Abstract
The influence of the large-scale subsidence rate, S, on the stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over the Arctic Ocean snow/ice pack during clear-sky, winter conditions is investigated using a large-eddy simulation model. Simulations of two 24-h periods are conducted while varying S between 0, 0.001 and 0.002 ms−1, and the resulting quasi-equilibrium ABL structures and evolutions are examined. Simulations conducted with S = 0 yield a boundary layer that is deeper, more strongly mixed and cools more rapidly than the observations. Simulations conducted with S > 0 yield improved agreement with the observations in the ABL height, potential temperature gradients and bulk heating rates. We also demonstrate that S > 0 limits the continuous growth of the ABL observed during quasi-steady conditions, leading to the formation of a nearly steady ABL of approximately uniform depth and temperature. Subsidence reduces the magnitudes of the stresses, as well as the implied eddy-diffusivity coefficients for momentum and heat, while increasing the vertical heat fluxes considerably. Subsidence is also observed to increases the Richardson number to values in excess of unity well below the ABL top.
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Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Judith Curry, who provided crucial support for this work, and to Julie Lundquist and Hugh Morrison, each of whom contributed many valuable discussions. We also thank our colleagues in the SHEBA Atmospheric Surface Flux Group, Ed Andreas, Chris Fairall, Peter Guest, and Ola Persson for help in collecting and processing the data. The National Science Foundation supported this research with grants to the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, NOAA’s Environmental Technology Laboratory, and the Naval Postgraduate School. Finally, we thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Part of this work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in part under Contract W-7405-Eng-48 and in part under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. The research was also funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation Arctic Systems Science Program.
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Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0 ), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
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Mirocha, J.D., Kosović, B. A Large-Eddy Simulation Study of the Influence of Subsidence on the Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 134, 1–21 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9449-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9449-4