The wind-field structure in a stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer over a rough surface

Abstract

Both wind turning with height and ageostrophic flow in a stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer are analyzed using a three-parameter turbulence model. For a quasi-steady state of the boundary layer, the cross-isobaric flow is determined only by turbulent stress at the surface in the direction of geostrophic wind. The “operative” prediction models, in which the first-order turbulence closure schemes are used, tend to overestimate the boundary-layer depth and underestimate the angle between the surface and geostrophic winds when compared to “research” models (schemes of high-level turbulence closure). The true value of the angle between the surface and geostrophic winds is significant for the presentation of a large-scale flow. A nocturnal low-level jet is a mesoscale phenomenon reflected in data obtained from measurements in a stably stratified atmospheric boundary layer. It is found that such jets are of great importance in transporting humidity, momentum, and air pollution. In this study, the difference between jet flows over a homogeneous underlying surface and over a spatially localized large-scale aerodynamic roughness is shown.