On the Turbulence in the Upper Part of the Low-Level Jet: An Experimental and Numerical Study

Abstract

The characteristics of low-level jets (LLJ) observed at the “Centro de Investigacion de la Baja Atmosfera” (CIBA) site in Spain are analysed, focussing on the turbulence generated in the upper part of the jet, a feature that is still to be thoroughly understood. During the Stable Boundary Layer Experiment in Spain (SABLES) 1998, captive balloon soundings were taken intensively, and their analyses have highlighted the main characteristics of the jet’s wind and temperature structure, leading to a composite profile. There are indications that the turbulence has a minimum at the level of the wind maximum, with elevated turbulence in a layer at a height between two and three times that of the LLJ maximum, but no direct measurements of turbulence were available at these heights. In September 2001, a 100-m tower at the same site was re-instrumented to give turbulence measurements up to 96.6 m above ground level. All occurrences of LLJ below this height between September 2002 and June 2003 have been selected and significant turbulence above the LLJ has been found. Simulations with a single-column turbulence kinetic energy model have been made in order to further investigate the generation of elevated turbulence. The results correlate well with the measurements, showing that in the layer above the LLJ, where there is significant shear and weakly stable stratification, conditions are conducive to the development of turbulence.