Abstract
Large-eddy simulations (LES) of the continuously turbulent quasi-equilibrium stable boundary layer (SBL) are conducted with grid lengths in the range of 12.5 m to 2 m, in order to explore resolution sensitivity, and determine at what point grid convergence occurs. The structure of the mean potential temperature, winds, and turbulent fluxes varies significantly over this resolution range. The highest resolution simulations show a significant degree of convergence. The dimensionless momentum diffusivity asymptotes to a value of 0.06, corresponding to a limiting flux Richardson number of 0.15.
Using the converged simulations, some scaling hypotheses underpinning first-order and second-order closure models are revisited. The effective Richardson number stability functions of the LES are compared with the forms often used in numerical weather prediction (NWP). The mixing implied by the LES is less than that used in NWP. The commonly used similarity profiles for heat and momentum fluxes, and the scalings for dissipation and pressure covariances are compared with the LES. This information could provide guidance for the next generation of SBL parametrization schemes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andre, J. C. and Mahrt, L.: 1982, ‘The Nocturnal Surface Inversion and Influence of Clear-Air Radiative Cooling’, J. Atmos. Sci. 39, 864–878.
Andren, A.: 1995, ‘The Structure of Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layers: A Large-Eddy Simulation Study’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 121, 961–985.
Brost, R. A. and Wyngaard, J. C.: 1978, ‘A Model Study of the Stably Stratified Planetary Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 35, 1427–1440.
Brown, A. R., Derbyshire, S. H., and Mason, P. J.: 1994, ‘Large-Eddy Simulation of Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layers with a Revised Stochastic Subgrid Model’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 120, 1485–1512.
Derbyshire, S. H.: 1990, ‘Nieuwstadt's Stable Boundary Layer Revisited’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 116, 127–158.
Holtslag, A. A. M.: 2003, ‘GABLS Initiates Intercomparison for Stable Boundary Layer Case’, GEWEX News 13, 7–8.
Hunt, J. C. R., Kaimal, J. C., and Gaynor, J. E.: 1985, ‘Some Observations of Turbulence Structure in Stable Layers’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 111, 793–815.
King, J. C., Connolley, W. M., and Derbyshire, S. H.: 2001, ‘Sensitivity of Modelled Antarctic Climate to Surface and Boundary-Layer Flux Parametrizations’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 127, 779–794.
Kosovic, B.: 1997, ‘Subgrid-Scale Modelling for the Large-Eddy Simulation of High-Reynolds-Number Boundary Layers’, J. Fluid Mech. 336, 151–182.
Kosovic, B. and Curry, J. A.: 2000, ‘A Large Eddy Simulation Study of a Quasi-Steady, Stably Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 57, 1052–1068.
Leonard, B. P., MacVean, M. K., and Lock, A. P.: 1993, Positivity-Preserving Numerical Schemes for Multidimensional Advection, NASA Technical Memorandum 106055 (ICOMP-93905), 62 pp.
Lilly, D. K.: 1967, ‘The Representation of Small-Scale Turbulence in Numerical Simulation Experiments’, in Proceedings, IBM Scientific Computing Symposium on Environmental Sciences, pp. 195–210.
Louis, J. F.: 1979, ‘A Parametric Model of Vertical Eddy Fluxes in the Atmosphere’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 17, 187–202.
Mason, P. J. and Derbyshire, S. H.: 1990, ‘Large-Eddy Simulation of the Stably-Stratified Atmospheric Boundary Layer’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 53, 117–162.
Moeng, C.-H.: 1984, ‘A Large-Eddy Simulation Model for the Study of Planetary Boundary Layer Turbulence’, J. Atmos. Sci. 41, 2042–2062.
Moeng, C.-H. and Wyngaard, J. C.: 1986, ‘An Analysis of Closures for Pressure-Scalar Covariances in the Convective Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 43, 2499–2513.
Nieuwstadt, F. T. M.: 1984, ‘The Turbulent Structure of the Stable, Nocturnal Boundary Layer’, J. Atmos. Sci. 41, 2202–2216.
Nieuwstadt, F. T. M.: 1985, ‘A Model for the Stationary, Stable Boundary Layer’, in J. C. R. Hunt (ed.), Turbulence and Diffusion in Stable Environments, Oxford University Press, pp. 149–179.
Saiki, E. M., Moeng. C.-H., and Sullivan, P. P.: 2000, ‘Large-Eddy Simulation of the Stably Stratified Planetary Boundary Layer’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 95, 1–30.
Smagorinsky, J.: 1963, ‘General Circulation Experiments with the Primitive Equations. Part 1: The Basic Experiment’, Mon. Wea. Rev. 91, 99–164.
Sullivan, P. P., McWilliams, J. C., and Moeng, C.-H.: 1994, ‘A Subgrid-Sale Model for Large-Eddy Simulation of Planetary Boundary-Layer Flows’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 71, 247–276.
Thorpe, A. J. and Guymer, T. H.: 1977, ‘The Nocturnal Jet’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 103, 633–653.
Wyngaard, J. C.: 1975, ‘Modeling the Planetary Boundary Layer-Extension to the Stable Case’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 9, 441–460.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Beare, R.J., Macvean, M.K. Resolution Sensitivity and Scaling of Large-Eddy Simulations of the Stable Boundary Layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorology 112, 257–281 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BOUN.0000027910.57913.4d
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BOUN.0000027910.57913.4d