Analyses of variance and flux budgets in cumulus-topped boundary layers

Abstract

A large-eddy simulation (LES) of a cumulus-topped boundary layer (CTBL) has been made, based on observations gathered on 10 September 1974 during the GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program) Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE). On this day there were light winds, making buoyancy production the only important mechanism for generating turbulent kinetic energy. Cumulus clouds with a depth of a few hundred meters covered about 10% of the sky. A comparison between LES results and observed variances and fluxes will be made. In order to understand the dynamics of the cumulus, we will investigate the physical mechanisms by which variances and fluxes are produced in CTBL's. This will be done by analyzing the budget equations which describe the time evolution of the variances and fluxes. The production, transport and destruction terms, that appear in these equations, will be calculated explicitly with the LES model. Budgets are calculated from the GATE simulation and two slightly modified GATE simulations, in which only the initial water vapor specific humidity is increased. As a result in these two modified GATE simulations the vertical extent of the clouds and the cloud cover is larger. In this way, the influence of the cumulus clouds on the budgets can be investigated more thoroughly. Finally, the budgets are compared with the results obtained from an earlier simulation based on the Puerto Rico Field Experiment and other results found in the literature.