stratification, a sharp reduction in the turbulence, and a sudden increase in the wind speed. As the wind surge propagated toward the surface, shear instability generated upward diffusion of turbulent mixing. We demonstrate in detail that the height and sequence of the local thermal and shear instabilities associated with the dynamics of the density current are responsible for the apparent intermittent turbulence