Abstract
The evolution and structure of a steady barotropic nocturnal boundary layer are investigated using a higher-order turbulence closure model which includes equations for the mean quantities, turbulence convariances, and the viscous dissipation rate. The results indicate that a quasi-steady nocturnal PBL might be established in 4–10 hours after transition, depending on surface cooling rate. The latter is assumed to be constant in the model. The emphasis is on prediction of eddy viscosity, nocturnal mixing-layer depth, and the stability-dependent universal functions in the geostrophic drag and heat transfer relations. The model predictions are parameterized in the framework of the PBL similarity theory and compared with observations and results of other models.
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Affiliation with Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU).
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Rao, K.S., Snodgrass, H.F. Some parameterizations of the nocturnal boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 17, 15–28 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121934
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121934