Elevated Inversion Layer Research Articles

An observational study on the impact of sea-land breeze and low-level jet on air pollutant transport in the Bohai Bay

Nocturnal pollutant concentrations in Bohai Bay often exhibit significant uneven spatial distribution, even under weak atmospheric circulation and stable boundary layer conditions, posing a serious challenge for air pollution forecasting. This study analyzed the causes of inverse changes in nocturnal pollutant concentrations between inland and coastal areas based on a month-long observation campaign on the meteorology and air pollutants in Bohai Bay. The results indicated that the primary cause was the combined influence of sea-land breeze (SLB) and low-level jet (LLJ) under a weak synoptic pattern. Sea breezes (SB) can transport pollutants from the coast to inland areas. The occurrence of land breezes (LB) and southwest-west LLJ at night can lead to the transport of pollutants inland to the coast. The impacts of LLJ on pollutant transport can be observed in three ways. First, the LLJ enhanced the horizontal ventilation in the boundary layer. The horizontal wind speed in the stable boundary layer increased by 2–6 m/s. Second, the LLJ weakened the stability of the stable boundary layer. A thin layer of instability existed between the surface-based and elevated inversion layers. The height of the inversion layer top increased by approximately 200 m, and the strength of the inversion weakened by at least 1 °C. Finally, the LLJ enhanced atmospheric vertical diffusion. The increased turbulent kinetic energy and upward momentum flux in the lower layer of the boundary layer, as well as the pronounced vertical upward motion between the top of the boundary layer and the altitude of the LLJ, contributed to the vertical dispersion of ground pollutants. Pollutants diffusing to the altitude of the LLJ can be transported horizontally to the coastal areas along the southwest-west LLJ.

Aircraft Measurements of Tropospheric CO2 in the North China Plain in Autumn and Winter of 2018–2019

Quantifying the level of CO2, the main greenhouse gas (GHG), is essential for research on regional and global climate change, especially in the densely populated North China Plain with its severe CO2 emissions. In this study, 12 airborne flights were managed and conducted during the autumn–winter period of 2018–2019 in downtown Shijiazhuang and its surrounding areas, which are representative of the typical urban conditions in the North China Plain, to explore the spatial and temporal distributions of CO2. The results showed that the measured columnar averages of CO2 ranged between 399.9 ± 1.5 and 443.8 ± 31.8 ppm; the average of the 12 flights was 412.1 ppm, slightly higher than the globally averaged 410.5 ± 0.20 ppm and the 2 background concentrations of 411.6 ± 2.1 ppm and 411.4 ± 0.2 ppm in low-latitude Mauna Loa and middle-latitude Waliguan in 2019, indicating the potential influences of anthropogenic activities. The typical stratification of the planetary boundary layer (PBLH), residual layer (RL), and elevated inversion layer (IL) was crucial in constraining the high CO2 concentrations. This illustrated that the warming effect of CO2 within the PBLH may also have some influences on regulating the thermal structure of the low troposphere. Based on a backward trajectory analysis, it was evidenced that there were three different categories of air masses for autumn and one category for winter. Both trajectories in the PBL, i.e., below 1000 m, from the local and southern areas with tremendous anthropogenic emissions (autumn) and from the western regions (winter) led to comparatively high levels of CO2, but the mid-tropospheric CO2 concentrations above 1000 m were commonly homogeneously distributed, with higher levels appearing in winter because the concentration in the free troposphere followed the global seasonal pattern, with a summer minimum and winter maximum as a result of the seasonality of the net CO2 exchange and the balance between photosynthesis and respiration. These results provide an in-depth understanding of the vertical concentrations of tropospheric CO2 in the North China Plain, which will offer scientific references for the evaluation of carbon accounting and carbon emissions.

DETERMINATION OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INVERSION REFLECTING LAYERS IN THE TROPOSPHERE ON CHANGES IN THE SIGNAL INTENSITY ON THE NEAR-EARTH OVER-THE-HORIZON ROUTES IN THE MIDDLE LATITUDES

The methodology for determining changes of altitude, elevation velocity, and reflection coefficient of the elevated inversion layer in the troposphere is examined based on the results of observation of VHF signals on over-the-horizon (OTH) routes. Estimations of the elevation velocity and reflection coefficient of the elevated inversion layers on the results of measuring of the levels of VHF signals in the zone of the near geometric shadow in the middle latitudes and the meteorological sounding data using balloons are obtained.

The impacts of the atmospheric boundary layer on regional haze in North China

An intensive atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) experiment was conducted simultaneously at six stations arranged in a cross shape on the North China Plain (NCP) from 26 November to 26 December 2019. The impacts of the regional ABL structure on heavy haze pollution and the relationship between the ABL height and aerosol accumulation layer (AAL) depth were discussed. Bouts of downdrafts generate a persistent descending elevated inversion layer, helping the maintenance and exacerbation of haze pollution. Continuous weak wind layers contribute to the pollutants accumulation, and low-level jets promote the removal of air pollutants. The unique landform conditions of the NCP are reflected in its regional ABL structure and further affect the spatial distribution of haze pollution. Due to the drainage flow and strong downdrafts, the western stations near the mountains have a colder surface and warmer upper air masses, resulting in a more stable stratification and worse diffusion conditions; these stations also experience a thicker weak wind layer caused by increased friction. Thus, the spatial distribution of haze is heavier in the west and lighter in the east. The convective boundary layer (CBL) height declines evidently during haze episodes, usually lower than 560 m. Furthermore, as the vertical distribution of aerosols is mainly influenced by daytime thermal turbulence and maintained at night, it is appropriate to determine the CBL height using the AAL depth. However, the AAL depth is not consistent with the stable boundary layer height due to the influence of the residual layer at night.

The Effect of Simple Vertical Fraction on Diffusion Equation with Deposition

The vertical fraction variation of eddy diffusivity was taking into consideration in the dispersion of pollutants from a point source. A power-law profile was used to describe the variation of wind speed and vertical eddy diffusivity with height z above ground surface. The dry deposition of the diffusing particles at the ground surface is taken into account through the boundary conditions. The concentration of pollutants was derived assuming that the vertical diffusion is limited by an elevated inversion layer located at the top of the boundary layer “h”. Also the decay distance of a pollutant along the wind direction was estimated. The resulting analytical solutions have been applied on the emission from the Research Reactor at Inshas in unstable condition and Hanford diffusion experiment in stable condition. Comparisons between proposed and observed concentrations show a good agreement between the proposed and observed concentrations when α=0.81 than others fractions and integer value. The results are discussed and presented in illustrative figures.

The Thermodynamic Structure of Arctic Coastal Fog Occurring During the Melt Season over East Greenland

An automated method to classify Arctic fog into distinct thermodynamic profiles using historic in-situ surface and upper-air observations is presented. This classification is applied to low-resolution Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA) soundings and high-resolution Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) soundings in low- and high-Arctic coastal and pack-ice environments. Results allow investigation of fog macrophysical properties and processes in coastal East Greenland during melt seasons 1980–2012. Integrated with fog observations from three synoptic weather stations, 422 IGRA soundings are classified into six fog thermodynamic types based on surface saturation ratio, type of temperature inversion, fog-top height relative to inversion-base height and stability using the virtual potential temperature gradient. Between 65–80% of fog observations occur with a low-level inversion, and statically neutral or unstable surface layers occur frequently. Thermodynamic classification is sensitive to the assigned dew-point depression threshold, but categorization is robust. Despite differences in the vertical resolution of radiosonde observations, IGRA and ASCOS soundings yield the same six fog classes, with fog-class distribution varying with latitude and environmental conditions. High-Arctic fog frequently resides within an elevated inversion layer, whereas low-Arctic fog is more often restricted to the mixed layer. Using supplementary time-lapse images, ASCOS microwave radiometer retrievals and airmass back-trajectories, we hypothesize that the thermodynamic classes represent different stages of advection fog formation, development, and dissipation, including stratus-base lowering and fog lifting. This automated extraction of thermodynamic boundary-layer and inversion structure can be applied to radiosonde observations worldwide to better evaluate fog conditions that affect transportation and lead to improvements in numerical models.

Temporal structure of thermal inversions in \u0141eba (Poland)

This study presents the detailed characteristics of thermal inversions based on a 10-year aerological measurement series (2005–2014) conducted in Łeba (Poland). The analyses included surface-based inversions (SBIs) and elevated inversions (ELIs) in the atmospheric layer up to 3000 m. In the case of SBIs, this layer extended directly from the ground level to an altitude above which the air temperature decreases with altitude, whereas for ELIs, which have a base above ground level, only the lowermost inversion layer was taken into consideration. The results of the monthly and seasonal variations in the selected parameters for air temperature inversions (thickness—ΔZ, strength—ΔT, base—ZB) were analysed separately at night-time (00 UTC) and daytime (12 UTC). The thermal structure of the boundary layer up to 3000 m was primarily determined by ELIs, which occurred at a frequency of approximately 70% at both times during the 24-h period. The SBIs showed a pronounced temporal structure that occurred every second night throughout the year and from April to September, with a frequency similar to that of the ELI (approximately 60%). The worst vertical air exchange conditions, which resulted from the simultaneous occurrence of SBIs and ELIs, were found in 30% of nights from April to October. Elevated inversions generally formed in a layer from approximately 820 to 1200 m, which was the lowermost ELI in winter and the highest ELI in summer; however, in all seasons, the lowest base height was characteristic of daytime inversions. Both surface-based and elevated inversion layers were distinguished by comparable thicknesses, particularly for those occurring at night-time (generally within the range of 150–200 m). From November to March, greater thicknesses were identified in ELIs with lower occurrences, whereas SBIs were identified in the remaining months of the year.

Wavy Vertical Motions in the ABL Observed by Sodar

Some characteristics of wavelike motions in the atmospheric boundary layer observed by sodar are considered. In an experiment carried out in February 1993 in Milan, Italy, Doppler sodar measurements were accompanied by in situ measurements of temperature and wind velocity vertical profiles using a tethered balloon up to 600 m. The oscillations of elevated wavy layers containing intense thermal turbulence, usually associated with temperature-inversion zones, were studied by using correlation and spectral analysis methods. The statistics of the occurrence of wavelike and temperature-inversion events are presented. The height distributions of Brunt–Vaisala frequency and wind shear and their correlation within elevated inversion layers were determined, with a strong correlation observed between the drift rate of the wavy layers and the vertical velocity measured by Doppler sodar inside these layers. Spectral analysis showed similarities regarding their frequency characteristics. The phase speed and propagation direction of waves were estimated from the time delay of the signals at three antennae to provide estimates of wavelength. Moreover, wavelengths were estimated from the intrinsic frequency obtained from sodar measurements of the Doppler vertical velocity and oscillations of wavy turbulent layers. The two wavelength estimates are in good agreement.

Diurnal Cycle of Thermally Driven Cross-Basin Winds in Arizona’s Meteor Crater

Abstract Cross-basin winds produced by asymmetric insolation of the crater sidewalls occur in Arizona’s Meteor Crater on days with weak background winds. The diurnal cycle of the cross-basin winds is analyzed together with radiation, temperature, and pressure measurements at the crater sidewalls for a 1-month period. The asymmetric irradiation causes horizontal temperature and pressure gradients across the crater basin that drive the cross-basin winds near the crater floor. The horizontal temperature and pressure gradients and wind directions change as the sun moves across the sky, with easterly winds in the morning and westerly winds in the evening. A case study of 12 October 2006 further illustrates the obtained relation between these parameters for an individual day. The occurrence of an elevated cross-basin flow on 23 October 2006 is shown to relate to the presence of an elevated inversion layer.

New analytical solution of the dispersion equation

The dispersion of pollutants from a point source is analytically investigated taking into consideration the vertical variation of both wind speed and eddy diffusivity. The deposition of the diffusing particles on the ground is taken into account throughout the boundary conditions. The concentration of pollutants under different atmospheric stabilities was found assuming that the vertical diffusion is limited by an elevated inversion layer. The decay distance of a pollutant along the wind direction for different atmospheric stabilities was derived. The resulting analytical formulae have been applied on a case study namely, the emission from the research reactor at Inshas. The results are discussed and presented in illustrative figures.

A Numerical Study for Turbulent Flow and Thermal Influence over Inhomogenous Canopy of Roughness Elements

A large-eddy simulation with transitional structure function(TSF) subgrid model we previously proposed was performed to investigate the turbulent flow with thermal influence over an inhomogeneous canopy, which was represented as alternative large and small roughness elements. The aerodynamic and thermodynamic effects of the presence of a layer of large roughness elements were modelled by adding a drag term to the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations and a heat source/sink term to the scalar equation, respectively. The layer of small roughness elements was simply treated using the method as described in paper (Moeng 1984, J. Atmos Sci. 41, 2052–2062) for homogeneous rough surface. The horizontally averaged statistics such as mean vertical profiles of wind velocity, air temperature, et al., are in reasonable agreement with Gao et al.(1989, Boundary layer meteorol. 47, 349–377) field observation (homogeneous canopy). Not surprisingly, the calculated instantaneous velocity and temperature fields show that the roughness elements considerably changed the turbulent structure within the canopy. The adjustment of the mean vertical profiles of velocity and temperature was studied, which was found qualitatively comparable with Belcher et al. (2003, J Fluid Mech. 488, 369–398)’s theoretical results. The urban heat island(UHI) was investigated imposing heat source in the region of large roughness elements. An elevated inversion layer, a phenomenon often observed in the urban area (Sang et al., J Wind Eng. Ind. Aesodyn. 87, 243–258)’s was successfully simulated above the canopy. The cool island(CI) was also investigated imposing heat sink to simply model the evaporation of plant canopy. An inversion layer was found very stable and robust within the canopy.

Evaluation of an Urban Canopy Parameterization in a Mesoscale Model Using VTMX and URBAN 2000 Data

Abstract A modified urban canopy parameterization (UCP) is developed and evaluated in a three-dimensional mesoscale model to assess the urban impact on surface and lower-atmospheric properties. This parameterization accounts for the effects of building drag, turbulent production, radiation balance, anthropogenic heating, and building rooftop heating/cooling. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) land-use data are also utilized to derive urban infrastructure and urban surface properties needed for driving the UCP. An intensive observational period with clear sky, strong ambient wind, and drainage flow, and the absence of a land–lake breeze over the Salt Lake Valley, occurring on 25–26 October 2000, is selected for this study. A series of sensitivity experiments are performed to gain understanding of the urban impact in the mesoscale model. Results indicate that within the selected urban environment, urban surface characteristics and anthropogenic heating play little role in the formation of the modeled nocturnal urban boundary layer. The rooftop effect appears to be the main contributor to this urban boundary layer. Sensitivity experiments also show that for this weak urban heat island case, the model horizontal grid resolution is important in simulating the elevated inversion layer. The root-mean-square errors of the predicted wind and temperature with respect to surface station measurements exhibit substantially larger discrepancies at the urban locations than their rural counterparts. However, the close agreement of modeled tracer concentration with observations fairly justifies the modeled urban impact on the wind-direction shift and wind-drag effects.

Sodar observations of the atmospheric boundary layer over the ocean during ASTEX-91

A complex marine experiment was conducted in autumn 1991 on the research vessel Dmitry Mendelev in association with the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX). A three-axis Doppler sodar designed at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Moscow, was used in this experiment. Total observation time was about 770 hours from 6 October to 23 November. Besides facsimile records illustrating spatial and temporal structure of the turbulence distribution in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), routine quantitative measurements of profiles of wind and echo-signal strength were taken. Some main characteristics of the ABL behavior over the ocean were revealed through an analysis of these data as well as the results of other kinds of measurements. An important peculiarity of the ABL observed between the Canary Islands and the Azores was the presence of diurnal variation of convective turbulence strength having a maximum between 04:00 and 07:00 LT. A similar diurnal variation was observed for low-level cloud cover. Occurrence of various types of thermal stratification and their diurnal variation were obtained. Comparison of elevated stable layers and low-level cumulus showed that the lower boundary of clouds correlates well with the height of the bottom of elevated inversion layers (at heights of 200–600 m). Canary and Cabo Verde observations showed that islands strongly affect the ABL structure. The strong effect of a surface water temperature gradient on the ABL stability was observed when crossing the Canary, Azores, and Labrador currents and the Gulf Stream.

Nitrogen-oxide layer over the urban heat island in Okayama City

NO x concentration above an urban area was measured using a newly developed lightweight air sampler suspended from a tethered balloon. A high concentration of NO x was detected at a level which coincided with the bottom of the elevated inversion layer, at a height of approximately 100 m above the ground. The maximum concentration at this point was twice that of measurements taken at ground level. While the reason for this phenomenon is not confirmed, several hypotheses are proposed.

A diffusion-deposition model of multiple sources for urban air pollution

Abstract In order to satisfy requirements of urban air pollution control projects in China, a multiple source model that can immediately calculate short-term, daily and long-term average concentration distributions for polydispersity aerosol and gas contaminations is proposed. Its core is a Gaussian plume diffusion-deposition model developed by the authors. The model system has incorporated reflective actions of the top of the mixing layer and underlying surface, processes of gravitational settling and dry deposition, as well as chemical decay of particles and gases. Also it has considered influences of plume penetration in the elevated inversion layer and wind shift as well as terrain. The model performance shows its accuracy and its simplicity. The model system is valuable in applications for urban air pollution control projects.

Observed structure of the nocturnal urban boundary layer and its evolution into a convective mixed layer

The turbulence properties of the nocturnal urban boundary layer (UBL) and its transition to the convective mixed layer have been observed over the urban center of Sapporo, Japan. The nocturnal UBL was characterized by an elevated inversion layer and a near-neutral mixed layer below it. The inversion layer varied with time and showed a wavy pattern. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (billow) was observed within the elevated inversion layer, the horizontal and vertical scales of this billow being evaluated to be of the order of the vertical scale of the elevated inversion layer. The transition from the nocturnal UBL to the convective mixed layer occured rapidly, within 1–1.5 h over the center of the urban area. At this time, the downward transport of sensible heat below the inversion base became important. The normalized turbulence intensities in the convective mixed layer were also examined.

Design of Sodar Transducers

The acoustic sounder (sodar) is proving to be a very useful instrument in studies of the lover atmosphere. It provides direct facsimile records of the temperature structure of the turbulent boundary layer showing presence and form of thermal plumes, ground based and elevated inversion layers and waves etc. It also gives information about the temperature and velocity structure parameters and the wind field in the lower atmosphere.Acoustic transducer is one of the important constituent parts of sodar. In this paper the design characteristics of Sodar transducers used to transmit directional acoustic beam and to receive acoustic waves scattered from the inhomogeneities of the atmosphere are described. The performance evaluation of the Sodar transducers is also given.

Stably stratified shear flow over low hills

AbstractAn analysis is presented for the mean flow over hills with low slopes, for various kinds of stable stratification in the approach flow. (The Froude number F based on the height is always greater than unity.) The analysis is based on dividing up the flow into different regions with different dynamics.We concentrate on the flow in the inviscid outer region of the flow. It is shown that in the lower part of the outer region, the middle layer, where the shear is large, the upwind velocity profile and the shape of the hill, rather than the upwind density profile, largely determine the vertical perturbation velocity. In the ‘upper layer’ the structure of the flow depends largely on the form of the upwind density profile. For example, this largely determines the location of maximum surface wind. New solutions for stable conditions are obtained when there is a constant density gradient, when (N/UB)2 ∞ z−2 and when there is an elevated inversion layer. In the first and third of these cases, we compare the results with the hydrostatic approximation, and also obtain new general formulae for the near‐surface winds. An approximate formula is developed for surface winds at arbitrary values of F(>1) for uniform stable stratification.

Evolution of the Nocturnal Inversion Layer at an Urban and Nonurban Location

The evolutionary cycle of the nocturnal radiation inversion layer, from formation through the time of erosion under fair weather summer conditions was investigated by time-series analyses of observations of inversion base and top heights, and inversion strength at an urban and a nonurban site in St. Louis, Missouri. The time-dependent behavior of each inversion parameter is presented from statistical and least-squares regression analyses. Differences of inversion evolution between these sites are discussed. A surface-based inversion generally formed before sunset at the nonurban site, and the growth of the inversion top height has been described quite well by (2KTt)½, where KT is the thermal eddy coefficient. The average time of formation of an elevated inversion layer at the urban site was 2.5 h after sunset. The height of the nocturnal urban boundary layer decreased after formation under steady wind conditions. The urban mixing height was consistently higher during the morning than at the nonurban site, although the difference diminished with time since the nonurban mixing height growth rate was greater. The slower growth rate of the urban mixing height was attributed primarily to advection of relatively cold air and lower mixing heights from the upwind nonurban environment. An overall rise of the inversion top height after sunrise was believed to be due to urban-induced upward motions, caused by low-level convergence that produced increasing mixing height growth rates. The average time for the inversion layer to erode completely was 4 h after sunrise at both sites.

Formation of elevated refractive layers in the oceanic boundary layer by modification of land air flowing offshore

The usual picture of the development of temperature and humidity boundary layers in a land air mass that moves offshore is shown to be very wrong under one type of Foehn condition in southern California, and it is probable that similar conditions can prevail in widespread areas around the globe, notably the Mediterranean Sea and the monsoonal regions of the Near East and Southeast Asia. A formalism is developed for analyzing the modification that seems to represent the observations satisfactorily, and graphical solutions for radio and optical ducting are given. It is shown that offshore modification can lead to elevated layers rather than to surface based layers, and the height of the layer base is theoretically predicted. Values of evaporation and heat flux into such an air mass are calculated, and the distance offshore at which dew point depression becomes zero is predicted. A method for measuring the downward heat flux in elevated inversion layers is described and results are given.