Skip to main content
Log in

An aircraft study of turbulence dissipation rate and temperature structure function in the unstable marine atmospheric boundary layer

  • Published:
Boundary-Layer Meteorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy, ε, and the temperature structure function parameter, C T 2, have been measured over water from the near surface (Z = 3 m) to the top of the boundary layer. The near surface values of ε and C T 2 were used to calculate the velocity and temperature Monin-Obukhov scaling parameters u * and T *. The data collected during unstable lapse rates were used to evaluate the feasibility of extrapolating the values of ε and C T 2 as a function of height with empirical scaling formulae. The dissipation rate scaling formula of Wyngaard et al. (l971 a) gave a good fit to an average of the ε data for Z < 0.8 Z i. In the surface layer the scaling formula of Wyngaard et al. (1971b) disagreed with the C T 2 values by as much as 50%. This disagreement is due to an unexpected reduction in the measured values of C T 2 forZ < 30 m. At this point it is not clear if the discrepancy is a unique property of the marine boundary layer or if it is simply some unknown instrumental or analytical problem. The mixed layer scaling results were similar to the overland results of Kaimal et al. (1976).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Businger, J. A.: 1973, ‘Turbulent Transfer in the Atmospheric Surface Layer’, Workshop on Micrometeorology, (D. Haugen, Ed.) American Meteorological Society, 67–98.

  • Davidson, K. L., Houlihan, T. M., Fairall, C. W., and Schacher, G. E.: 1978, ‘Observations of the Temperature Structure Function Parameter, C T 2, Over the Ocean’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 15, 507–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairall, C. W. and Markson, R.: 1979, ‘Aircraft Measurements of Micro-meteorological Parameters at Panama City, Florida in 1978’, Nav. Postgrad. Sch. Technical Report. Copies can be obtained by writing to the Authors or to the Defense Documentation Center.

  • Frisch, A. S. and Ochs, G. R.: 1975, ‘A Note on the Behavior of the Temperature Structure Parameter in a Convective Layer Capped by a Marine Inversion’, J. Appl. Meteorol. 14, 415–419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaimal, J. C., Wyngaard, J. C., Izumi, Y., and Cote, O. R.: 1972, ‘Spectral Characteristics of Surface Layer Turbulence’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 98, 563–589.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaimal, J. C., Wyngaard, J. C., Haugen, D. A., Cote, O. R., and Izumi, Y.: 1976, ‘Turbulence Structure in the Convective Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 33, 2152–2169.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeMone, M. A.: 1973, ‘The Structure and Dynamics of Horizontal Roll Vortices in the Planetary Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 30, 1077–1091.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenschow, D. H.: 1974, ‘Model of the Height Variation of the Turbulence Kinetic Energy Budget in the Unstable Planetary Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 31, 465–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panofsky, H. A.: 1978, ‘Matching in the Convective Planetary Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 35, 272–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyngaard, J. C., Cote, O. R., and Izumi, Y.: 1971a, ‘Local Free Convection, Similarity, and the Budgets of Shear Stress and Heat Flux’, J. Atmos. Sci. 28, 1171–1182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyngaard, J. C., Izumi, Y., and Collins, S. A.: 1971b, ‘Behavior of the Refractive Index Structure Parameter near the Ground’, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 61, 1646–1650.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyngaard, J. C., Pennell, W. T., Lenschow, D. H., and LeMone, M. A.: 1978, ‘The Temperature-Humidity Covariance Budget in the Convective Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 35, 47–58.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fairall, C.W., Markson, R., Schacher, G.E. et al. An aircraft study of turbulence dissipation rate and temperature structure function in the unstable marine atmospheric boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 19, 453–469 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122345

Download citation

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122345

Keywords

Navigation