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Characteristics of turbulent structures in the unstable atmospheric surface layer

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Abstract

An atmospheric surface-layer (ASL) experiment conducted at a meteorological site in the Oostelijk-Flevoland polder of the Netherlands is described. Turbulent fluctuations of wind velocity, air temperature and static pressure were measured, using three 10 m towers.

Simultaneous turbulent signals at several heights on the towers were used to investigate the properties of the turbulent structures which contribute most significantly to the turbulent vertical transports in the unstable ASL. These turbulent structures produce between 30 and 50% of the mean turbulent vertical transport of horizontal alongwind momentum and they contribute to between 40 and 50% of the mean turbulent vertical heat transport; in both cases this occurs during 15 to 20% of the total observation time.

The translation speed of the turbulent structures equals the wind speed averaged over the depth of the ASL, which scales on the surface friction velocity. The inclination angle of the temperature interface at the upstream edge of the turbulent structures to the surface is significantly smaller than that of the internal shear layer, which is associated with the temperature interface. The turbulent structures in the unstable ASL are determined by a large-scale temperature field: Convective motions, which encompass the whole depth of the planetary boundary layer (PBL), penetrate into the ASL. The curvature of the vertical profile of mean horizontal alongwind velocity forces the alignment of the convective cells in the flow direction (Kuettner, 1971), which have an average length of several hundreds of metres and an average width of a few tens of metres. This mechanism leads to the formation of turbulent structures, which extend throughout the depth of the ASL.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Meteorology, Agricultural University of Wageningen, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    J. L. J. Schols, A. E. Jansen & J. G. Krom

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  1. J. L. J. Schols
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  2. A. E. Jansen
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  3. J. G. Krom
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Schols, J.L.J., Jansen, A.E. & Krom, J.G. Characteristics of turbulent structures in the unstable atmospheric surface layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 33, 173–196 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00123389

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